5 reasons why we must automate

For small textile businesses today, automation isn’t just nice to have — it’s a must, says Aleksandra Malhotra.

Businesses in the textile industry face tough challenges in surviving and growing. They constantly need to keep up with the competition by adapting to new designs, speeding up production, managing sourcing, controlling costs, and integrating new technologies. Whether it’s a small home textile D2C brand, or a growing fabrics manufacturer, businesses constantly need to streamline operations, reduce errors, and scale efficiently.

The traditional ways of running textile manufacturing — like manually tracking inventory, maintaining separate production logs, and keeping scattered sales records — are no longer practical in today’s fast-paced tech-oriented manufacturing industry. Indian textile manufacturers must make the decision to embrace automation now.

The shift towards automation
Technavio estimates that the textile industry’s automation market will grow by $664 million between 2025 and 2029. This increasing adoption of automation aligns with the expansion of the Indian textiles market, which is projected to grow at a 10 per cent CAGR, reaching $350 billion by 2030, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation.

India, the world’s second-largest producer of textiles, has an industry that spans both organised and unorganised sectors, significantly contributing to GDP and employing millions. Comprising units of varying sizes and scales, broadly categorised as MSMEs, the industry benefits from a highly skilled workforce. To fully leverage this advantage, integrating automation is crucial for enhancing efficiency and unlocking the sector’s true potential.

According to Udyam Registration (formerly Udyam Aadhaar), between September 2015 and June 2020, 6,51,512 textile manufacturing MSMEs were registered. Given the five-year gap since this data was last recorded, it is reasonable to estimate a growth of at least 10–15 per cent in the textile sector and over 20 per cent in the broader MSME sector.

Why automation matters
As textile businesses grow, they face challenges like:

• Managing multiple sales channels
• Expanding inventory
• Tracking production cycles

Automation — through barcode systems and ERP solutions — provides full visibility of operations, helping businesses:

• Reduce errors
• Make data-driven decisions
• Optimise production and inventory

The industry is changing fast. To scale efficiently, Indian textile manufacturers must embrace automation now.

Key challenges in India’s textile industry
The textile industry operates in a fast-changing market where precision, cost control, and efficiency are critical. For MSME textile businesses, manual processes create major roadblocks. Here’s how automation can solve common challenges:

Managing diverse raw materials: Textile production involves various materials — cotton, silk, wool, synthetics — each requiring different tracking and storage. Manual tracking leads to overstocking, shortages (especially during peak production), delays, and extra costs. Automation ensures accurate inventory control, reducing waste and optimising production.

Handling bulk orders with customisation: Textile manufacturers often receive large-volume orders with product variants — for example, 10,000 meters of fabric, with every 1,000 meters in a different design or colour. Stitching patterns and embroidery add complexity, making manual tracking prone to errors and delays. Automated order management simplifies customisation tracking, preventing production bottlenecks.

Inaccurate costing and profitability losses: Without real-time cost monitoring, businesses struggle to calculate expenses — including raw materials, labour, machine downtime, and logistics.

Example: a carpet manufacturer discovered too late that fabric wastage was adding 15 per cent to production costs. An automated system would have tracked wastage instantly, helping to cut unnecessary expenses.

Disconnected systems and lack of visibility: Many textile businesses rely on isolated spreadsheets and manual tracking, making it hard to monitor shop-floor operations, supply chain issues, and labour productivity. Automation centralises data, providing real-time tracking of materials, outputs, and waste.

Example: if planned vs. actual production shows a 10% variance, a manager using an automated system can spot the issue early and prevent disruptions.

Managing multiple warehouses and stock transfers: Textile manufacturers often store fabrics across multiple warehouses, factories, and distribution centres. Without a centralised system, some locations experience stockouts of high-demand fabrics, while others hold excess inventory. It’s hard for businesses to handle inter-warehouse transfers, and prevent discrepancies.

Example: a wholesaler stores different types of fabrics — like cotton, silk, and polyester-based on local demand. However, with manual tracking, popular fabrics, such as stocking cooling cotton for summer may lose sales if fabric gets stuck in the wrong warehouse. Automated inventory systems prevent such mismatches, ensuring stock is always in the right place.

Why the textile industry needs automation
Textile businesses, especially smaller ones, are facing big challenges. From handling lots of raw materials and bulk orders to tracking costs and keeping production on track, it’s hard to do everything manually. That’s where automation comes in. Here’s why it’s so important for textile businesses to use tools like ERP systems.

Better use of materials: Automation helps use raw materials more efficiently, reducing waste. Instead of guessing how much fabric is needed, businesses can track it accurately. This helps save money and keep production on target.

For example, an automated system will tell you when stock is running low and when it’s time to reorder — so you’re never left with too little or too much.

Save time for your workers: Manual tracking takes up a lot of time. Employees spend hours counting inventory, matching batches, and searching for materials. Automation cuts out the busy work, so workers can focus on what matters — getting products made.

For example, with an ERP system, workers don’t have to manually search for items in the warehouse. Everything is organised and easy to find.

Keep data organised: Small textile businesses often struggle with scattered data — sales across different channels, inbound costs, inventory management, order tracking, and more. Shop-floor workers have to manually compare data in separate spreadsheets and constantly update them. Automation helps organise everything in one place.

For example, pricing, client-specific invoices for customised orders, and stock updates can be done automatically. With the right system, you won’t have to worry about data slipping through the cracks or losing track of important updates.

Track inventory and batches easily: With automated barcodes and batch tracking, it’s easier to know where materials are at any time. This means fewer mistakes, better quality control, and less confusion.
For instance, if there’s a problem with a batch of fabric due to low-quality raw materials, it can be traced quickly, and production won’t be delayed.

Grow with your business: As your business grows, automation can grow with you. It connects all the tools you need, like accounting software and logistics systems, into one easy-to-use platform. As you expand, automation can be further integrated with production processes to improve efficiency.

A scalable ERP system ensures that the system remains useful in the long run, protecting your investment while supporting both local and international markets. And although automation may seem like a big upfront cost, it actually saves money by cutting inefficiencies and supporting business growth.

Conclusion
For small textile businesses today, automation isn’t just nice to have — it’s a must. It helps improve efficiency, reduce waste, and boost profits. By using the right automation tools, you can streamline your operations, avoid costly mistakes, and keep your business growing for years to come.

About the author:

Aleksandra Malhotra serves as the Director of Kladana and Head of International Business Development in India. With over a decade of experience in executive roles within the SaaS, MarTech, and e-commerce sectors, Malhotra brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her position. Currently, she spearheads business development processes for Kladana outside its home market, primarily focusing on India and prioritising a growth hacking approach and developing the market for the SaaS. Under her leadership, she envisions Kladana as a global company helping MSMEs with a remarkable product and plans to integrate its internal parts, efforts, innovations with a strong focus on India growth.