AI and Smart Manufacturing Push in Apparel from EHKİB

The Aegean Ready-Wear and Apparel Exporters' Association (EHKİB) is launching the "Digital Transformation and Smart Manufacturing Technologies UR-GE Project in the Apparel Sector" in order to accelerate the digital transformation of the Turkish apparel sector, increase production efficiency and enable companies to benefit more effectively from artificial intelligence technologies.

Within the scope of the project, developed in line with the work of the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Sustainability Committee operating under EHKİB, the digital infrastructures, production processes, data usage capacities and AI readiness levels of apparel companies will be analyzed.

Based on these analyses, the aim is to determine the digital maturity levels of companies and to ensure that each company has a digital transformation and artificial intelligence roadmap tailored to its own needs.

EHKİB Chairman Çağlar Bağcı noted that competitive conditions in the global apparel sector are changing rapidly, stating that besides price, speed, flexibility, efficiency, traceability and data usage capability have also become factors determining competitiveness.

Bağcı stated that technological transformation in the apparel sector is no longer a matter of choice, saying:

"The apparel sector, with its labor-intensive structure, is among the sectors most rapidly transformed by technology. Due to rising production costs and global competition, efficiency is no longer a choice for our sector, but a necessity. We do not view digital transformation merely as using new software or adding new technologies to production. The real transformation is being able to correctly read the data obtained from production, measure losses, track costs in real time, and transfer this data into decision-making processes."

Bağcı noted that the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Sustainability Committee established under EHKİB monitors the sector's transformation needs, and stated that the UR-GE Project was designed in line with this approach.

Within the scope of the project, companies' digital transformation needs will first be analyzed. Following the needs analysis, the SIRI Digital Maturity Assessment will be applied to companies, and a digital maturity report will be prepared for each company.

Noting that companies are not all at the same level in terms of digitalization, Bağcı said that instead of a standard technology prescription, they aim to develop differentiated solutions based on each company's existing infrastructure and needs.

Within the scope of the project, companies are planned to be evaluated at three different digital maturity levels: "beginner," "intermediate" and "advanced." In line with this classification, companies will be offered consultancy programs of varying scope and content.

Through the SIRI Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Roadmap to be prepared for each company, the aim is to determine which technologies companies should invest in, in which processes, and in what order of priority.

One of the important goals of the project will also be to identify concrete areas of use for artificial intelligence in the apparel sector.

EHKİB Chairman Çağlar Bağcı stated that artificial intelligence should not be seen as limited only to design and marketing processes, and noted that there is significant potential in areas such as production planning, demand forecasting, quality control, inventory optimization, cost and profitability analysis, delivery time management, and sales and marketing.

Bağcı, pointing out that in order to derive efficiency from AI applications, companies' data infrastructures must first be strengthened, said, "We will first analyze our companies' data infrastructure and processes, then determine in which operations artificial intelligence can truly create value."

EHKİB also takes into account companies' investment and consultancy costs during the digital transformation process. It is planned that the expenses of activities within the scope of support, such as the needs analysis, consultancy, training and overseas marketing to be carried out within the scope of the project, will be supported by the Ministry of Trade at a rate of 75 percent.

Bağcı noted that the UR-GE mechanism offers an important opportunity, particularly for exporting companies with SME characteristics, stating that companies can access, under the umbrella of the project and under more advantageous conditions, work that could incur high costs if carried out individually.

EHKİB Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Sustainability Committee Chairman Ertan Aslan said that the project aims to prepare companies for the right technology investments, rather than directly having them make machinery or software investments.

Aslan, noting that a wrong technology investment in digital transformation could create new costs, said:

"Instead of telling our companies 'buy this machine, use this software,' we first want to determine which problem they need to solve. Can existing systems be used more efficiently, which processes should be digitalized, which data should be collected, how should integration be established between systems, and in how much time will the investment to be made pay for itself? It is much healthier to move toward a technology investment after providing answers to these questions."

Within the scope of the UR-GE Project, the aim is to ensure that digital transformation is not limited only to operations within the factory, but is also integrated into export and new market development processes.

In this context, using methods supported by artificial intelligence and data analytics, companies' product groups, production capacity, price levels, minimum order quantities, delivery capabilities, certifications, sustainability performance and production technologies will be analyzed.

Based on the data obtained, target market and potential buyer analyses are planned to be carried out for companies, and a "Digital Supplier Profile" is planned to be created for each participating company.

Ertan Aslan noted that digitalization cannot be considered independently of exports, saying, "We aim to contribute to our manufacturers being able to more effectively explain not only what they produce, but also their production capabilities, speed and flexibility, sustainability performance and technological infrastructure to international buyers."

As part of the project's overseas activities, it is planned to examine international trade fairs, technology centers and successful application examples in the fields of smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digitalization and production technologies.

Noting that the aim is for participating companies to follow technological developments in the world firsthand, Aslan emphasized that the future competitiveness of the Turkish apparel sector will be shaped around technology, sustainability, design and high added value.

Aslan said, "At the end of our project, we aim for our companies to transform not just into businesses that use more digital tools, but into enterprises that manage their data, measure their costs and losses, optimize their production, plan the right technology investment, and are able to integrate artificial intelligence into the right operations."

Companies wishing to take part in the UR-GE Project need to fill out the "Participant Company Request Letter" form and submit it, signed and stamped, along with a photocopy of the company's signature circular, to EHKİB by the end of business on Friday, September 11, 2026.

Applications will be accepted via the email address [email protected].