The digital revolution is here, and that’s good news for the fashion industry. Cutting-edge digital design tools will help garment manufacturers cut costs by millions of dollars, increase throughput, reduce waste, and – most importantly – stay competitive in the age of “fast fashion.” That’s the message Gerber Technology plans to deliver at the 2017 Texprocess tradeshow in Frankfurt, Germany on May 9 through 12.

Though lagging a bit compared to other industries, the fashion industry is on the verge of a huge digital technology revolution. Today, everyone in the industry – from major players to small startup labels – is talking about the industry’s digital transformation and how it can revolutionize the way garments are designed, created, and purchased. Mike Elia, president and CEO of Gerber Technology, says the shift is driven by a more tech-savvy customer base, a faster “fast fashion” cycle, and the need to solve massive inventory and returns issues.

“For hundreds of years, the fashion and apparel industry has ’chased the needle’ in pursuit of lower costs,” Elia says. “Today, as fashion cycles get shorter and more customers buy online, companies are getting crushed by having the wrong inventory and customer returns. Now, with advances in technology especially for flexible materials, companies are turning to digital technologies to solve these problems.”

The event in Frankfurt is an opportunity for Gerber to demonstrate to industry leaders how easy it can be to connect systems, allowing data to flow seamlessly from design and development all the way through their supply chain, leveraging software and IoT technologies to enhance visibility and efficiency. To accompany and consult individual transformation processes at the single user is Gerber’s defined objective here. Therefore, Gerber has developed its Texprocess presentations around the theme of “Embrace Your Digital Reality.”

Elia says the new theme was developed as a way to show the industry that anyone can leverage digital technology and cutting-edge solutions. “The ‘Your’ in ‘Embrace Your Digital Reality’ is critical. This is about the democratization of fashion and apparel so that anyone in the world no matter where they are, technology-wise, can reap the benefits digital solutions have to offer,” he says.

“Everyone is in a different place when it comes to technology. But we believe that Gerber can help all companies work to embrace these new solutions and move forward.” Elia adds that the globally present company has made it a priority to ensure that its technology solutions are within reach of anyone who wants them. "Our goal is to make these technologies easy to buy, easy to consume, and easy to use even if you're a small- or medium-sized company,” says Mike Elia.

Digital Solutions

At this year’s Texprocess, Gerber will showcase its Digital Solutions including the newest releases of Yunique PLM product lifecycle management software, as well as Accu-Mark the industry-leading pattern design, grading, marker making and production planning software, Accu-Mark 3D and Accu-Plan. Since Gerber’s Digital Solutions architecture uses common file structures, data can easily be passed to the cut room, where smart machines, like the Gerberspreader XLs series and Gerber Paragon line of multi-ply Gerbercutters, can process the order with a simple barcode scan. A closed-loop, end-to-end Digital Solution like Gerber’s, that integrates software and smart machines, allows companies to automate their entire process and streamline data and workflow necessary to provide insight, maximize throughput, minimize errors and reduce labor costs to be competitive in mass production environments.

Presentations by Gerber experts at on-site supporting events during Texprocess will include

Changing the Game – Extending the Boundaries of Supply-Chain-Visibility, Software Solution – Process – The Human Factor: How to get everybody on Board, Smart factory: Technology enabling digitization of the apparel industry, Technology and its Impact on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

Gerber Technology at Texprocess 2017

Hall 4.0 booth B31