Sonal Jindal & Chetan Mathur

Managing Partners- Medusa Source

As part of a supply chain management company in Medusa Source, Jindal & Mathur have their pulse on the development of technology in textile sourcing. The partners believe that among other things, AI and other technology will help make the supply chain more traceable and swifter.

“New technologies like blockchain are gaining momentum and larger companies are already investing in similar technical advancements and systems. AI-based tools and equipment are being used in warehouses for swift movement and storage of merchandise. All these advancements in information technology (IT) will make the whole supply chain swift and traceable,” said Jindal and Mathur.

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Akar Kumar

Marketing Manager- WFX (World Fashion Exchange)

WFX is a leader in the fashion technology realm. They provide cloud-based solutions to textile processes, including sourcing. Kumar believes that one of the premier things digital tools can achieve in the textile supply chain is making it more sustainable.   

“Fashion businesses increasingly recognise that digital transformation can be a powerful ally in their sustainability journey. Technology platforms, like PLM systems, offer end-to-end traceability—allowing brands to track materials from source to shelf. This not only ensures ethical sourcing but also enables businesses to measure and report on their sustainability initiatives transparently. 

By leveraging digital tools, brands are achieving both operational efficiency and environmental responsibility, proving that profitability and sustainability can go hand in hand,” said Kumar.

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William E Connor

CEO- William E Connor and Associates Ltd.

The Connor Group helps businesses all over the world make their supply chains more resilient. The CEO believes that the key to a robust sourcing network is having a healthy interplay of technologies in the supply chain. He believes that businesses need to utilize digitization, automation, and analytics to improve their sourcing capabilities.

“Sourcing will need to include seamless digital platforms to link trade partners together for better communication and management of the supply chain. By digitising the supply chain and leveraging collaboration, automation, analytics, and achieving flexibility, a robust and comprehensive global trade management platform creates value by not only providing sourcing options, but also improving margins, speed, agility and risk management,” said Connor.

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Katrina Duck

Enterprise Account Executive- Inspectorio Inc.

Inspectorio is a solutions-provider for supply chain management, making supply chains more robust through data-driven solutions. Duck expounds on how technology has made contacting different tiers of suppliers easier. She explains further that with new technologies like AI, getting data at every step of the supply chain is becoming easier.

“The first time I heard the word traceability was just over six years ago. I was asked if we could trace a PO to the farm/forest/field level, but back then the only option was to pick up the phone and try to explain to every single tier ‘why’ we needed to contact their upstream supplier. Documents were sent via email, WhatsApp or WeChat — a painful process that took weeks to just trace one PO.

Fast forward to now, we have got so many traceability-focused technology solutions that are digitising, standardising, collating and analysing the information from all tiers. Not only has technology made it easier to contact the tiers, but also to collect the documents in a much more efficient way. 

We still have a long way to go — no single solution is scalable yet — but we have come so far in this space already. And with AI entering the scene, I am excited for all the amazing ideas and collaborations that will enable us to take traceability even further. The possibilities are endless!” said Duck.

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Conclusion

It is clear that technologies like AI and blockchain have key roles to play in the future of apparel and textile sourcing. With these technologies, not only is there potential to streamline the procurement process but also improve sustainability and traceability in the supply chain.

Fibre2Fashion’s interview section contains interviews with textile industry leaders on how AI is being implemented by them in their day-to-day working. This includes perspectives from industry bigwigs, startup founders, sourcing heads, supply chain solutions providers, and more regarding the rising role of AI and AI-like technologies in apparel and textile sourcing.

Hence, the Fibre2Fashion interview section is a veritable resource to know the various ways in which companies approach digital tools. These interviews provide not only the current scenario regarding the incorporation of digital tools into the textile industry but also illuminate the future of AI and other such technologies going forward.