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Digital Technologies to Revolutionize the Fashion Supply Chain Innovation is the Key to Fashioning a Sustainable Future
Rajesh Bheda Consulting presents “Fashioning the future”, a knowledge forum supported by GTZ
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Monday, 16th November, 2009, 23:00 New Delhi: Responsible, environment- friendly and profitable production is the only means to stay in business. Either we take charge, innovate and lead the change or it will not be long before we will be out of business, was the key message of the speakers at the Knowledge Forum - Fashioning The Future organized at Indian International Centre in the capital yesterday. The forum organized by Rajesh Bheda Consulting, a knowledge organization focused on the fashion industry, witnessed insightful presentations by global thought leaders Dr. Michael T. Fralix, President, Textile Clothing Technology Corporation, USA; Ms. Patty Fralix, Founder and President, the Fralix Group, USA and Dr. Rajesh Bheda, CEO, Rajesh Bheda Consulting. The forum supported by GTZ was attended by apparel manufacturers, retailers and academicians.
The seminar chaired by Mr. Steven Jesseph, President, Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), USA, started with the question of sustainability and need for responsible business practices. Mr. Manfred Haebig, Principal Adviser, GTZ emphasized that Indian garment industry is important as it has high visibility in Germany due to sustainable production issues and also its contribution to employment generation in India.
The Indian Garment industry is witnessing testing times as a result of global economic slowdown and the mood among the industry is somber. During the theme presentation Fashioning The Future, Dr. Rajesh Bheda’s three key messages brought cheers to the industry audience. These were; one, garment industry in India can almost double its labour productivity; two, garment manufacturers can improve their profitability by almost 50% by producing better quality; and three, involving workforce in the improvement process is a must for sustained progress. He emphasized on the need for the industry to take the lead in inspiring performance improvement across the supply chain, as the competition is not between individual firms but the supply chains. He closed with the message that in days of global interdependence, we must lead by example and work on a medium term vision; there is no need to panic but it’s high time we started to act because tough times do not last, but tough people do.
Dr. Michael T. Fralix had the audiences glued to his talk on “Sustainability through innovation”, which talked about the technology of tomorrow. From the 3D garment knitting machine to the 3D avatars; Virtual clothing to a Virtual fashion community, he envisioned it all. He talked about the new trends where the products are designed virtually, purchased by customer before they are made and produced just before delivery to the customers across globe. He said the days are not far where a sweater bought by a customer on internet will be knitted using 3D knitting machines in a laundry shop close to his home and delivered the same day. He talked about cutting edge research that could revolutionize the way fabrics are printed, for reducing the water and energy consumption substantially for sustainable manufacturing. With the use of digital technologies like 3D body scanning, customer are able to create their virtual avatars, the avatars will be able to visit the sites of fashion retailers and try on virtual garments and see what fits them and looks good. If they are happy with their choice, they could buy these garments for real. Talking about the future, Dr Fralix said the days are not too far when three dimensional products could be produced close to customer using digital converters like digital printers. He urged the audience to “think out of the triangle” and embrace the technology and innovate to reduce waste for a sustainable future.
Patty Fralix held her talk on “Customer Service in the Global Supply Chain” with a difference. With a self-evaluation sheet circulated among those present, she helped conduct a self-analysis of the personality of each member of the audience and emphasized the need for the “human connect” in customer service for a sustainable tomorrow. She stressed that for customer service excellence the organizations need to be fast, flexible, focused, friendly and fun.
The interactive session created a heated debate on the possibility of digital converters making the role of traditional apparel manufacturers redundant in near future. The message was very clear that we must be at the forefront of the thought as well as action leadership to Fashion our Future and we can’t ignore the technological trends specially when it comes to digital technology and use it for a sustainable future.
In his vote of thanks , Mr. Amit Kumar,Senior Technical Expert , GTZ, appreciated that events like the Knowledge Forum create an opportunity for GTZ to network and they are happy to associate with TC2 and WRAP through the GTZ partnership with RBC. Such collaboration helps GTZ widen their reach and optimize on GTZ efforts for Development Projects. He laid emphasis on how we can help the industry offer value added services to their customers to reduce the pressure on cost of labour.
The feedback from participants was very encouraging and the knowledge forum shall be an ongoing jurney for RBC.
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