Solvei8 founded in 2023 is a one-stop integrated factory cloud solutions provider for the apparel and footwear industry. It’s a subsidiary of Buyogo AG, which focuses on three core areas the supply chain factory cloud, sourcing cloud, and sales cloud. The company is committed to innovation, agility, and customer-centricity, providing solutions that optimize factory processes, resulting in data-driven decisions and more visibility. Recently team Textile Focus discussed with Mr. Anas Shakil, Vice President, Solvei8. With over a decade of leadership in digital transformation & and manufacturing excellence projects (IOT & AI) across manufacturing hubs in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, Anas Shakil’s journey began with a foundation in Apparel manufacturing from NIFT Delhi. His influence extends through publications in textile journals, showcasing a fervent advocacy for groundbreaking innovations in top-tier garment tech companies. He currently leads the customer operations for Solvei8 focused on adding value for all stakeholders. Key discussion points are mentioned below-
Q. Amid economic uncertainties, how does Bangladesh’s RMG sector strike a balance between short-term cash preservation and long-term innovation to bolster global competitiveness?
Ans – In navigating economic uncertainties, Bangladesh’s RMG sector, predominantly serving the United States and Europe, grapples with a global market slowdown, anticipating a decline in GDP growth from 3% in 2023 to 2.9% in 2024 (McKinsey, 2024). Constrained consumer spending is evident through negative intent to purchase clothes in the US and Europe during Q3 2023. The retail sector struggles with its worst December.
Given these challenges, prioritizing large-scale tech investment becomes impractical. Rather than fully embracing factory digitization, the sector should strategically invest in essential technology solutions that address specific production choke points, emphasizing business impact, such as improving production turnaround times, right-first-time output, etc. This approach underscores adaptability, gradually expanding the technological footprint as positive cost impacts materialize.
Navigating short-term challenges with a focus on specific solutions ensures financial resilience and positions the Bangladesh RMG sector for long-term global competitiveness.
Q. With China’s decline in the manufacturing arena, how does the imperative for technological innovation position itself as a strategic necessity rather than a luxury for Bangladesh’s RMG industry, ensuring sustained growth and resilience?
Ans – As China’s manufacturing dominance diminishes, brands increasingly pivot towards more agile supply chains and reduced lead times, making technical innovation a strategic necessity for Bangladesh’s RMG industry. This imperative for innovation goes beyond a luxury; it is crucial for ensuring sustained growth and resilience amid global changes. Nearshoring emerges as a particularly appealing option for brands, offering a dynamic alternative. Alternatively, they may explore working with a condensed supplier list, prioritizing manufacturers with a sharp focus on business KPIs and proven value addition. Bangladesh, renowned for its cost-effective and quality production, must capitalize on this advantage as orders transition away from China, solidifying its position in apparel manufacturing.
In response to evolving brand requirements, emphasizing a more collaborative approach between brands and manufacturers, including aspects like joint product development, and technologically enhanced manufacturing capabilities, becomes crucial. Meeting these demands effectively necessitates technological innovation as a vital driver of growth. This emphasis on agility prompts Bangladesh to drive investments in innovation, sustainability, circularity, and technology. Instead of seeking new approaches, doubling down on manufacturing capability & supply chain efficiencies is the way ahead. Effectively nurturing long-term growth and resilience, strategically positioning the industry globally as China’s influence declines.
Q. Amidst escalating labor costs in the Bangladesh RMG sector, how can strategic integration of technology be leveraged to efficiently manage this situation and ensure sustained industry competitiveness?
Ans – As labor costs rise in the Bangladesh RMG sector, integrating technology strategically is crucial for managing this situation and staying competitive. With costs expected to increase further, especially given the recent market slowdown, PVH (mckinsey state of fashion 2024) recommends focusing on short-term digitization goals rather than long-term investments this year. Where the focus is on mitigating the impact of rising labor costs.
Streamlining production processes, improving quality, and digitized workflows can achieve this objective, helping optimize production cycles and reducing manual labor.
Here the key focus has to be on manufacturing cost, reducing production bottlenecks, maintaining inventory levels, driving traceability in the manufacturing process. This focused approach allows the industry to adapt dynamically to changing circumstances, ensuring competitiveness in the global market.
Q. In what ways does Solvei8’s cutting-edge technology in the Bangladesh RMG sector, not only address current industry challenges but also pave the way for future advancements and sustainable growth, positioning the sector as a hub for technological innovation?
Ans- First, it’s imperative to understand the term ‘cutting edge technology’. In the current tech ecosystem for manufacturers, the key focus over the horizon is for MES systems to control factory operations. However, current solutions are limited to decade-old RFID-based systems and mobile-based QR code technologies. These technologies allow for limited data exchange & compute power on the production floor. They are, at best, systems to capture production data, but are unable to run validations in real-time on the shop floor.
Solvei8 has R&D teams based globally, and also collaborates with hardware suppliers, working on advanced technologies to ensure cost effective solutions supporting streaming data, predictive trend analysis & input validation to ensure a system purpose-built for apparel manufacturers.
What does that mean for an apparel manufacturer? Streaming data ensures zero lag between input and display. This also has backend compute calculations and validation time factored in.
How complex is this? A single factory with 30 lines, would have to validate over 375,00 data inputs per day, approximately 800 data inputs per minute. All these inputs across 190+ stations would have to be simultaneously validated, with complex computing algorithms processing this data on the cloud. Ensuring line in-charge, QC managers, etc, have near real-time escalations driven down to an operation level with root cause analysis to ensure course correction.
How do you power this, ensuring minimal hardware footprint + no local server cost + a monthly rental-based commercial model ensuring minimal financial stress? That’s a problem we grapple with daily.
Also, Solvei8 has pioneered a system that can continue working with internet disruptions, with cache memory of up to 48 hours with input validations working even offline. The platform’s focus on transparency and communication is reshaping supply chain dynamics, addressing disruptions, and promoting collaboration among stakeholders. This not only addresses immediate challenges but also sets the stage for efficient information sharing and advanced production forecasting. Embracing Solvei8 positions the Bangladesh RMG industry for sustained growth, heightened competitiveness, and resilience in the evolving global apparel landscape. We as a partner for the BD apparel industry are focused on driving long-term value for apparel manufacturers in the current climate. For instance, during the implementation phase, we have increased focus beyond just training to an additional stabilization period at no extra cost, ensuring quicker impact times. In the current economic climate, we as a tech company must focus on continuous R&D ensuring our customers succeed. We win when they win first. That is our focus.
