4 Steps to Build a Resilient Textile Manufacturer

In the past five years, with geopolitical tensions between major markets and manufacturing countries, cotton price volatility, global geopolitical conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall trade dynamics of the global textile and apparel industry have also changed. The development of textile producing countries is changing. Vietnam has become a rising power. For the first time, the exports to Canada surpassed that of Bangladesh , a textile giant. Pakistan’s textile exports are also facing a downward trend. The industry hopes that the government can take corresponding measures to improve the current unfavorable situation. McKinsey & Company pointed out in "The State of Fashion 2023" that the fashion industry is currently facing the constraints of inflation, the impact of geopolitical tensions and the impact of weakening consumer demand.

We observed some changing trends you need pay attention to:?

• The global economy remains unstable

Inflation issues affect the world, and import and export data have declined to varying degrees, enterprises should ensure that they have sufficient resilient in supply chain to cope with possible disruptions.

• Emphasis on corporate performance of ESG

Consumers' emphasis on ESG affects their choice on consumptions, and Brands & Retailers will also reflect this behavior in procurement. When cooperating with suppliers and vendors, brands will give priority to those suppliers that meet their ESG standard.

• Shifts in consumer demand

With the removing of the Covid-19 restriction order, the demand for clothing for different occasions and purposes has re-emerged, and factories need flexibility and allowance for production.

During this difficult and uncertain time, organizations can’t just sit there and waiting for the winter’s ending, afterall no one knows when comes the spring, but you still have a choice to do something.

Ready to make some changes? Here are some practical steps you could apply in your factory：

?1. Continue to invest in a digital and sustainable future

Textile manufacturers can create new supply chain models based around vertical integration, and small-batch production, enabled by enhanced digitization. The rapid industrialization in the developed and developing countries and the evolving technology are helping the textile industry to have modern installations which are capable of high-efficient fabric production.

To deal with this challenge you must invest in developing skilled mechanical and industrial engineers who will be responsible for bringing automation to your factory. They will design and make a customized machine for the different sections of your factory.

2. Cooperate with the new rising markets

Bangladesh's apparent exports to non-traditional markets have shown a positive trend with a growth rate of 30.80%, reaching $7 billion for the same period .

From 2010 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of China's clothing imports was nearly 15%, while the traditional top three only increased by 1.9%. India also shows strong demand on domestic textile consumptions, the domestic market continues to grow at 15% per annum . With the increasing purchasing power of consumers in these emerging economies, it can be expected that the world apparel import market will become more diversified in the coming years, it is time to consider increasing cooperation in these regions.

3. Reduce dependence on labor

At present, the textile industry has high labor costs and insufficient advanced equipment. Although most of the early production in the textile industry has achieved process-based operations and a high level of mechanization, some links such as fabric inspection, packaging, post-processing, and warehousing still rely heavily on labor.

The storage and handling procedures, in particular, pose a significant drain on time and labor resources. The allure of manual lifting jobs is waning among newer generations who gravitate toward more comfortable employment opportunities. Suntech's innovation, the electric warp beam trolley, emerges as a pivotal solution for streamlining the handling process. With the capacity to replace the efforts of ten manual laborers, this technology stands to yield substantial annual labor cost savings.

Employing precision mechanical engineering, the SUNTECH electric warp beam lift trolley excels in seamlessly extracting warp beams and cloth beams from looms and loading them onto the trolley. Upon successful transportation to the storage facility, a mechanical lifting process eases their placement within the warehouse. The electric warp beam trolley demonstrates agility and stability in operation, boasts a generous load capacity, and minimizes transportation cycles, adapting effectively to diverse work environments. It remedies the drawbacks of manual handling, mitigates the labor intensity endured by textile industry workers, amplifies operational efficiency, significantly curtails labor expenditures, and enhances both production output and product caliber.

4. Cooperate and Trust

Factories in some regions compete with each other, and buyers suppress prices from them, which not only harms the interests of competitors, but also puts their own bargaining power at a disadvantage. Fact is regional cooperation should be strengthened rather than vicious competition, learn from your competitors, cooperate with them to strengthen the region’s infrastructure, build the supply chain together, to create win-win situations.??

Conclusion

In this uncertain era, the textile industry, as a highly competitive industry, has the most intuitive perception of the market. For textile manufacturers, the sooner they deploy to cope with the unpredictable global market, the better they can adapt to changes in market trends. Only those companies that have a long-term vision and invest in technology and innovative products can always ensure that they are at the pinnacle of competition in a changing market.

About SUNTECH Textile Machinery

SUNTECH, since 1970, has accumulated extensive experience in the development, production, supply and sales of textile finishing machinery, nonwoven manufacturing machinery, textile material storage and handling, and weaving machinery. Today, we have cooperated with more than 5,000 customers worldwide and our machines are exported to more than 120 countries, with 17,000 machines currently in stable operation in global areas.

With 50 years of design experience and technical expertise, SUNTECH Textile Machinery is committed to the research of intelligent textile machinery and material handling equipment . The smart devices cover fabric inspection, packaging, post-processing and warehousing, aiming to increase production efficiency and significantly reduce labor costs through automation.

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