There is no denying that, the reason why Chinese textile and apparel industry become one of the most competitive industries in the World is greatly attributable to the very low labor cost. However, with various kinds of costs increasing, enterprise transformation in this industry should focus on the integration of industrialization, informatization and intellectualization.
The application of informatization technology is an important symbol of modernization. Those buzzwords, like intellectualization, cloud computing and Internet of Things, seemingly irrelevant to traditional enterprises, have been well reflected in the whole textile and apparel industry. Many enterprises foresee such a broad development prospect and gradually make great progress on all sides.
The first incorporated cotton mill in Wuxi, Jiangsu, applies informatization technology to traditional textiles and takes the lead in exploring an innovative approach of combing informatization and industrialization. Since 2000, this cotton mill has invested RMB 80 million in production. After over 10 years of development, this cotton mill has established complete informationization system, integrated with sensor network, ERP and e-commerce, and has developed management and control mode, thus achieving the good combination of informatization, management and operation.
More and more enterprises in the textile and apparel industry, manufacturing products like PC knitting fabrics and rib knitting fabrics, also draw on informatization technology to optimize the allocation of various resources and improve production efficiency.
In the foreseeable future, smart plants, intelligent production and intelligent logistics will be three major themes in Industry 4.0 stage. They will boost the development of manufacturing industry chain, like radio frequency technology and industrial Ethernet, the value of which amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars. In order to realize this goal, it is a long way for China to integrate industrialization with informatization.
