End-of-life of PLM: Track & Traceability

03 October 2022, Mumbai:

The WHY of the requirement for tracking and tracing in the end-of-life phase of product lifecycle management necessitates dwelling on reducing total life-cycle costs and environmental impacts the goods manufacturing inflicts. Also outlining what can be a problem-solving credible approach is expected to be remedial and corrective to the current scenario the world is in. The article also gives meaningful trade insights around cutting-edge practices topically deployed these days in product lifecycle management (PLM) in the textile field and its impact on the landscape.

The point of discussion & call of action is how to achieve ideally an integrated system spanning the entire lifecycle of design, production, distribution, and end-of-life consumer treatment of products in its entirety.

The article harps on the aspect of recycling in the textile industry and puts a spotlight on the need & vitality for the application of product lifecycle management (PLM) on the back of new emerging techniques & technologies.

Decoding PLM

The product life cycle broadly is a period through the process over which any product per se gets to develop, introduced/placed to the marketplace, and subsequently needs to be withdrawn from the market. Increasingly it has been witnessed that it is started to adopt IOTs, Algorithmic mapping as we move ahead. As per the copybook style, It typically has four pieces of this lifecycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline so to say.

Production

It is explainable why firms need to improve the way they manage their product development both pre & post-production. PLM systems are very handy & meaningful for (T&C) textile and apparel manufacturers as this is one customer-facing industry in the changing paradigm needing a faster turnaround while responding to evolving fashion trends. Also as a use case aligns with vendors & long global supply chains while staying lean & mean.

The narrative of Track & Traceability

The fundamental Traceability phenomenon is to integrate the value chain partners permitting tracking and tracing of articles transparently at every piece of the textile supply chain. Most simplistically stated Traceability is all about enabling mechanism to trace the whole lifecycle of an article's product lifecycle holistically starting from the base raw material to the end-consumer, entailing the waste disposal and recycling side of it. The Textile Tracer Assessment, a recent trade initiative is a detailed guide to physical tracer technologies applicable to the textile supply chain.

Light in the tunnel

There is a pressing need presently for 'Traceability and transparency' ensuring in the textile supply chain the need for achieving sustainability in the textile and fashion business enterprises.

The rationale playing out here is the grass root approach of inclusive minimalistic use of raw materials grounds up mixing/replacing it with recycled materials for holistic quality enhancement.

Let us say what will be the magic sauce to invigorate the process of making what you know Textile/Fashion as one of the worst pollution-causing industry segments bringing a viable turnaround on the back of today’s customer commitment to mindfully spending & consuming articles leaving less & less environmental-impact factor emanating out of fashion, apparel, and textile industry as a whole.

The heightened consciousness around sustainability syndrome is more a discoverability revealing that there is a palpable cut down in energy and environmental costs than ever before making a strong business case.

Considering that the global economy is in choppy waters & is hostage to the geopolitics risks and unpredictability, therefore, post-covid hindsight wisdom of the need for a sustainable lifestyle can come in as a panacea.

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