Ready-made garment industry experts in Bangladesh have called on factories to move beyond traditional production processes, arguing that the country's export competitiveness depends on it, the Daily Sun reports.

The warning lands at a sensitive moment. Bangladesh's garment sector, the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China, has built its order book on volume, low labour costs and basic cut-make-trim capability. That formula is under pressure on three fronts simultaneously: rising wage and energy input costs at home, automation-driven productivity gains among competitor origins, and buyer-side due diligence requirements that increasingly reward factories able to document efficiency, traceability and lower emissions per unit.

What does this change for sourcing?

For brands and sourcing directors with Bangladeshi vendor bases, the expert intervention is a signal worth reading twice. If local factories do not upgrade processes — meaning investment in automation, digital production management and higher-value capabilities beyond basic assembly — buyers can expect a widening gap between the country's tier-one suppliers, which have already modernised, and the mid-tier that still runs conventional lines.

That gap translates directly into sourcing decisions. Modernised factories offer shorter lead times, tighter defect control and the data pipelines that European and North American buyers now need for compliance reporting under instruments such as the EU's corporate sustainability framework. Traditional lines compete chiefly on price, a position that becomes harder to hold as costs rise.

Intentions, not yet results

It is worth separating what the experts said from what the industry has done. The Daily Sun report carries a recommendation, not a measured outcome. There is no capital expenditure figure attached, no named factory commitment and no timeline in the experts' call. Whether the sector's thousands of small and mid-sized manufacturers can finance process upgrades — and who pays for them, given squeezed manufacturer margins — remains the open commercial question.

Historical precedent cuts both ways. Bangladesh's larger garment groups have demonstrated that heavy investment in green factories and modern machinery pays off in premium order placement. The long tail behind them has rarely accessed the same financing.

For supply-chain professionals, the practical reading is this: audit your Bangladeshi vendor portfolio for process capability now, because the differentiation between upgraded and traditional factories is about to matter more, not less.

The sector's next move — capital allocation or continued deferral — will decide whether the expert warning becomes a turning point or a footnote.