Industry 4.0 Must Weave into Clothing Supply Chain

The clothing sector must embrace Industry 4.0 to boost productivity and harness creativity by providing a single, connected platform for all supply chain processes, writes GlobalData. Industry 4.0 – or the fourth industrial revolution – is a hot topic in manufacturing. Its premise is that combining new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics with real-time data can transform factories into fully automated entities that offer a more predictive and responsive approach to production. "For the labour-intensive clothing industry with its long and complex global supply chains, Industry 4.0 has the potential to improve efficiency, speed up the whole planning and production process, reduce lead-times and allow brands to interact with supply chain partners in real-time," says Leonie Barrie, Apparel Analyst at GlobalData. "We already have 3D design and virtual prototyping tools, as well as intelligent cutting and sewing systems, but imagine the possibilities of a truly networked supply chain, where every step is seamlessly connected from design to manufacturing to the consumer." The most exciting opportunities lie in the ability to shake up the traditional model in which designs are pushed out to the consumer in the hope that they sell, to one that instead enables companies to design and sell products based on consumer demand.