In this fast paced world consumer mentality has changed. Today’s customers no longer view shopping as a full day event but are rather looking for quick service along with quality and variety. The level of competition has increased drastically over the past few years with the advent of globalization and increased online presence of more and more merchants and retailers. Now what does this mean for the textile, fashion and retail industry? It means that to keep up with their competitors and to possibly surpass them, the designers and retailers both require innovations and new age textile ecommerce solutions. The good news is that with the increase in demand for such technological ideas, there has been the growth of providers as well.
CAD/CAM Solutions
The future lies in CAD/CAM solutions that target augmented reality and 3D technologies. These technologies improve the shoppers’ in-store experience. They increase customer satisfaction, thereby promoting brand loyalty and higher sales conversion. Technologies like mix and match allow the retailer to display a greater variety of apparel and also reduce the number of clothes that are spoil due to trials. More importantly it allows the customer to create an entire virtual wardrobe by combining different styles, all without even trying on the clothes.
ERP Integration
Technologies like ERP Integration allow the textile manufacturers to save working time and effort. The textile industry is constantly faced with the challenge of being in synch with the evolving markets and consumer behavior. Organizing inventory and manufacturing just in time to prevent product idling and allow immediate supply need skillful handling of the supply chain. This is why ERP integration is a novel opportunity to utilize existing infrastructure of the organization to promote further business strategics.
Design Technologies
With the need to come up with completely new stock of designs every few months, there is an increased demand for 3D simulation software that allow the designer to virtually design not only the outline of the apparel but also design garments. This also includes software that allows fashion designers to create and store their designs in a database. Textile Companies are now spending Rs 5 lakh- Rs 10 lakh at a time for CAD software that will enable their designers to research with varying texture, elaborate patterns and produce the same patterns in different colors.
Product Lifecycle Management
The popularity of PLM software is on the rise since it organizes data and analyses fashion trends to keep up with them. The ephemeral nature of the designs and fashion inclinations deems it necessary that there is flow of information between all levels of the company. By using PLM software, the adaptability to immediate changes is increased. It also reduces the wastage of resources and man hours. The inventory management needs are met sufficiently well when PLM software is utilized at all levels of the organization.
The above technologies have revolutionized the fashion textile and retail industry by increasing the profitability of ventures. CAD/CAM technologies are the most widely used textile e commerce solutions that give greater business returns with only a small investment. The future lies in the digital and virtual aspects of the designing world so as to keep up with changing trends. More and more retailers are opting to create an online presence so as to cater to the tech savvy generation and to keep up with the increasing number of online shopping sites.
