On-demand production in the textile industry - a revolution?
The global trend towards individualization brings new opportunities and challenges in many areas, including the textile industry. This leads to the fact that individually manufactured products are increasingly in demand, batch size 1 and customized mass production have arrived in the textile industry. Especially for companies from the fashion industry, this can be an opportunity to establish innovative business models.
On-Demand-Produktion in der Textilindustrie – eine Revolution?
The focus is on the individual wishes of consumers
Thanks to Industry 4.0, new opportunities are opening up in on-demand production. The increasing automation of production processes, coupled with ever better data analysis, makes it possible to adapt production directly to the needs of the individual consumer. This is referred to as "production on demand". This progress enables the introduction of agile just-in-time production cycles to respond more quickly to end consumer demand. Customer centricity is becoming increasingly important for the success of a company. After all, nowadays trends are not only set by brands; private individuals can also be trendsetters.
Only produce what is actually needed
Ondemand production can also optimize efficiency: Only what is actually ordered is produced; forecasts of expected sales become superfluous. This also contributes to greater sustainability. Furthermore, in customized mass production, supply, production and distribution are digitized and optimized to respond agilely and flexibly to actual demand. The reduction in lead times that results from this production method can be a competitive advantage for companies.
On-Demand Production Poses Challenges for SMEs
Although on-demand production sounds promising, it brings one or two challenges. The German textile industry is largely made up of small and medium-sized companies. The investments in digital infrastructure and technologies are often difficult for them to manage. A lack of know-how also sets limits: a comprehensive understanding of digital technologies is essential for the implementation of on-demand production.
The aforementioned aspects pose a challenge for the German textile industry. Small companies find it difficult to build up IT expertise internally and often have to buy this in. In addition, the industry faces high price pressure in many areas.
In conclusion, on-demand production opens up new market opportunities for textile companies. To what extent companies can and will take advantage of these opportunities is difficult to assess at this time.
