JAN - MAR 2022 BUSINESSMANAGEMENTREVIEW.COM8Technology in the textile industry, specifically bedding, ranges from outdated equipment on a production floor to state of the art automated lines, home-grown ERP systems to full-fledged SAP installations. In between all of this are mounds of paperwork from faxed orders to shipping documents and historical records that have yet to be converted to a digital medium. Much of these systems and equipment serve to keep the businesses running. Producing product, shipping it, and moving on to the next project serve as the bulk of what is done. So what challenges are present in the industry? That requires a slightly deeper look.Many companies are producing products with a large degree of uniqueness in specifications, labeling, and packaging. Retailers not only have their own private label programs, but they also purchase items under national brand licenses, and some from a smattering of manufacturer-created brands. This leads to a very unique world when compared to others in the larger textile industry and brings a few challenges with it. These challenges include everything from economies of scale on raw materials to rapid product design on an unprecedented scale to production efficiencies all the way through analyzing data on what sold at retail level and why. Another challenge common in the industry is the role of IT in business strategy. To TECHNOLOGY IN TEXTILES-BEDDINGBy Brian Parnes, CIO, Down Lite InternationalOPINIONIN MY
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