With recent changes in consumer behavior, the rise of e-commerce, and the impact of the pandemic, the fashion industry is facing rapidly changing markets and supply chain disruptions.
Digitization has become a necessary trend for the industry to adapt to these changes. J&B International, a fabric supplier for international brands, foresaw the digitalization of the apparel industry years ago. Lin Meng Ting, Deputy Manager of J&B International's product department, states that digitalization is an inevitable trend for the clothing industry. It helps to enhance communication and collaboration across time and space for both brand clients and fabric suppliers.
J&B International is a well-known functional fabric supplier in Taiwan, established for over twenty years. It provides various fabrics such as woven, knitted, and laminated, and is favored by many global sportswear brands. Its main clients include Nike, Lululemon, Canada Goose, Burton, Roxy, Schöffel, and others, with products marketed in over 50 countries worldwide.
Many international brands started their digital workflow and 3D digital design years ago. J&B International's clients also increasingly demand digitization. 'When your clients make such demands, preparing and researching digitization too late can put you behind' says Lin Meng Ting.
For J&B International, having foresight and innovative thinking has always been a valued internal capability. Thus, when Frontier.cool launched its digital collaboration platform service, J&B International quickly decided to collaborate with them.
'Through Frontier.cool's digital tools and collaboration platform, along with a complete set of digital consultancy services, we have built J&B International into a supplier with digital capabilities, which adds service value to our international brand clients and enhances J&B's competitiveness,' Lin Meng Ting notes.
For sales staff, establishing deep customer relationships is very important. The traditional method involves using frequent emails to provide clients with fabric product information and communicate their needs. However, the data and reports on Frontier.cool's digital collaboration platform are clear and record all communication processes. Managers can track the status of various fabrics and client communications from the system.
Additionally, for developing customized products for brand clients, the features on Frontier.cool's platform also offer good confidentiality and truly add value across time and space.
In developing new clients, Frontier.cool helps J&B to be more convenient and visually diverse than before. For example, on the platform, we set up digital fabric libraries, allowing new clients to see J&B's products immediately without the constraints of time and geography.
Each digital fabric piece can be viewed in a 3D Viewer, showing how the fabric looks on clothing models, helping new clients understand J&B more quickly, conveniently, and comprehensively. This is very competitive for sales staff in developing new clients.
'One of the advantages of using the Frontier.cool platform is that it allows us to describe the fabric in a richer way, not just as fabric,' says Lin Meng Ting. Some brands require suppliers to have digital capabilities and provide virtual garments, which necessitates u3m files. The platform also offers u3m file downloads, helping companies reduce waste, increase product selection accuracy, and further reduce carbon footprint costs.
'For sales staff, being fast, timely, and grabbing attention is very important when facing new clients!' In the era of Omnichannel marketing, combining fabric digitization with physical marketing (through exhibitions or sending sample fabrics) is a complete integration of virtual and physical marketing.
Sharing digital fabric products through various social media platforms allows a wider customer base to see J&B's products at the earliest opportunity, making digital fabric the best way to showcase marketing.
The challenges facing the textile industry are not only digitization but also the upcoming net-zero carbon emissions. We also recognizes these challenges and have become a strategic partner with Made2Flow, launching Eco-Impactor™ as a result. J&B International highly appreciates this value-added service. 'J&B started practicing sustainability and environmental protection long ago.'
J&B also integrated Frontier.cool's platform with the company's internal ERP system, truly realizing an online digital fabric library system, making it more convenient and timely for sales staff to find fabric information and promote business.
If this success story has inspired you to step up your digitization game, get in touch for a demo!