How to attract Generation Z workers to work in factories?
How can clothing companies attract Generation Z workers to work in their factories?
Breaking the cocoon: Awakening moment in the industry dilemma
In Shaxi, Zhongshan, a "Chinese leisure clothing town" with thousands of garment companies, Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing, which has been rooted in Shaxi for more than 20 years, took the lead in tearing open the iron curtain of traditional manufacturing: when its peers were still using paper work orders to dispatch workers, its digital workshops had achieved a revolutionary leap of 30% increase in labor efficiency and 40% shortening of delivery cycle. In 2024, Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing will continue to explore the single-line multiple-model production model, and add a new floor of boutique workshops in May to solve the industry pain points of complex styles and small order quantities in small orders with quick response.
"We went everywhere to learn and research with our peers and found that everyone was facing the same problem, but there was no better solution. So we had to solve the problem together with our partners." After the research, Deng Jun decided that Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing could only "cross the river by feeling the stones" to achieve digital transformation. "I went to talk to suppliers one by one about how to connect to the digital system, hoping to use digital technology to realize the visualization, digitization and standardization of the production process, thereby improving production efficiency, reducing costs and improving product quality." Deng Jun recalled that Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing embarked on the journey of digital transformation three years ago.
Starting from 2022, Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing will build a new industrial park, plan and layout a digital chemical plant, and transform the company into a smart clothing manufacturing company integrating R&D, design, production and supply chain management. Digital transformation is not achieved overnight, but a systematic project. Through independent research and development and cooperation with suppliers, Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing has gradually built a complete digital production management system.
In the digital cutting center of Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing's single-story building, the reporter witnessed a disruptive scene: the automatic cutting bed completed the precise cutting of 200 layers of fabric in 29 seconds, which is 17 times more efficient than traditional electric shears. The intelligent cutting piece warehouse is connected to multiple links by an automatic guided robot to implement the storage and access of task cargo boxes and the precise docking of data. Deng Jun did some calculations: "The time from cutting to garment production has been shortened from 3 days across floors to 0.5-2 hours to complete the first piece off the line. The daily output of the factory has increased from 30,000 pieces to 100,000 pieces, and the annual output has increased from 10 million pieces to 20-25 million pieces. This is exactly why we dare to accept the "24-hour lightning order" in the live broadcast room."
In 2024, Jinding Zhizao will become the first digital and intelligent demonstration factory in Zhongshan's clothing industry. The transformation account book that Deng Jun showed to the Yangcheng Evening News Omnimedia reporter showed that after 36 months of system transformation, its key production indicators have fully pushed forward the industry benchmark. This "digital surgery" not only removed the enterprise's lesions, but also the chronic disease of the entire labor-intensive industry.
According to the "2025-2030 China Textile and Apparel Industry Panoramic Survey and Development Trend Forecast Report" by China Research and Consulting, the industry's intelligent equipment penetration rate will exceed 45% in 2025, but the real value explosion point lies in "data assetization" - through the collection of data throughout the production process, enterprises can optimize energy consumption by 15%-20% and shorten the R&D cycle by 50%. The digital transformation of Jinding Zhizao, a Guangdong clothing company located in the Pearl River Delta, has not only brought great changes to the company itself, but also provided new ideas and references for the development of the clothing industry in Guangdong and even the whole country.
"The founder has the genes of Guangzhou Baima Wholesale Market, understands the market and embraces the market. We are very clear that efficiency is an inevitable requirement for the development of the clothing industry." Deng Jun said with deep emotion that in the context of increasingly fierce market competition, clothing companies need to continuously improve production efficiency and delivery speed to meet customer needs. The application of digital technology will help companies realize the automation and intelligence of the production process, thereby improving production efficiency and delivery speed.
The golden age of China's textile and apparel industry has never ended, but the script has changed. When the wave of digitalization hits, many "Jinding Intelligent Manufacturing" in this traditional industry are interpreting the sexiest evolutionary story.
