The study investigated factors responsible for the low level of adoption of technology in the Nigerian ready-to-wear garment industry. Globally, the garment production process has received a boost due to the adoption of technology. However, the Nigerian garment industries do not share the same success story, and their market share in the sector is obviously negligible. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the factors responsible. A survey research type was adopted for this study. A questionnaire was designed and structured to collect relevant data from the managers of the 27 technologically inclined ready-to-wear garment industries through face-to-face communication to avoid delay. The managers were purposively chosen. Descriptive statistics using table, frequency, percentage, and mode were used to analyse data with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v16. The outcome of the study revealed that firm ownership, competitive advantage, export orientation, top management commitment, cost of capital, technical skills, and competitive advantage constitute barriers to technology adoption in the Nigerian garment industry. Therefore, for the industry to survive the stiff competition arising from globalization and the liberalization of trade, the adoption of the latest technology is not negotiable. It is recommended that major stakeholders in the industry prioritize technology with the help of the government for their garment products to be competitive.

Keywords: ready-to-wear garment, garment industry, technology, skillsets, Nigeria

The factory production has enabled widespread distribution of ready-to-wear garments which people used for both casual and official purposes. This is made evident as the global ready-to-wear garment market value stood at $672.2 billion in 2019. Although this figure declined to $659.7 billion in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, it is observed that it employed about 75 million workers and 85% are women.¹ The industry is relatively easy to establish and labour intensive, so production tends to move to countries with low labour costs. Many countries have been able to diversify from their primary commodity through the garment industry. Among these nations are China, Bangladesh, India, Vietman, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. It is imperative to acknowledge that one major tool that is currently driving the competitiveness of garment industry is the use of technology.

Technology has transformed every sphere of human existence. It is mostly noticed in the manufacturing sector, and garment manufacturing is not left out. According to Rigolin and Rajiv,² technological improvements is transforming all aspects of garment manufacturing allowing manufacturers to meet the growing demand for greater productivity and flexibility. The industry is featured by characterized computerized marking, computerized cutting, high speed, high accuracy, high economy, continuous production and standardization of product quality.³ Garment production is an organized activity consisting of sequential process such as laying, marking, cutting, stitching, checking, pressing and packaging. Technology has become useful at every stage of garment production. It makes production easier, improve quality and boost quantity of products, reduce cost and reduce the production lead time. Joy, Niaz, Md., & Md Abdullah⁴ identify digital garment printing, 3D fit, prototypes, and sew-free technologies as some of the latest technologies in garment manufacturing. The major leading countries producing ready-to-wear garments in the world which include China, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia have leveraged on the latest technology to improve their efficiency and productivity. Equally, these countries have leverage on their population, low wage and adoption of technology to remain competitive in the ready-to-wear global market. According to Fofana, Nyarko & Takyi,⁵ automation, robotics, computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine, and other modern concepts such as flexible manufacturing systems are motivating industries technological capability.               

Nigeria equally share few developmental indices with the leading garment producers in the world, except for the low and/or insignificant adoption of technology in their production process. The technological base is lacking in many manufacturing sectors.⁶ This has led to the manufacturing sectors share of Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be less than 4%, contributions to foreign exchange earnings have been minimal and the share of employment and government revenue generated have been low. Its production system is still at a very low-level stage since many of its operators are still using the traditional-based approaches rather than adopting modern technologies.⁷ It is particularly so because most of the garment industry in Nigeria are small and medium scale without capacity to muscle financial strength to procure the needed technology. As a result of this Nigerian economy has not been able to benefit optimally from the opportunities that could have been accruable from the ready-to-wear garment industry.

Therefore, manufacturing industries are expected to upgrade their products with up to date technology to enhance their sales volume and ensures higher profitability in order to survive in the competitive business environment.⁸ It is based on these foregoing this study intends to investigate those factors militating technology adoption in the Nigerian garment industry with the view to propose possible solution.

Literature review

The current trends of technology in the garment manufacturing        

According to Jaideep and Yogest (2012), the world today is known as an era of technical evolution, where most of the manual works are being replaced by automated and semi-automated machines. Williams & Agbo (2013) pointed out that, there is rarely a field of human activity today that has not been touched by the dramatic changes of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This was corroborated by Oppong, Biney-Aido and Antiaye⁹ that Computers have led to the development of new technology for which fashion or garment has not been left out. In the developed countries of the world most of the fashion and textiles illustration processes have been computerized which makes work fast, convenient, cost effective and increases productivity. Nigeria and other developing countries have to consider the adoption of the latest technology to boost the ready-to-wear garment industry and perhaps to be able to compete in the local and international markets. In human history, two major revolutions have changed the ways and manners things are being done. According to Yuli,¹⁰ all aspects of the garment industry have been affected by new technology, thereby increasing efficiency and providing much needed data analysis and tracking components. This suggests that the use of latest technology is very essential for any nation to receive global recognition in the garment trade. Technology is a broad term which can be categorized into: process technology and information technology. The process technology entails the application of hardware and/or software to facilitate the actual physical development of product. According to Ruppert-Stroescu,¹¹ process technology can be further sub-divided into computer aided design (CAD), computer aided pattern making, computer aided manufacturing and 3-D Body scanning and mass customization. This study focuses on process technology in the garment industry.

Body measurement

Currently, there are 3D Scanning developed for the digitization of the human body. These new tools are more proficient for gathering of several body measurements. In general, 3D scanning technologies are applied to different parts of the human body, and systems are commercially available for the measurement of practically any surface area of the human body. Laser Scanning, White light scanning, Image processing scanning, Millimeter-wave radar, Digital tape measurement are different tools for body scanning in 3D. The garments is designed based on the data collected from the body measurement.

Garment designing

CAD programs specifically helps designer in concept generation, story boards, illustrations and many forms of textile design. It has made sketching faster and easier. Ahmad¹² held forth that the major advantage of using CAD in sketches comes from the many handy tools that are unable to be used in manual drawing method. Drawings made are saved and can be used as templates and for further manipulations. Aldrich¹³ went further to state that CAD offer much greater integration between fabric and garment design. Computer software like Coreldraw, Photoshop, Algolab photo vector, Ulead cool 3D, Adobe illustrator, Paint shop pro etcetera are used to make designs.

Pattern creation and modification

Pattern is the template from which a garment is cut. According to Weber,¹⁴ pattern serves as a blue print and contains all instructions one will need for constructing a sewing project or for garments production in the industry. Patterns can be drafted with the CAD software, and manual patterns can be digitized into the programme for modification and further manipulation. Nowadays, the CAD system is a must have software in garment export house, medium and large business. The CAD system helps apparel manufacture and brands maximize cutting room productivity, accuracy in pattern and give the better fit. Examples of pattern making software include Tuka CAD, Lectra, Optitex etcetera (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Pattern design software environment.

Sample making and fitting

Sample is the prototype or model of the garment. It is a model of what the bulk production is going to look like. Manually, garment often requires several alterations before a perfect fit is achieved.¹⁴ 3D modelling software enable designers and pattern makers to visualize the fit and drape of the 2D patterns made on a virtual model. Such programmes allow the 2D garments to be virtually or electronically sewn together to fit the virtual model. Fabric prints, colours and properties are selected to see in motion the drape and fit on the virtual model. According to Aldrich,¹³ the aim of the electronic fitting is to reduce the number of samples and fittings made in design development. For instance, Modaris 3D Fit allows pattern designers to check garment fit in various fabrics and sizes, virtual review of sample, the presentation and confirmation of collection elements. The other available 3D virtual draping softwares include Optitex, Accumark APDS3D by Gerber, PAD System, Maya cloth, Syflex LLC system, efit by Tukatech.

Pattern grading

This is the process of turning base size or sample size patterns into additional sizes using a size specification sheet or grading increments. This, of course, can be done manually or digitally using computerized pattern drafting software. Most grading is done by computer.¹⁵ This notion is corroborated by Aldrich¹³ who suggests that grading was the main reason companies acquired CAD system. Patterns created in Pattern Design Systems (PDS) can pass directly in the grading suite. However, quite a number of companies still make patterns manually which they then digitize for computer grading since the computer is best suited for such.¹³ It is faster, more accurate and more convenient than manual grading (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Grading with CAD.
Source: Aldrich (2008)

Marker making

In CAD marker making, the pattern pieces for the marker appear on a screen and can be manually or interactively placed by an operator, “dragging” the pieces into position.¹³ The programme can also produce the marker automatically. This is a more rapid method of achieving a relatively efficient plan which is the advantage of not needing an operator.¹⁶ Aldrich¹³ states that, the standard of automatic marker making has improved in speed and fabric utilization, and is now used more often than manual functions. The development of computer systems for grading patterns and producing markers offers significant reduction in lead times and labour costs for producing new styles, modification of existing ones and, above all, achieving significant reductions in fabric utilization (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Marker Making with CAD.
Source: Aldrich (2008).

Technology for fabric cutting

The use of cutting machines integrated with the computerized instructions for the fabric cutting has become the main obligation for superior and quality garment production. Most significantly, automatic cutting machines offer many benefits in the form of reduced labour, stocks, space and fabric wastage, though expensive. The cutting machines operate by plotting the marker generated onto paper, which is then laid on top of the fabric and cut using manually operated knives. It is also possible to feed the marker directly to a computer-controlled cutting knife which cuts automatically on high speed. The computer-controlled knife does not require pattern shapes drawn on paper. In addition, there is increasing utilization of advanced robotics for retrieving fabric from store, loading it onto the laying-up carriage, and removing cut material. Virtually all cutters use the knife system in spite of extensive research on lasers, water and plasma jets.¹⁷ In order to achieving accurate cutting, pattern requires the aid of Computer Assisted Technology. Chris¹⁷ posits that, Computer Assisted Design (CAD) and Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAM) have so far impacted on distinct areas of the clothing industry especially in cutting and assembly. Lectra, Juki, and Gerber are few companies manufacturing computer integrated cutting devices (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Computer controlled cutting machine.
Source: Aldrich (2008)

Technology for assembling and construction of garment

There are various innovative methods of joining fabric and creating garment shapes such as radio frequency and ultrasonic welding, moulding and adhesives, but it is likely that, for the foreseeable future, clothing will continue to be assembled using sewing as the principal method of joining. The basic sewing action seems likely to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. The ability to adopt to a succession of small orders in different styles involving changing stitch sequences and machine settings and to meet this need, a significant proportion of sewing machines are now pre-programmable, using microprocessors with push-button controls or, in special cases, responding to bar-code or “smart card” signals.¹⁷ The facility to pre-programme individual sewing machines from a central computer are incorporated into more ambitions systems of Computer Integrated Manufacture (CIM) (Cornell, 2008). Workstations of the future may need to incorporate adjustable surfaces which can be rapidly “programmed” to suit constantly changing tasks and garments styles, and will need to be better integrated with conveyor systems. According to Gini,¹⁸ Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) applications include computerized cutting and programmable sewing machines.

Technology for garment finishing               

It consists of a series of finishing operations performed on the garment to improve its aesthetics, handle, and functional properties.¹⁹ This is a particular area where Nigerian RTW garment producers have not fared well. It does not only affect the sales of the RTW garments in the local market, but also makes their products less competitive in the local and global markets due to poor finishing. There are different techniques available, which include crease and wrinkle-free, antimicrobial, water repellant, flame retardant, etcetera. Using the programmable machines gives a clean finish and produces a quality and standard product. Today, there is computer-controlled pressing technology that facilitates the pressing of garments. Gini¹⁸ posits that automated pressing is done by computer-controlled pressing technology and it is aimed at reducing pressing time while improving the performance and consistency of this operation.²⁰ Professional pressing has gone automated, like computer-controlled pressing equipment, professional steam irons, and other pressing aids etcetera.

A questionnaire was designed and structured to collect data for this study. It was designed to investigate those factors responsible for low adoption of technology in the Nigerian garment industry in Aba and Onitsha. The managers in the 27 technologically inclined ready-to-wear garment industries were chosen purposively. Twenty-seven (27) questionnaire were administered through a face-to-face medium to avoid delay. The data were collected with the use of closed-ended questionnaire. All the copies of the questionnaire were completed and returned, representing a 100% response rate. Descriptive statistics using table, frequency, percentage and mode were used to analyse data with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v16.

Organizational factors that affect adoption of technology in Nigerian garment industries

The Nigerian garment industry is still fledgling, and the activities are somewhat minimal and dominated by made-to-measure enterprises. It is a common sight to see small enterprises in markets, kiosks, shopping complexes, rented apartments, and private homes. The production capacity is low, and their products are not competitive (Emelue, 2015). In recent years, there have been many ready-to-wear garment industries that have sprung up across Nigeria. This is due to the entrepreneurial consciousness of the youths and the noticeable business opportunities in the industry. However, the Nigerian garment industries have to compete with their international counterparts in order to gain market share. This is a herculean task that requires the production of quality garments in high volume, a short production lead time, and quick delivery at a competitive price. For instance, Madagascar and Mauritius are developing like Nigeria that have gained some share of the garment global through the adoption of technology. This study therefore highlights some of the factors responsible for low adoption of technology in the Nigerian garment industries.

Size of firm                                                                                                                                                         

Table 1 shows that among the 27 technological incline ready-to-wear garment industries in Aba (15) and Onitsha (12), 12 (80%) in Aba and 4 (33%) in Onitsha had a number of employees greater than 20 personnel. The interpretation of this is that most of the industries in the study area are of small size. It must equally be noted that the industry is largely fragmented. In Onitsha, 2 of the industries representing 5.7% had less than 5 employees, 3 of the industries representing 25% had between 5-10 employees, 2 of the industries representing 16.7% had between 10-15 employees, and 1 of the industries representing 8.3% had between 15-20 employees, and 20 and above less than 5 employees. In summary, the findings suggest that most of the industries are small and medium scale garment which lack the capacity to integrate the industry into the desired technology advancement as obtainable in other climes.

Varukolu²¹ posited that firm size positively influences the degree of innovation and performance adoption in a firm. Equally, Wagner and Hansen (2005) posited that large firms have sufficient resources to invest in technologies and are financially stable. The impact of technology is not obviously noticed in the Nigerian garment industry because many of the industries in Nigeria are small-scale and lack the financial capacity to procure the latest technology that could improve the industry's productivity, quality, delivery time, and competitiveness. Echeme and Okwara²² identify the industry size and the capacity of the plant as a major technological factor for improved productivity in the manufacturing project in South East Nigeria. Although most enterprises adopt the internet and social media such as Facebook, email, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. for communication and marketing of their products.

Export orientation                                                                                                                                                            

In Table 2, among the managers in Aba, 7 (46.7%) posited that their target is Nigerian market, 4 (26.7%) submitted African market is their target, and 4 (26.7%) said the global market. While in Onitsha, 8 (66.7%) of the managers posit that Nigeria was their target market and 4 (33.3%) opined that Africa is their target market. From the result, it is obvious that the target market for most of the garment industries in Aba and Onitsha is Nigerian market. The garment industry in Nigeria's low target of African and global markets may be a stumbling block for local garment manufacturers competing in the global market. The industries in both cities are not yet ready to compete with their counterparts across the globe. This, of course, is retarding the improvement of the quality of products produced in Nigeria. According to Loecker (2007), research has shown that there is a high level of correlation between export and productivity growth. This implies that exporters are a major driver of productivity growth in an economy.

It is crystal clear that most of the industries are not export-oriented. The local market that is perceived to have a lower demand for quality is considered to be the target market. Hence, the drive for continuous improvement is never a priority. The absence of a drive to export goods is the bane of the low adoption of technology in the Nigerian garment industry. And, for those industries that are export-oriented, the level of adoption of technology is relatively high compared to those that are not. The orientation towards export is responsible for the deployment of necessary factors of production that could give the industry an edge in the international market. According to Moini,²³ the desire to leave a highly competitive domestic market, strive to equal or surpass similar companies, improve business opportunities, and achieve economies of scale are the motivational sources for a firm to expand its operations to foreign markets. Therefore, the Nigerian garment industry must strive to export some of its products outside the shore of Nigeria.

Top management commitment

In Aba and Onitsha, Table 3 reveals that the least and prime qualification possessed by the managers in the ready-to-wear garment industry is the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE). Among the 15 managers in Aba, 8 (53.3%) had SSCE, 1 (6.7%) had NCE, 3 (20%) had a Diploma, and 3 (20%) had BSc. While in Onitsha, 7 (58.3%) possessed SSCE, 1 (8.3%) bagged NCE and 4 (33.3%) bagged a Diploma out of a total of managers. Compared with the academic qualifications of textile industry managers in other parts of the world including Bangladesh, India, Europe, etc. where the majority of the managers are degree holders in management, it can be inferred that the level of training and education of Nigerian ready-to-wear garment industry is low. This is connected to the low level of innovations and developments recorded in the Nigerian ready-to-wear garment industry. Uzor²⁴ had earlier revealed that most heads of the Nigerian garment industry have an SSCE qualification. Apparently, the level of education of top management member would have negative impact on the inclination of the industry to employ latest technology in the industry.

The top management is responsible for major decisions in the industry. They determine to what extent technology will be operational in the industry. Most of the major and technologically inclined garment industries in Nigeria are owned individually, except for Cross-River Garment industry, which recently came on stream. So, the major decisions about the industry are made by top management in those industries owned by the public or government, while those owned by individuals, the decision is solely taken by the proprietors, and managers. The decisions or actions made by the top management are likely to have an impact on organizational change, growth, and development because those at the higher management levels have greater influence over decisions and the decisions are strategic in nature.²⁵

Cost of capital

The cost of capital refers to the general cost-related problems associated with advanced technology adoption, including the cost of technology acquisition, equipment purchase, and development and maintenance expenses.²⁶ Since the majority of the garment industries are privately owned, there are limitations to the financial resources they could mobilize to adopt technology in their respective industries. Therefore, it could be difficult to see the integration of technology in the Nigerian garment industry. Unfortunately, there is a serious need for technological advancement in the garment industry.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is an autonomous body charged with the responsibility of regulating the formation and management of companies in Nigeria. As shown in Table 4, the majority of industries in Aba were registered with CAC, with 9 industries accounting for 60% of the industry, while six industries account for 40% of the industry and were not registered with CAC. In Onitsha, only 4 industries representing 33.3% are registered with CAC while the majority of the industries, which are 8 in number, representing 66.6%, are not registered with CAC. Despite the benefits and advantages associated with the registration of industries with CAC, these benefits have not been well optimized in Onitsha. The functions of the Commission as set out in section 7 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act are many. Among the benefits of registration include hiring employees, getting supplier arrangements discounts or government contracts, business trips to other countries, opening business bank accounts, safeguarding your business/corporate name, getting loans, certificate of incorporation, perpetual succession/continuity, legal liability protection, and reputation with customers. Many of the industries could access loan from commercial banks and other financial institutions such as Bank of Industry (BOI) and SMEDAN if they are registered with C.A.C.

Technical skills

The managers in Aba Table 5 in Aba indicates that 2 (13.3%) of the industry ensure that their employees go for training annually, while 13 (86.7%) of the managers posited that training of the employees is occasional. In Onitsha, all the 12 (100%) managers posited that all their employees go for training occasionally. The result indicates that training is not prioritized in most of the garment industries in Aba and Onitsha. One thing is to have the necessary technology in the garment industry, and another important thing is to have employees with adequate technical skills to operate the technology. According to Ejiaku,²⁷ developing countries lack skilled manpower in information technology who can design, program, install, configure, and maintain IT in a constantly changing industry. Appropriate and effective employee skills and practices are increasingly important in today’s technology-based manufacturing.²¹ The employees with desired technical skills in Nigeria are not readily available, and those that are available jump from one company to another. This, of course, is another clog in the adoption of technology in the Nigerian garment industry. It has been discovered that skilled labour has been one of the most important strategies that contribute to the growth of small and medium-sized firms, and it is likely to be a facilitator of technology adoption.²⁶  

Competitive advantage

A competitive advantage is anything that gives a company an edge over its competitors, helping it attracts more customers and grow its market share. The use of technology could help innovate ways to use technology to differentiate from competitors and offer something valuable to customers. The fear of losing market share to other competitors may encourage the garment industry to adopt suitable technology. Most of the time, this is not the case in Nigeria, except in places where there are clusters of garment industries. This is only obtainable in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. This implies that the healthy competition between industries that could drive them to adopt new technology in order to have an edge is not present in Nigeria. In the area of information technology, many garment industries are in healthy competition to promote their brands online in order to gain a larger customer base. Through innovative use of information technology and other strategic innovations, the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, was able to outperform its competitors, Target and Costco.²⁸

The study provides new insight about what is currently obtainable in the global garment industry and the need for the garment industry in Nigeria to be receptive to new technology in order to be competitive both in the local and global markets. The adoption of technology at each stage of garment production has revolutionized the way garments are constructed. The other accruable benefits of this are a shorter production lead time, improved quality, cost reduction, flexibility, and quick product delivery. It was revealed that the Nigerian garment industry does not enjoy these benefits because of the low adoption of technology in the industry. The outcome of the study showed that firm size, market orientation, competitive advantage, and cost of capital are responsible for the low adoption of technology in the Nigerian garment industry. Therefore, the major stakeholders in the industry, in conjunction with the government, should adopt specific and timely policies that could drive technology adoption in the industry.

The study recommended that the government revisit all the Export Processing Zones in Nigeria to make them operational with the view to encouraging individuals and conglomerates that have the financial wherewithal to launch and start an intensive and export-oriented garment industry. The Nigerian government must conscientiously create a business- and trade-friendly environment that is hospitable and welcoming to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Finally, the government should provide capital to garment industries that are currently thriving and striving to be upgraded to subcontracting from well-known garment industries.

None.

None.

Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

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