the role of sourcing agents in global apparel supply chains

orientation is the impetus for creating new supply chain options. Once manufacturers and
marketers shifted to giving consumers control of product assortments and began
responding to consumer demands rather than their internal resources as they did with
mass production lines, manufacturers and marketers needed new and varying resources to
meet demands. Many retailers lack adequate internal resources to change and shift
production, product categories or promotional materials on the whim of consumer
behavior. The capital required would subsequently harbor massive risk and investment
by apparel firms. As a result, many firms have developed complex supply chains and
opted to look outside their own internal resources to contractors who can meet the
changing demands of consumers, including lower prices. Within the apparel
manufacturing industry, sourcing agents serve as third party liaisons in the supply chain
filling the gap between the outside resources of off shore factories and U.S.
manufacturers and marketers. The following section will further discuss the development
of market orientation in the apparel industry and how the role of sourcing agents in
apparel production developed during the rise of market orientation.
The domestic economy of the United States following the Industrial Revolution
was focused on the production of commodities such as apparel. Once goods and services
produced in the United States became more market oriented, retailers realized greater
sales and profits in catering more effectively to consumers (Shiffman & Kanuk, 2009).
Market orientation is the philosophy of marketing products in response to consumer
needs and a retail firm’s external environment (Shiffman & Kanuk, 2009). Prior to
market orientation, retailers built their sales and profits on simple production lines and
then sold their products through sales pitches to consumers who had few options or little
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