Conference Report: 3rd Annual Conference of the European Technology Platform Conference Report: 3rd Annual Conference of the European Technology Platform May 28-29 2008, in Brussels, Belgium.
David J. Tyler
EURATEX, the European Association of the Textile Industries, provided a showcase of EU-funded projects at its third annual public conference with the main theme of mass customization in the textile and clothing industry. This is the major European networking meeting for our sector and there are good opportunities to interact with industry, technology providers and EU policy makers. Presentations from some previous conferences can be accessed here.
There were three themes and three sub-conferences: the final conference of INNO-Vention; the 3rd public conference of LEAPFROG; and the 3rd Mass Customisation conference featuring DIGITEX and SERVIVE.
This project focusses on technology transfer (TT) across sectors. It builds on experiences within the EuroSpace Agency Technology Transfer programme. It was found that of the 34 TT programmes studied, only 2 were self-sustaining, so this highlighted the challenges and the importance of understanding the processs better. INNO-vention worked within the aerospace, automotive annd textiles sectors, considering possibilities, networking and partnerships, communication and intellectual property. The overview presentation is accessible here and had the following main conclusions:
The rest of the session was taken by Thomas Fischer (DITF-MR) who described the "ideal case" of cross-sectoral technology transfer, and by an expert panel discussion involving Thomas Heinemeier – European Commission, David Raitt – European Space Agency, Matthias Konrad - Bayern Innovativ, Herbert De Breuck – Luxilon, and Thomas Fischer - DITF-MR.
"Leapfrog is a joint research and innovation initiative of the European textile and clothing industry, led by Euratex, aiming at a technology breakthrough in the clothing industry. It brings together a critical mass of European textile and clothing companies and research centres which will attempt to develop and implement new ways of optimal fabric preparation for clothing production, automated garment manufacture, virtual garment prototyping, supply chain integration and mass customisation. The ultimate goal of LEAPFROG is to achieve a step change in productivity and competitiveness of Europe's clothing sector and to decrease its dependence on the labour cost factor."
There is a Newsletter dated June 2006 here.
A Presentation on Leapfrog dated November 2007 is here.
An overview of the project was given by Mauro Scalia who said the consortium were just commencing the final year of a 4-year project. There are four research areas: fabric preparation, automated production, 3D virtual prototyping and integration of the textile/clothing supply chain. There were no details of specific advances during the past year. However, we were told that all interim targets have been reached and there is progress in all the research domains. The next stage is commercial exploitation.
Yaron Goldstein spoke about "Virtual Prototyping of a customised corporate wear collection". The presentation started with a video that can be accessed from the Browzwear website here. Much of the presentation was taking us through features of VStitcher. He then went on to refer to Groupe Flory SA, one of the Leapfrog industrial partners. In 2006, the company collected data on lead times for products (with relatively small changes involved) and the average was about 4 months. There was also a problem of too many prototypes: from 74 only 39 were selected. Browzwear softwear brought efficient methods of costing garments linked to detailed specification. It was not clear how this went beyond other PDM systems that are available to clothing companies.
Herve Francois spoke on "Efficient and reliable colour communication between textile printer and garment manufacturer". This speaker is part of ColorWeb, one of the industrial partners. One aspect of the company is to combine "competence of textile creation and image processing with industrial know-how of digital printing on textiles and textile finishing. We produce both small quantities, starting with 1 meter, and large series for daily production runs of 35.000 meters." One can infer that this part of the business has allowed development work for colour management. The speaker referred to recurring problems of colour communication, characterisation of colour and matching of colour. Each of these has been the subject of activity. Project objectives include:
The technologies involves seemed standard: colour measurement using a spectrophotometer, assessing the match using Delta E values, integrating objective measurement of colour within quality procedures and using LAB values for communication. Presumably, the heart of the project concerns integration, but we were not told of any findings about this.
Finally, Alessandro Canepa talked briefly on "Pilot application of RFID technology". He is the representative of Fratelli Piacenza Spa, an Italian company specialising in cashmere fabrics and garments. The concept is to use RFID tags through the whole process of production and then into retail. The aim is to enhance production and logistics control, and to combat counterfeiting and theft. The case study appears to be in the early stages.
Anyone wanting to make an assessment of how far the objectives of the project are being realised must have been left wondering what has been achieved. All of the technologies considered are in the public domain and the reported project work were all concerned with implementation. If there were research challenges to do with integration, these were not articulated. Those of us who have followed the major technology projects of the 1980s (the [TC]2 project in the US, the various BRITE scheme projects in the EU, and the ASS project of the Japanese) will wonder whether LEAPFROG will go the same way. The major lesson learned in the 1980s was that automation projects could, in principle, be solved, but not at a cost to allow competition with low labour cost manufacturers. Nothing was presented at this conference that would lead anyone to think that that major lesson need to be revised.
Mass Customisation, or the move from mass production to customisation, is the third pillar of the EURATEX strategy (an overview is here). There are now a number of projects contributing to this strategy, and 50% of the conference was devoted to this theme. In many ways, the mass customisation presentations explored new ground and significantly advanced community knowledge of what can be achieved.
The DIGITEX project was described in some detail by Gerrit Koele of Ten Cate. "This project relates to the technological development of digital textile finishing. Textile finishing processes enable functional characteristics, such as fire resistance and self-cleaning properties, to be applied to fabrics. This digital technology will also make it possible to develop new applications for textile materials and to achieve advantages relating to processes, which will increase the competitiveness of the European textile industry." [source] The current areas of interest are: chromic materials, controlled-release materials, anti-bacterial and anti-static finishes, hydrophobic and hydrophilic finishes, coated textiles and digital dyeing. They have identified novel approaches based on 3D drop positioning into and onto the substrate, and realise that much more work is needed on drop-substrate interactions. The vision is not only to print textiles, but also to prvide finishes digitally, allowing small batches to be processed cost-effectively and to further the concept of customisation. The project continues until 2010. (Background for understanding the complexities of textile digital printing can be found here.)
Digitex has 3 objectives relating to functionality
George Kartsounis of ATC provided an overview of SERVIVE, due to start in September 2008. The project seeks to build mass customisation on a large scale, based on small-scale success stories. Problems for SMEs have already been identified: technology risks, the level of investment is high, there are knowledge gaps, the supply chain is immature and inadequately supported. SERVIVE aims to supply answers:
Each of these initiatives was considered in terms of the project vision. For example, the Virtual Customer Advisor will provide expert advice (utilising an artificial intelligence approach) to assist customers selecting from choices offered by participating mass customisation suppliers.
Two small-scale success stories followed this talk.
UNICATUM has, at present, one shop. The owner/manager is Christian Lott, who has worked for many years with scanning technology. From the website:
UNICATUM offers you custom-made clothing, shoes and accessories
Our product range on offer
For Ladies:
Suits with a skirt or trousers, jackets, pants, skirts, dresses and blouses all custommade
For Gentlemen:
Suits, jackets, waistcoats, pants, overcoats and shirts as well as Leather goods: custom-made shoes and belts made from the same leather
Individual Style
Your own personal needs, details and wishes are put together to make your own individual suit. Our advice helps towards the desired result.
Perfect Fit with latest 3D technology
So that your outfit becomes a first class flare merged between design and the perfect fit, we take your measurements with the latest 3D bodyscanners
The UNICATUM shop in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
The presentation explained that there was a huge demand for customised products, and that plans are in an advanced state to move into new premises with 200 square metres of floor space. The move will coincide with the launch of the SERVIVE project. The floor plan identified a design lounge, a samples room, a scanning booth, a room for pattern development and a microworkshop where customers could see their garments being assembled if they were so minded.
The other case was given the title: Open Garments. The presenter was Carine Moitier of Bivolino.com. She started by talking enthusiastically about the "long-tail theory". Sales volume plots suggest that the main body of sales is shrinking and the long tail is increasing. Wherever this plot matches the market, there are opportunities for niche products and mass customisation. An earlier presentation can be accessed here. |
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Bivolino.com commenced trading using the web in 1998, after having 50 years of previous experience in shirt manufacture. The product is still shirts, but customers can now design (by selecting options) an exclusive product. Various aspects of the company have IP protection and the story has been one of growth. Manufacturing is offshore and lead times are about 2 weeks. The starting price is 50 euros.
There are many partners. Of interest within the UK is the made-to-measure shirt offering of Marks & Spencer. Bivolino has many ambitions to develop the service, and the "open Garments" project provides a means to do this. On the agenda is the use of textile digital printing to customise designs and the development of innovative manufacturing plants. The principle is to empower the consumer and to develop design creativity within the consumer community.
This presentation was only slightly modified from that given in 2007, accessed here. Some points that made an impression for me are as follows:
Industrial Research Priorities of FP7
Herbert von Bose (Director Industrial Research, European Commission)
Dr von Bose was the most senior figure to appear on the platform, and he gave an overview of the key issues he had identified since taking up his post last year.
Mass Customisation in Clothing and Fashion
Frank Pillar (RWTH Aachen University and MIT)
Although this was the only academic presentation, I have to say that Frank Pillar came across as a catalyst for innovative action. The content was clear, interesting and informative.
He used numerous case studies, from many retail sectors, to develop his arguments. These were concerned with the problems of conventional retailing, but also with the successes and failures of mass customisation initiatives. The key to success is to offer consumers a new shopping experience, supported by real customer relationship management. Many pilot studies have failed because there was no coherent business model. There was no "mass" in mass-customisation! As an example of developing a novel customer experience, he pointed to Threadless and their excursion into the printed t-shirt market.
Some useful resources:
http://www.mass-customization.de: General web site with plenty of information.
http://mass-customization.blogs.com: Frank Pillar's blog reporting new trends and development in the area of mass customization.
The
MCPC Conference is a biannual event on mass customization with a large track on MC of textiles. Abstracts can be downloaded at www.mcpc2005.com and www.mcpc2007.com.
The next event is in Oct 2009 in Helsinki.
The media page at the RWTH group web site has some reports on mass customization and open innovation:
The Technology & Service Providers View was contributed by Rainer Trieb of Human Solutions (Germany). The company has 220 scanning systems in use with applications in apparel manufacture, mail order retail, army and police personnel, R&D (measurement surveys for optimised fit). The German market is considered to be in excess of 2 biollion euros - not a niche market any more!
In addition to over 70 shops offering made-to-measure clothing utilising the company's INTAILOR interfacing solution are a growing number of web portals as follows:The software links shops and manufacturers, extracts scanned body measurements, enables personalised product configurations, manages client/product/order data and the delivery process. Reference was made to a Zitex report which looked at the degree of consumer acceptance in relation to the time delays for delivery, and it was found that 8 days gives nearly 100% acceptance. This becomes the target for MTM retailing.
The Retailers View was provided by Simon Hjelte of SOM Concept (Sweden). The key, according to this retailer, is to find out what interests the customer. The SOM Concept system has been operating now for two years, providing formal (tailored) and informal (fashion) products. Denim is the most common fabric. Three tailors are working full-time within the business. There are three priorities:
Strong links between retail and producer are essential. Producers should not try to fit MC products into their existing production systems, but engineer production systems specifically for customised garments.
The Manufacturers View was given by Stephan Verin of UP-Tex (France). UP-Tex is the name of a cluster of French clothing & textile companies dedicated to Mass customisation. They are developing a new business model for manufacturing. Two presentations (in French) from 2007 are here and here. Their thinking is based on a report from the Institut de la Mode (2006) with the title: La mass customisation: un nouveau business model. This estimated that in France, 42% of retail clothing products were sold in sales or some other special offers. This suggests that the potential for mass customisation is high. The CAPCUSTO project has been developed to turn this vision into reality, and it starts early 2009.
These presentations were followed by a short Question & Answer session.
Is Mass Customisation a North European issue? It was pointed out that Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece have less than 10% of consumers with broadband internet access.
What is the experience of return rates? Typically 3%. Customers who have a stake in designing the product have a loyalty to it. The retail environment is important - the shopping "experience" helps to reinforce customer acceptance. Some sewing alterations may be needed, and suppliers need to offer this service to maintain ccustomer satisfaction.
What can be done with textile supply for mass customisation? Technology is significant - investment in small batch processing facilities is needed. Enhanced infrastructures need to be developed for MC products. Digital printing has the potential to produce small batches to order.
The ETP leaders perceived this conference as a successful showcase of activity over the past year. The mass customisation presentations were regarded as a significant contribution to sustainability and to Europe-based supply chains.
The MC initiatives were the most significant for the UK, as we are somewhat like Southern Europe in our lack of interest in MC retailing (athough the problem for us is not lack of broadband connectivity). The variety of project work (addressing technologies, infrastructure and interfaces with consumers) seems well designed to move the mass customisation cnocept forward.
Information about an on-line textile and clothing dictionary was available at the conference. "The main added value of the guide is to overcome the language barriers on the new markets and to avoid useless misunderstanding arising from unfamiliarity with local specific terms". The blurb states that there are 2000 terms in the dictionary (some with illustrations) and these are in 16 languages.
Whilst this should help bridge language barriers, there are limited benefits for educational use. There is no index and no indication of how the definitions were derived. The 11th edition of Textile Terms and Definitions (2002) has about 4000 terms compiled by people who were specialists in their respective fields. For technical content, this volume continues to be the definitive resource.
Report for:
Department of Clothing Design & Technology,
Hollings Faculty,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Old Hall Lane,
Manchester, M14 6HR.
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