Ptak Case 2019: Benefiting from Industry 4.0 by aligning time befitting supply chain of the future for Bangladesh Apparel Industry.

1. 1
Md. Zahangir Alam Partho Bormon
Mohammad TarekSk Md. Raihan Mahfuz
DUOB-0103-19

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Benefiting from Industry 4.0 by aligning time befitting supply chain of the
future for Bangladesh Apparel Industry
Bangladesh is yet to reach the second industrial revolution level (Industry 2.0) that shows we are
lagged behind to embrace third industrial revolution let alone fourth. The world is getting prepared
for the dramatic change in apparel industry using industry 4.0. As our export revenue mostly
depending on apparel sector, contributing 75%-85% of the total, we are in danger for not
complying with the industrial revolution and now the time is threatening us whether to keep pace
with revolutionary change or forecasting a huge fall in revenue of apparel sector, which contributes
the major part of our export revenue.
Time has come for the country to leapfrog and move for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry
4.0). If we fail to catch this bus, it will never come back for us again and we will lose our way,
said Abul Kasem Khan, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. To do so, Khan
suggested a massive policy reform that promotes technology, engages the private sector in the
country's development and improves the education system.
Industry 4.0 is the paradigm of connecting different types of physical devices enriched with
embedded electronics to a network or internet, so they can interact man to machine or machine to
machine, facilitating IT enabled mass customization in manufacturing.
For Industry 4.0 production, it is essential to implement both the horizontal and vertical
integration of supply chain, value network and the production inside the factory. The following
chart shows the Sustainable industry 4.0 environment.
Case Brief and Critical Issues
Figure 1: History of industrial revolution
Industry 4.0: A Definitional Analysis

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When Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, dubbed Bangladesh as an international
bottomless basket case, it was in economic sense by which he wanted to mean that the country
would remain an economic cripple in the years to come (Bayes, 2013). However, Bangladesh is a
resilient country. The country bounced back with exceptional determination focusing on the Three
R’s of its economy – Rice, Remittance, and RMG – as quoted by Mohammed Farashuddin, a
leading economist in Bangladesh.
Over the past decades, the share of RMG as a percentage of exports have steadily risen catapulting
Bangladesh to become the second largest RMG exporting country - cashing in over $30.61
billion in exports a financial year (2017-18).The industry has now established itself as a global
player. Indeed, it is a great success of the country, and this success will have to be maintained.
Therefore, to continue this breakthrough, politicians, policy-makers, regulators, civil society,
conscientious people, the judiciary, and all the stakeholders should come forward to work towards
the country’s long-term vision and goals.
The apparel industries provide the single source of growth in Bangladesh's rapidly developing
economy. Exports of textiles and garments are the principal source of foreign exchange earnings.
Currently there are 4560 garment factories along with 4 million workers in Bangladesh apparel
sector. In FY 2017-18, the value of total apparel exported amounts to $15426.25 million from
woven and $15188.51from knit (Source BGMEA). Main apparel items exported from Bangladesh
A Bottomless Basket Turns Into an Export Powerhouse
Apparel Industry of Bangladesh
Figure 2: Sustainable industry 4.0 environment

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Includes Shirts, Jackets, Trousers, T-shirts, Sweaters and many others. The revenue from export
of apparel products are given below:
It is been seen from the graph that the revenue is increasing over the year amounted to $30.61
billion in the FY 2017-18 contributing almost 83% to the total export. Good quality of raw
materials, favorable market conditions, human resources and cheap labor costs are the main
strengths and potentials of the Bangladesh RMG industries. Bangladesh is exporting its RMG in
most of the economic developed country. Many foreign buyers come to Bangladesh for buying its
products. Bangladesh exports its RMG in many international brands like H&M, C&A, GAP,
Uniqlo, Walmart etc. Leading RMG companies of our country are Ha-Meem Group, Square
Fashion ltd, Apparel Fashion BD, Mohammadi Group, Fortune Garments ltd, AJ Fashion ltd and
many more.
The apparel industry has been passing with many difficulties which industry never faced before.
A devastating fire in Tazreen fashions, collapses Rana Plaza building has raised the question of its
capability regarding compliance, fire safety, and building integrity. Nonfunctional supply chain
increases production cost. Owners consider any investment on compliance as an extra cost.
Therefore, to ensure compliance, there is no way to enforce effective SCM. Among the four
important features, proper supply chain is the key to others. Every feature is interrelated and
interdependent. The competing countries of the sector like China, India, and Pakistan have their
domestic sources of materials. Vietnam and Cambodia are closed to China. It takes only one-week
time from Shanghai to Vietnam/Cambodia by sea. All of our competitors have the advantage in
lead-time; they are in better position in supply chain and compliance. Our main competitiveness
is low wage. Only wage competitiveness alone cannot ensure business growth and sustainability.
To meet the short delivery time and to minimize stock level and wastage, to reduce an extra load
Current Supply Chain in Apparel Industry
Figure 3: Comparative statement of revenue from export of RMG

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on finance and to gain customer satisfaction there is no alternative than an effective SCM system
in place. The parties involved, in the whole supply chain system, are- The Brands, Business
providers, Materials suppliers, Manufacturer of garments. Moreover, there are some other parties
involved in the chain connecting the parties like Freight Forwarder, Career (Main Line Operator),
Bank, Customs, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Ports, Transport, Clearing and Forwarding
(C&F) agent, etc. It is a difficult job to make an effective coordinate among all the parties.
A simplified model of the current apparel supply chain of Bangladesh is depicted below:
Figure 4: Supply chain of typical apparel manufacture

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The CEO of ISCEA-Bangladesh says, “Supply chain management is the hidden lever that can
magically lift the total business performance of any company.”
The level of practice of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in Bangladesh RMG is not very
satisfactory. Very few companies have separate SCM department through which they function
with all the parties in collaboration. SCM performance is a strategic tool for all the business firms
to achieve competitive Success with Bangladesh RMG is no exception to this. Bangladesh RMG
manufacturers are importing required woven fabrics from countries including China, India,
Pakistan and Indonesia. It results in relatively longer lead-time comparing with other nations.
The industry is yet to experience proper implementation of SCM where from it could recoup
benefit. There are lot challenges for not implementing the SCM in the industry. People working in
this industry are still not very aware of the SCM process and they like to carry on their
business following traditional manufacturing system. The common components of SCM of
Bangladesh RMG include Supplier, Garment Industries, Individuals, Buyers, Raw Materials,
Finished Goods, and Payment (Nuruzzaman, 2009). Bangladesh is facing acute competitive
disadvantage as buyers are shifting their preference from low cost RMG products to shortened
lead time, timely delivery, and efficient responses on change in design and so on. The industry
can meet these challenging demands by customers through efficient implementation of SCM.
Even though the current apparel supply chain makes the Bangladesh apparel industry 2nd
largest
in the world, still there exists many problems in it. If those are not solved immediately then the
future prospects of our apparel industry may be hampered. The problems are the followings:
 High lead-time: In Bangladesh the lead-time for apparel export varies between 90-120 days,
whereas the time for Sri-Lanka is about 19- 45 days, China 40-50 days and for India 50-70
days for similar products.
 Inaccurate product costing: Improper cost management, lack of technicians, lack of proper
cost information documentation and data analysis often lead our apparel industry to make
wrong product costing.
 Dysfunctional inventory management: Due to lack of production planning systems and
continuous productivity monitoring.
 Inefficient Planning: Lack of proper human resource and knowledge, our industries often
function inefficient planning.
 Productivity Challenges: Bangladesh is still labor dependent country. China uses robotics
and artificial intelligence to produce almost twice of our production rate.
Bottlenecks in the current Supply Chain
Problems in the Apparel Supply Chain

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 Inefficient raw material supply: Some of our raw material are locally produced and some are
imported from other countries. Traffic jam, Road crisis often cause to take more time to reach
the material from supplier to production house.
 Technological Drawback: Printing, washing sewing, cutting and related activities are done
using low quality technology compare to developed country. For this, it takes more time to
convert the raw material into a finished product.
 Inefficient Data Management: Trend analysis, customer behavior analysis, forecasting are
most important tasks to survive in this modern competitive era. But lack of technological
environment makes it difficult for us to manage those data.
 Improper System Integration: Integration is the way to make things better. It is a major
problem in our apparel industry that, we cannot integrate what we have done. Which in turns
lead to spoilage.
 Lack of Automation: Most work is done by the labor, results in high lead-time, less
productivity and inefficient production.
 Poor Port Facility: Chittagong port has only four key gantry cranes, two of which are now
out of order, whereas it needs 26. It requires 52 rubber tyre gantry cranes but has only 23 now.
Only 87 container loading and unloading equipment are in operation at the country's largest
port against the requirement of 299. The number of cargo handling equipment is 285 but should
be 895. The weak infrastructure scenario speaks a lot on why the port is failing repeatedly to
facilitate the country's growing international trade.
 Security Issues: Hackings, Cybercrime, Data stealing are common phenomena in our country.
If our industries fails to store data safely, many issues may arises.
 Others: Weak Infrastructure, Lack of Safety Measures, Political Tensions, Labor Unrest,
Increased cost of Manufacturing are also some potential problems.
We have to find the best ways by which all of those problems can be solved and we will be able
to cope up with the digitalized world.
Now the question is could it be possible that Industry 4.0 advancements under the supervision
of BGMEA, is the way forward towards a sustainable apparel sector? How will such a high-tech
solution be implemented in a technologically challenged environment? How can factory
owners be educated on the importance of supply chain management when they do not even
understand it?

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INDUSTRY 4.0: The Way Forward
Map out Industry
4.0 strategy
Create initial pilot
projects
Defining the
Capabilities
Become a virtuoso
In data analysis
Transform into a
digital enterprise
Actively plan an
ecosystem approach
1 2 3 4 5 6
The Blueprint of our proposed plan
Figure 5: Industry 4.0 Advancements

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Autonomous robots:
The robot performs each task, including cutting, sewing a seam, adding a sleeve, and quality
inspection. Each step of the way, the computer vision guides the fabric. It starts with the
programming when the designer designs the good in 2D or 3D, the sew data is embedded in the
file th at goes right to the robot.
The direct sewing process means the fabric moving through a stationary sewing machine
oppositely Sewbot robots move the needle rather than the fabric. This cause sewing labor decrease
of 50-70% compared to the 10 workers on a conventional line. A human sewing line produces 83
t-shirts per hours compared to the robots at 143 t-shirts per hour. That’s a 72% increase in
production. The robots, working under the guidance of a single human handler, can make as many
shirts per hour as about 17 humans.
Additive manufacturing:
Additive manufacturing is a process of joining materials layer by layer to make objects from 3D
model data. It has already started to shape the future of fashion.3D printing opens new creative
fields for the fashion industry and allows adding up cutting-edge technology to traditional
techniques. Using this computer aided design (CAD) almost any shape can be manufactured
through 3D computer modeling whereas in traditional additive machining fixtures, cutter
reachability, diverse tooling are major constraints. It is easy to make changes in the design of the
clothing using this CAD model.
Additive manufacturing could reduce energy use by 50% and reduces material costs by up to
80% compared to traditional manufacturing.
Simulation:
The simulation run time represent total working hours run by the company to complete the order.
Generally, manufacturers are implementing overtime in order to meet the missed order. Industry
4.0 accumulates data, needed to simulate the current production line is entered into the ProModel
simulation software, to analyze the real source of the problem. From that result, the cycle time
could be reduced. This is very important for the related manufacturer to implement simulation to
increase their high first pass yield, high throughput times, and low variability in process times, low
WIP and subsequent cost.
Making Our Apparel Supply Chain More Efficient Using 4.0

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System integration:
An integrated operation of computer-automated system in which individual engineering,
production, marketing, and support functions of a manufacturing enterprise are organized as:
1. Integrated computer receives product orders provided by the business system.
2. The process-planning engineer provides the related process plans, and the product engineer
provides the product models.
3. The computer SI model is responsible to coordinate the activities necessary to process the
product orders, allocating resources, scheduling the work pieces, monitoring the progress
of activities, detecting and recovering from errors, and preparing reports on the status of
the manufacturing system.
Figure 6: A typical example of using PRO Model Simulation software to determine the operation time

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Augmented reality:
Augmented reality (AR) helps with versatile kind in garments manufacturing supply chain.
1. Designing phase: It is used in rapid prototyping, allowing the designer to view, change and
test specific features such as color or user interfaces using virtual 3D models of objects in
real world environments.
2. Plant layout designing: It supports a more effective simulation of virtual objects within real
environments, in order to test alternative design choices.
3. Assembly cycle optimizing: once the work cycles to produce a specific item have been
defines, putting them into practice within an assembly line in an effective way requires
optimization choices.
4. Production process designing: AR applications could improve CNC (Computer Numerical
Control) simulation.
5. Production process controlling: AR techniques allow the user who is controlling the robot
(e.g. through joysticks) to view additional information that can help him better to
accomplish his task.
Maintenance servicing: An expert system can tutor a remote employee, or a customer, in
performing maintenance tasks providing him with contextual systematic instructions directly
projected onto the real scene.
Big data:
All the data associated with a garments product can be used for trend analysis, customer behavior
analysis, forecasting etc. Apparel industry generates and creates various sources of data which data
is rapidly growing and changing. Industry 4.0 encompasses the ‘Internet of Things’ with the
combination of big data for analytics and assisting supply chain providing data analysis of:
1. Material: The fabric has various characteristics like yarn type, yarn count, yarn twist, weft
& warp density, weave structure etc.
2. Fashion Design: Data about the elements & principles of design, which combined together,
gives the design of a product. The design of a product is influenced mostly by human
emotions, fashion themes, occasion of wear etc.
3. Body Data: The body data can be in the form 2D or 3D data. For 2D, it is collected using
the conventional method of body measurement. For 3D, it is collected 3D body scanners.
These data can provide information like body measurement & body type.
4. Color: Data about color preference is an important aspect that influences a gamut of human
behavior.
5. Technical/Production design: The technical design allows the producer to understand that
how the product will be made. This makes the design of a product production friendly. It
includes knowledge of pattern making, sewing etc.

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Internet of things:
The IoT with the help of big data it has introduced artificial intelligence, machine learning,
achieving learning, generating knowledge, predicting actions and making judgments in
manufacturing industries including apparel sector. It is assisting supply chain through:
1. Enabling communication and connectivity between devices and data processing;
2. Establishing a mechanism to manage devices, including tasks such as adding or removing
devices, updating software and settings;
3. Gathering all the data produced by the devices and then analyze them to provide a
meaningful perspective to the companies or users;
4. Facilitating scalability to handle the increased flow of data and increasing number of
devices;
Protecting the data by adding the necessary functions to provide privacy and trust between the
devices and the users.
Cyber security:
Top five most cyber attacked industries in 2015-2018 are Healthcare, Manufacturing, Financial
services, Government, Transportation. As security failure will cost massive data loss,
confidentiality breaking, downtimes, reputational damage and financial loss, cyber security
provides plan security, network security and system integrity which is used for defending:
1. Physical access protection and process guidelines;
2. Network segmentation and cell protection;
3. Authentication and firewall logging;
4. Patch management with virus scan.
Cloud computing:
Cloud computing and storage solutions provide users and enterprises with various capabilities to
store and process their data in third-party data centers rather than have their own servers in their
own building. It relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar
to a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network. At the foundation of cloud computing is the
broader concept of shared services. Shared resources, data, and other sorts of information are
provided to computers and other devices on-demand. Cloud computing offers clothing, footwear,
and accessories businesses many benefits. It allows us to set up what is essentially a virtual office
to give us the flexibility of connecting to our business anywhere, any time. With the growing
number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment (e.g. smartphones, tablets),
access to our data is even easier.

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The industry 4.0 will completely remove the labor costs and increase the production level. The
reduced cost will add value to the revenue and more production means we will be able to export
more.
In 2016, PwC published their Global Industry 4.0 Survey on building the digital enterprise. Key
stats from within the report include the following:
 The companies surveyed that successfully implemented industry 4.0 expected to increase
their annual revenues by an average of 2.9% p.a.
 They also expected to reduce costs by an average of 3.6% p.a.
All in, totaling all the businesses surveyed, that amounts to a total of US $421bn in cost reductions
and US $493bn in increased annual revenues in the five years following the report.
According to an estimate from the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights, one robotic
sewing lines can replace a conventional line of 10 workers and produce about 1,142 t-shirts in an
eight-hour period, compared to just 669 for the human sewing line. With the presence of other
advancements, the productivity must increases.
The implementation of Industry 4.0 is possible in our country even though we are lagging behind
in technological development. Collaborations of different sector may help to sort out the ways to
embrace the industrial revolution.
Our government should take necessary steps to welcome the industrial revolution by collaborating
with our private sectors. Since huge amount of initial investment is required to adopt digital
advancements, the private sector should come forward along with govt. to give our nation a
digitalized universe. The plan will only be feasible if this collaboration is made.
The Financial Benefits of Industry 4.0 – Cost Reduction & Increased
Productivity
Feasibility of the Plan
Public
Sector
Private
Sector

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With an aim to use ‘Intelligent Manufacturing’ with ‘Industry 4.0’ concept, Suzhou-based Chinese
garment manufacturer., has drawn a deal with US’ SoftWear Automation to install 21 entirely
automated production lines for T-shirt manufacturing and announced to invest US $ 20 million in
its new plant in Arkansas. $1 million for infrastructure assistance for building improvements as
well as a $500,000 for worker training.
Tianyuan will use Sewbots of SoftWear Automation in its new automated lines. The Chinese
apparel giant will hire 400 full-time workers primarily from Arkansas within four years of starting
operations. It is said that these workers will be paid around $122/Day.
Automating the whole process, Tianyuan reports that right from cutting and stitching to finished
garments, the throughput time currently is nearly 4 minutes. Once operational, the lines will take
only 22 seconds to manufacture one T-shirt. Tang Xinhong, Chairman, Tianyuan Garments,
commented, “Around the world, even the cheapest labour market can’t compete with us. I am
really excited about this.”
Implementation of Industry 4.0: Real-life scenario
Figure 8: Industry 4.0 Machineries

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Industry 4.0 is the result of a tipping point in technology innovation. The groundwork for the
revolution was laid decades ago. The IoT, cloud, big data, and more is pushing industry 4.0
forward. This industry promises to change the way business is done. Business models will be
redefined, more processes will become automated, and organization will optimize their value chain
even further. Therefore, stay alive in this competitive environment, organizations will want to use
the benefits of industry 4.0 to develop a competitive advantage, improve revenue and profits, and
offer better customer experiences.
Being a developing country, Bangladesh apparel sector is the second largest in the world. Its
competitors are China, India who are ready to adopt the industrial revolution. If we lag behind then
we could never survive in this competitive world. Technology makes things easy to do, and we do
not even implement the industry 2.0. It shows how we are lag behind with respect to this
competitive wave of digitalization. However, time has come for the country to leapfrog and move
for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). If we fail to embrace this revolution, we will
never stand up again.
The supply chain of the Bangladesh apparel sector is not up the mark compare to our competitor.
There exists problems, inefficiencies and many lacking. We have to sort out those. The supply
chain can be modified with the help of industry 4.0 technologies. The Cyber Physical systems must
be implemented to sort out the current supply chain problems and to stand by within the modern
technological era. It is not that much easier to think that if we implement the advancements, we
will be able to get breakthrough performance in all sectors. Embracing the 4.0 will create problems
because Bangladesh is not technologically advanced. The technological environment is not up to
the mark, moreover the political issues; social issues will not allow embracing the Industry 4.0
easily. For this proper education systems should be started. Students along with young generation
should get proper IT knowledge. Since high technology requires high level of skilled worker, our
people should get proper training for that. The government should establish IT training centers to
help people develop about the IT knowledge.
Implementation of industry 4.0 will create a major problem for our country. That is huge number
of job loss. There are more than 4 million labor work in the apparel industry. Autonomous robots
and artificial intelligences will replace the worker, for this unemployment may occur. To sort out
this problem the government should create alternative job opportunities for those people. The
private sectors can come forwards in this regards.
The industrial revolution 4.0 can create a pathway for our apparel industry to advance into the
digital competitive world. As we all know that the future will rely on the digital wave of
technologies, if we lag behind then we will only see darkness in the future. To enlighten our future
with the light of success the digitalization is necessary. Thus, our country should embrace the new
industrial revolution with what capabilities it has. Our very future depends on it.
Conclusions

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Industrial Revolution
https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BGMEA). (n.d.). Trade
Information. Retrieved May 7, 2015, from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters
Association (BGMEA):
http://www.bgmea.com.bd/home/pages/TradeInformation#.VVQsV_mqqko
Lectra Looks to Put Industry 4.0 on Fast Track for Fashion
https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/business-news/lectra-helping-put-industry-4-0-fast-track-
fashion-75263/
Industry 4.0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0
Bayes, A. (2013, May 11). Bangladesh: A bottomless political basket case? Retrieved May 4,
2015, from The Financial Express: http://www.thefinancialexpress-
bd.com/old/index.php?ref=MjBfMDVfMTFfMTNfMV82XzE2OTAxNw==
Industry 4.0 and Sustainability - AGPR5
https://www.agpr5.com/en/news/industry-4-0-and-sustainability
Textile industry in Bangladesh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textile_industry_in_Bangladesh
McKinsey & Company. (2011). Bangladesh's Readymade Garments Landscape: The Challenge
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Mirdha, R. U. (2009, May 7). Key RMG players shift to automated systems. Retrieved from The
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Saha, S. (2011, May 10). The hidden lever to success. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from The Daily
Star: http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=184963
Supply Chain Management in Readymade Garments Industry, Bangladesh
https://journals.abc.us.org/index.php/abr/article/view/1056
Are we ready for Industry 4.0? Retrieved May 3, 2019, from The Dhaka Tribune:
https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/02/01/ready-industry-4-0
Supply Chain Management in Apparel Industry
https://fashion2apparel.blogspot.com/2017/02/supply-chain-management-apparel-industry.html
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