The Future of AI Requires Ecosystem Integration
TSG CEO Anton Hofmeier on why integrated data and AI ecosystems will determine the winners from the losers in textile manufacturing.
Written by Lauren Parker
Key Insights
- The biggest misconception is treating AI as a fix for fragmented systems. Clean, integrated enterprise data remains the prerequisite for meaningful AI outcomes and operational ROI.
- Faster fashion cycles, smaller order volumes and constant changes mean manufacturers must move from multi-year transformations to rapid, continuous adaptation.
- Success increasingly depends on connecting PLM, ERP, MES and design systems into a unified ecosystem that improves visibility, reduces waste and accelerates time-to-market.
As fashion cycles accelerate and pressures mount, — from costs, sustainability, traceability and workforce turnover — textile manufacturers are rethinking how they operate. More often than not, AI leads the discussion. But Anton Hofmeier, CEO, TSG – Textile Solutions Group, highlights that while AI might be a huge industry opportunity, fragmented data and disconnected systems can slow decision-making and progress.
Following the company’s acquisition of AI-powered PLM provider DeSL, Hofmeier spoke to Hertzman Global Intelligence about how TSG is building an integrated digital backbone spanning design, production and operations, and where companies are already seeing measurable returns from AI and digitization.
HGI: Looking at fashion today, what is the biggest industry pain point?
Anton Hofmeier: When you think about apparel seasons today, the industry is really breaking under its own weight. I would say there are five structural pressures all hitting at once. Asian fast fashion is moving design-to-shelf in weeks, while many companies are still planning on 12-month cycles. Margins are compressed because energy, chemicals and labor costs are increasing faster than retail prices. In production, we still see thousands of hours of rework and waste. Then there are new requirements like traceability and digital passports, where data transparency is now mandatory. And there’s another issue people don’t talk about enough: senior experts are retiring. You’re losing 30 or 40 years of expertise with no clear handoff.
HGI: You mentioned that systems integration is a key to success. What’s the biggest barrier to true integration, and how is TSG solving for it?
AH: The biggest barrier to integration is that organizations still operate through siloed systems. They may have ERP or PLM solutions, but many are generic platforms that were never built for textile manufacturing. So the real workflow happens in shadow Excel sheets, emails and meetings.
HGI: So the humans are effectively acting as the integration layer between systems? How do you understand each manual system so you can help digitize it?
AH: That’s exactly where TSG comes in. We were born in textile and apparel and our focus is creating an integrated digital backbone specifically for this industry. When we implement solutions, a large part of the work is actually understanding all the Excel sheets and manual processes customers built around their systems. We configure our platform to match how the business operates—from CFO cost planning to production machine scheduling to design workflows—and then we challenge those processes with industry best practices to make them more efficient.
HGI: There’s a lot of hype around AI. Where is the industry still overestimating short-term impact?
AH: The industry overestimates AI when it treats it like a universal glue layer. AI can’t compensate for poor data architecture and it can’t replace integration. Clean, integrated and accurate data is the foundation, and if the underlying enterprise data is fragmented or wrong, AI will simply produce poor results faster. AI is gated by data architecture, which is why one of the first things we do with customers is an AI readiness assessment. We don’t just evaluate business cases, we assess data quality, integration points and where information actually lives across factories, offices and systems.
HGI: Where are you seeing real, proven impact today in textile operations?
AH: We see real ROI in very practical operational use cases. For example, our MES (manufacturing execution system) can predict batch failures 30 minutes before they happen. We’ve reduced audit entry processes from 20–30 minutes down to two minutes using AI-assisted workflows. In PLM, handwritten bills of materials can now be scanned and automatically structured into the system.
And beyond large language models, machine learning is especially important in production environments. A single textile machine may have 50 to 80 operational parameters — temperature, pressure, chemicals, water usage and more. Humans can’t realistically optimize all those variables manually. Machine learning helps identify how to achieve the same quality result with less waste, fewer chemicals and lower resource consumption.
HGI: With faster fashion cycles, rising costs and more stringent ESG requirements, how should leaders prioritize their response?
AH: The priorities depend heavily on where the business sits in the value chain. A fashion brand outsourcing production globally faces very different challenges than a manufacturer operating factories in Bangladesh or Vietnam.
What we consistently see, though, is that speed and agility are becoming critical. Orders are arriving later, quantities are getting smaller and last-minute changes are becoming more common. Companies need to know immediately whether they can commit to delivery schedules, whether capacity exists and whether service-level agreements can still be met. So these are the discussions we have first, and then we dive into details.
HGI: How are sustainability pressures reshaping textile manufacturing from a digital perspective?
AH: Sustainability is becoming tightly connected to operational efficiency. Traditional sampling processes, for example, are expensive, time-consuming and wasteful. With ultra-realistic digital visualization and rendering, some customers have reduced samples dramatically or eliminated them entirely. That means less waste, less machine downtime and much faster time-to-market.
HGI: TSG positions itself as the “digital backbone” of textile manufacturing. What does that look like in practice in coming years or even months and how will customers tangibly measure success?
AH: What excites customers most is how quickly ideas can now move into production. It’s a completely different world compared to traditional enterprise software cycles. The digital backbone concept means customers operate on a connected platform with accurate data across departments, and once they’re on that platform, we continuously expand into the next area of business value.
Customers measure success through tangible operational improvements: reduced cycle times, better forecast accuracy, less rework, improved machine uptime, faster onboarding of factories and better visibility into production and supply chain decisions. Once that digital backbone exists, businesses can adapt much faster to external forces like market volatility, sourcing shifts or geopolitical disruptions.
HGI: TSG is growing through acquisitions and partnerships. How do you ensure these different solutions (ERP, PLM, MES, CAD) truly operate as one platform rather than a collection of tools?
AH: We approach this from both the product and integration side. TSG already has standalone solutions across ERP, design, production systems and manufacturing execution, but the critical piece is the integration layer connecting them all. The latest acquisition, DeSL, significantly strengthens our PLM capabilities. Think of PLM as the umbrella spanning the entire product lifecycle—from the first design concept through costing, bills of material, sketches and production handoff.
That acquisition was strategically important because it connects the earliest product creation stages directly into the rest of the textile backbone. It gives us a much stronger end-to-end workflow across design, sourcing, manufacturing and operations.
This article was originally published on the HGI website. HGI is a platform for sourcing and supply chain professionals, offering data, driven insights, expert content, and tools to navigate the global sourcing landscape with confidence.
Take Control with AI
DeSL uses AI tools, advanced models, digital assets, and predictive analytics. This helps fashion teams use AI throughout the product lifecycle. Book a demo with DeSL to get more information.
-
Unite Material Management and Digital Color Approvals
We all know that color is a very important part of the decision making process made by consumers when selecting...
-
Inside Our PLM Innovation Breakfast in London
Retail leaders gathered in London to explore how Product Lifecycle Management is becoming the strategic core of modern retail, from...
-
DeSL Launches Digital Approvals Dashboard
Cut out current manual steps and physical samples which are so prevalent in the industry today and drive improvements to...
