UPDATING PRODUCTION BOTTLENECKS IN GARMENT DECORATION WITH SOFTWARE AND BARCODE USE

When talking about overall workflow production in textiles it is assumed that the use of a barcode in the production process solves workflow bottlenecks. However, the barcode is only part of the solution and the scanner is only the replacement for the manual keyboard input function many of us use day to day. The real end2end workflow solution only works when a fully designed software solution with data exchange connected is integrated with the barcode.

The pure barcode is just the ticket to the car race, the data behind it turns your production into a formula 1 car on and off the racetrack from order placement to product shipment. The smaller the order the more critical this becomes.

What actual systems make a good fulfillment workflow?

Every garment’s position is controlled digitally and automatically during production with as much as possible being visualized for the operator. Then co-operation between operators, machinery and overall production tasks becomes seamless with all product specific data for decoration finishing being automatically prepared in the system and transferred to the machine. The cooperation between Aeoon and Smake has resulted in a unique machine for the DTG market. This is the optimal synergy between machine & workflow. Optimal workflow also means that both the customer and the printer/embroiderer can intervene digitally at any point. For example, to cancel a job one second before the print run or to add a second print or embroidery emblem. This unambiguous flexibility enables automatic data routing and provides every status of the individual textile garment during production. This allows maximum flexibility and speed and makes “one off just in time” production efficient and secure not only for companies producing, but for designers too. Each production stage status is logged, transmitted and communicated back to the consumer, allowing the textile garment to either be routed further on in the production process or blocking it entirely, providing a total digitally controlled quality management with zero error tolerance.

What does automation and visualization mean?

Every production facility gets to a point where new equipment needs to be purchased regardless of brand, and a period of adjustment is needed to get to know the idiosyncrasies of the equipment and how it effects your workflow of your existing systems. A significant proportion of companies both big and small forget about software, they are focused on the print or embroidery hardware and yes they are critical, however the flow of the production through your facility can offer you substantial cost savings and dramatically improve profitability and customer satisfaction.

Many companies expect connectivity and workflow itself doesn’t need to changed or be interrupted just because you have changed from a small single platen DTG printer to a larger Industrial printer, digital data transfer in the cloud allows for this maximum flexibility for the automation of different locations and the routing of production data. Software production and networking at the highest level enables “Just in time production” and “worldwide delivery” together with other production facilities. Uniform visualization on screens and through icons on the tag and language-independent digital projection onto the textile because true, unbiased real end two end workflow and cannot exist without direct integration of equipment.

The beauty of Cloud and Software as a service (SaaS)

Many small productions profit from the big ones and vice versa. Why the cloud SaaS is so important for digitally automated workflow is clear from the get-go. How can your business continuously put the time and resources into developing a system in excess of $200,000 and still need the continual beta testing, system maintenance, the fine tuning of an API for shopify, for DecoNetwork and others just because Australia Post made their own changes. How long does it take to onboard a new client? Businesses overall are geared to expect to pay only for an asset once, but then still need additional features whist almost expecting that there is no additional cost involved. The process and networking utilities described above in which a locally developed software solution, no matter how good, cannot provide the scalability for medium to large fulfilment of orders with time required once the overall development is complete, nor does it hope to support international orders and transactions with overseas partners as Smake does.

Systems developers like our own businesses continually need their own cashflow in order to benefits all their end users and without the SaaS model that the digital age demands software systems would stagnate. They need to protect their IP from piracy and therein lies a balance, the solution is in the ongoing support fees based on production volumes. The world is growing together and changing in order to produce as little co2 as possible in a sustainable manner and with respect for our planet, textiles should be finished where they are needed. That this can be done better and faster is made possible for all of us by the Cloud and with Smake a future-oriented machine manufacturer such as Aeoon offering independent open workflow solutions with integration.