Feb. 24 — Digitalization is transforming the traditional production models at Chinese garment factories, according to the owners of two plants in China’s southern Guangdong province.
Zhou Yining, the owner of a fabrics supplier, told Yicai that thanks to financial support and technical guidance from Chinese cross-border online budget fashion retailer Shein, he built a nearly 20,000 square meters factory with full-process visual and automated management from when raw materials enter the production line to the dispatch of printed fabrics in Foshan’s Shunde district.
“Experienced craftsmen were previously needed for key positions at the digital printing plant,” Zhou noted. “After digitalizing, new employees can start working after just three to five days of training,” with more than 70 percent of workers being “newbies,” he added.
New workers can handle the job after simple training, Zhou said, adding that one of their main tasks is monitoring and operating automated equipment. The digital, intelligent, and lean upgrade and transformation of management have increased work efficiency by at least 10 times compared to traditional plants of the same scale, he pointed out.
Xie Shuangtao, the owner of a garment factory that supplies children’s clothing to Shein in Guangzhou’s Panyu district, said to Yicai that the number of his factories increased to five from one since allying with the e-commerce giant.
“Previously, the factory could only produce 5,000 to 6,000 pieces of clothing a month, while now it’s hundreds of thousands,” Xie pointed out. Besides being driven by the continuous growth of orders from Shein, the surge is also due to the use of automated production equipment, he said, adding that “machines have significantly increased work efficiency.”
Digital upgrading has also changed the work practices of Zhou and Xie.
Every procedure can be seen on a computer, from getting an order to shipping the product, Zhou noted. The person in charge can monitor the operation of factory equipment in the management system at any time, avoiding errors that are likely to occur in traditional plants when the business volume increases, he pointed out.
“I just need to take a look at the computer, and I know the daily shipping volume, production scheduling, and management issues of the factory,” Xie said, adding that these digital systems are made freely available to suppliers by Shein.
“We used to place new orders monthly, but now we place them almost every day,” Xie noted. “Doing so can effectively cut the company’s raw material and finished product inventory.”
近日，记者获悉，截至2024年底，SHEIN两年内已累计投入资金2.5亿元，围绕技术创新、培训支持、工厂扩建、社区公益服务等方面持续赋能供应商。SHEIN曾在2023年上半年宣布，5年内投入5亿元深化供应商赋能工作。此外，SHEIN还在绿色减碳领域对供应商提供加持，加大包括屋顶光伏、能效提升等绿色减碳项目在供应商群体中的推进力度。
回溯来看，2023年，SHEIN建立首个服装制造创新研究中心，持续输出柔性供应链标准并探索服装制造前沿技术。同时，兼顾供应链人才培养，两年来已累计投入1.7亿元，在技术创新上为供应商及产业数字化和精益化升级提供技术、研发、工具等支持。
2024年，SHEIN服装制造创新研究中心等还开展培训485场、覆盖超2万商次，两年来累计组织培训已达上千场，为供应商提供组织架构、生产管理、质量检查等多方面的培训，提升其管理及运营能力。SHEIN在2024年同期还开展了近60期人才认证考核、10场职业技能等级认定，为行业培养职业化的优秀技能和管理人才。
在工厂扩建方面，除了直接的资金支持外，SHEIN还从早期的建厂选址规划到环境布局、生产流程等方面为供应商提供全程指导。两年来，SHEIN已帮助超200家合作供应商工厂超50万平方米厂房实现了升级改造，受益人数近3.3万人。
SHEIN还推出旨在提升供应商社区员工幸福感的一系列公益项目。例如，公益项目“聚星光”已累计资助640多个供应商员工家庭，缓解他们在子女求学和重大疾病治疗等方面面临的暂时性困难。
近年来，SHEIN持续深耕和加码数字化供应链，超百亿元的供应链基建布局正在加速推进，将进一步带动产业和供应链上下游发展。据记者了解，位于广州增城、总投资百亿元的希音湾区供应链项目也正在加速建设中，将通过“绿色、智能、自动”的一体化供应链建设全球交付中心，三期全部达产后预计引进产业人才高峰期可达约10万人。