“You can have it in any colour you want, as long as it is black.”
Henry Ford uttered these famous words at the start of assembly line production, and what is termed as Industry 2.0. It was valid for that day and era. But not any longer.
Personalization is a growing trend in every industry today, and fashion is no exception. Globally, the apparel industry is moving towards smaller orders, placed more often, and closer to the customer with quicker deliveries.
The benefit of this trend is higher sell-throughs, less markdowns, and higher profitability. That’s the reason why flexible and agile suppliers are much sought after today. Is the apparel industry of Bangladesh ready to tackle this trend?
Why should we care?
Technology is enabling consumers to have all the information they need at the touch of their finger on their smart-phones to make informed choices. Today’s customers are also willing to share their personal information to get offers from brands and companies that are tailored to their specific needs.
This trend is also aligned with the new age values around sustainability and less waste generation, with over-produced inventory heavily discounted to create shelf space for more products -- that is where on-demand manufacturing can step in to add value.
What does this trend mean for the manufacturing end? How prepared are the apparel manufacturers to shift gears from traditional mass manufacturing business models, and adopt to flexible and agile models needed to serve this trend?
Does any shining example pop up in your head? Do we hear of a hero supplier catering to the need of mass customization? Can any supplier claim that they can produce mass customized goods in bulk at no extra cost? Are we ready to produce zero or low minimum order quantities?
The truth is that Bangladesh has built its capabilities over the past years on mass production model with long runs of basic apparel products. That capability was great to serve the buyer’s needs in the past -- but not today’s customers empowered by technology and information.
Most major brands are feeling the pressure of unsold inventory and excess markdowns -- the power has shifted from them to the customers.
Today’s customer spends time on Instagram following their favourite social media influencers, and makes their purchase decisions based on social referrals from friends, influencers, and what’s trending on their preferred social media platforms. Big brands want to capitalize and collaborate with these social influencers, but cannot because of their long and complicated supply chain practices.
Shorter lead times, smaller order runs, and flexible manufacturers are best suited to serve this market trend.
Technological advances like body scanning, 3D virtual photo-realistic simulation, and augmented reality already exist today, and make it possible for a brand to set up a virtual showroom, which customers can browse through, customize, view how it looks on them, and do so much more prior to making a purchase decision, which then activates the manufacturing post purchase.
Mass customization at the pattern stage is made possible with technologies such as computer-aided design (CAD), digital printing, single ply automated cutting, and the body scanning technologies which collects 200,000 3D data points to describe the body’s outer surface.
Making use of all the digital technologies that exist today, the on-point manufacturing model claims to be able to customize every detail of each unique garment based on individual customer preference, capable of producing 2.3 high quality dresses a minute.
Why do we need such models?
Research reveals that 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company if it offers a personalized experience. Given the numbers, it makes complete business sense for fashion industry and apparel manufacturers to rethink the way fashion business is done.
Amazon, the biggest player in the market, patented the on-demand apparel manufacturing model in April 2017. When Amazon does something, the entire industry starts to take notice.
In recent times, brands and buyers are already having such expectations from their supply chain partners to produce quickly, with lesser lead times, and at competitive prices.
The only way to stay in the game is to adopt new technologies. In the not so distant future, manufacturing will be dominated by machine learning, virtual prototyping, artificial intelligence, big data, and bots -- automation will rule the day. Do we have the required mindset and the skills to transition into that era? The answer to my mind today is that we are not prepared in Bangladesh to meet the future that awaits us.
Where to begin? In my opinion, the shift must start from the top leadership’s mindset -- a change to view the business objectives differently will translate into setting up a hierarchy of decision-makers who will be aware of the digital tools, technologies, platforms and focus on integrating them into the new processes that would need to be devised.
Transition does not need to be sudden or all at once. It can occur incrementally in stages. Blending the new technologies with the old, and gradually shifting to the new way of doing things as you see it generating more value for customers, and more profits for the organization.
The key is in collaboration, transparency, and customer-centricity throughout the business process across the entire value chain. An openness to embrace the new, a willingness to take risks and not be afraid of failing, and an ability to learn from mistakes and iterate and improve.
At a time when businesses need to differentiate their products, command premium prices, and establish their relevancy with consumers, on-demand manufacturing makes as much sense today as the standard black Model T Ford did at the start of the industrial age. Time for transformation is now.
Mostafiz Uddin is the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE). He is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He can be reached at [email protected].
