IMB Forum 2007

From sourcing to selling, today's textiles processing industries have a global outlook. Large quantities of goods and data are transported across large distances, which would be impossible with out the help of complex IT systems. 

The increase in demand for customized IT tools is also leading to a growing demand for information on current and future solutions for day-to-day business activities.

This is where the concept of the IMB Forum comes to play. As a congress with accompanying exhibition, the IMB Forum offers IT users and decision-makers from the textile processing and clothing industry a target-group oriented communications platform for quickly and practically expanding know-how about general and detailed IT solutions for the entire supply chain - from procurement and production management through to the numerous forms of distribution. It addresses itself especially to the fashion, logistics, retail trade and automotive sectors.

Most of the visitors to the Forum were users and procurement decision-makers from the textile processing and garment production industries. The IMB Forum is organized by Koelnmesse in cooperation with the German Garment and Leather Technology Association (VDMA).

Held parallel to the IMB exhibition during November 21 to 22 in Cologne, Germany, this specialist congress offered its participants in-depth insights into the international activities of the sector. With 84 exhibitors from 12 countries, the number of exhibitors has grown by comparison with the figure for 2004. Suppliers from Europe, the United States and China were represented at the stands.

The 2007 IMB Forum grew not only in terms of exhibitor numbers, but also in terms of its exhibition space, which was 16 percent larger than the total area occupied by the 2004 event.

The congress programme, with high-class speakers from all parts of the world, provided an insight into the sector's global activities. This year's themes were:

• Building the apparel community - collaborative ways to success.
• Fulfilling the user's needs - adapting technologies and processes.

The highlight of this year's IMB Forum was the Special Event "IMB Forum Future Talk" with Adidas, Hugo Boss and the Charles Voegele Trading AG.

The next edition of IMB Forum 2009 is scheduled during April 21-24, 2009.