The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Apparel Industry: Opportunities and Challenges for Bangladesh

Abstract

Over the past decade, the world is heading towards the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 (or IR 4.0), with many countries adopting the latest innovations and technological upgrades which essentially are meant to meet the growing demands of consumers in every sector of an economy. Since the concept of IR 4.0 is still quite new, its definitions and theories are mostly curved out as per the requirements and ambitions of each nation. However, some core elements of IR 4.0, for instance, the idea of smart factories, can be found in every established theory, and are readily explored in this thesis. Before execution though, a readiness model, again subjective to each country, is constructed to accurately chalk out the roadmap for the adoption of IR 4.0. Against such premises, this thesis aims to find out whether the apparel industry of Bangladesh is ready or not to embrace the fourth industrial revolution. This is because, Bangladesh, too, due to its impressive economic growth in the recent past, a change in her status of development, and her vision of becoming a developed country by 2041, is considering harnessing the benefits. In addition, the sector which will be most impacted by such a move is the apparel industry because of its massive contribution to the economy, making it the flagship industry of the country. The thesis first looks into the existing theories and concepts regarding IR 4.0, and then utilizes the “Industry 4.0 Readiness” model developed by the Association of Germany’s Engineering Industry (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA)) as the guiding framework for devising an original, suitable, readiness model to evaluate 135 apparel/RMG factories (big, medium and small) of Bangladesh. A mixed methodology approach is followed in the thesis, implying the utilization of both quantitative and qualitative tools. The findings of the thesis, if broadly put forth, reveal that the apparel industry of Bangladesh is still not ready to implement IR 4.0. The thorough evaluation of the thesis comprising of different variables and parameters suggests that the majority of the factories are at an intermediate level in terms of IR 4.0 readiness index. The results of the thesis call for further attention from the industrialists, policymakers and academicians as well toward understanding first where Bangladesh stands in the face of fourth industrial revolution before hastily implementing it.