the role of sourcing agents in global apparel supply chains

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Purpose and Objectives................................................................................................................27 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 3 – Methodology....................................................................................................29 OTEXA Quantitative Data.............................................................................................................30 HTS Codes, Countries and Specific Times Selected for Analysis ............................................. 30 Qualitative Interview Data ..........................................................................................................32 Sample............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Instrument........................................................................................................................................35 Semi-Structured Interviews with Sourcing Agents .......................................................................... 37 Semi-Structured Interviews with Domestic Operations and Sourcing Managers................ 38 Data Analysis....................................................................................................................................40 Quantitative Analysis.................................................................................................................................. 40 Qualitative Analysis..................................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 4 – Findings.............................................................................................................42 OTEXA Quantitative Data.............................................................................................................42 Women’s Dresses of Synthetic Fibers ................................................................................................. 43 Women’s Dresses of Natural Fibers..................................................................................................... 45 Men’s T-‐Shirts of Synthetic Fibers........................................................................................................ 47 Men’s T-‐Shirts of Natural Fibers............................................................................................................ 49 Qualitative Data Analysis.............................................................................................................51 Sample............................................................................................................................................................... 51 Procedure ........................................................................................................................................................ 54 iv
Interview Objective 1: To examine whether apparel firms actually move production from factory to factory and if so, do they then utilize sourcing agents to facilitate the process?............................................................................................................................................................ 55 Interview Objective 2: To determine what barriers inhibit domestic retailers and manufacturers from performing sourcing tasks without sourcing agents......................... 60 Interview Objective 3: To examine the unique qualifications that sourcing agents possess that provide a competitive advantage and are marketed to the operations and sourcing managers. ..................................................................................................................................... 63 Interview Objective 4: To examine what processes are in place for evaluating and regulating sourcing agents....................................................................................................................... 67 Concluding Thoughts.....................................................................................................................68 Chapter 5 – Discussion ........................................................................................................70 Summary of Results .......................................................................................................................70 OTEXA Data and Evidence of Production Shifts ............................................................................. 70 The Role of Sourcing Agents from an Industry Perspective...................................................... 75 Theoretical Contributions ...........................................................................................................82 Goal Seeking ................................................................................................................................................... 82 Problem-‐Solving ........................................................................................................................................... 83 Adapting........................................................................................................................................................... 84 Contributions to Industry............................................................................................................85 Implications of Study.....................................................................................................................85 Trustworthiness of the Study .....................................................................................................86 Limitations........................................................................................................................................87 Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................................89 Appendix A - IRB Application Exemption......................................................................93 v
Page 1 and 2: THE ROLE OF SOURCING AGENTS IN GLOB
Page 3: Table of Contents List of Tables...
Page 7 and 8: List of Tables Table 1 Average hour
Page 9 and 10: CHAPTER 1 - Introduction Background
Page 11 and 12: Apparel Supply Chain: The sequence
Page 13 and 14: Chapter 2 - Review of Literature As
Page 15 and 16: knowledge of competition. As more a
Page 17 and 18: apparel retailers and jobbers (also
Page 19 and 20: attention to the status of these ex
Page 21 and 22: “putting-out” system. The worke
Page 23 and 24: Table 2 Contrasting World Views Bet
Page 25 and 26: systematic and political manner. Th
Page 27 and 28: times and complex vertical supply c
Page 29 and 30: efforts to encourage apparel produc
Page 31 and 32: development of product samples, ens
Page 33 and 34: firms have found it useful to sourc
Page 35 and 36: agents will be highlighted, includi
Page 37 and 38: Chapter 3 - Methodology The purpose
Page 39 and 40: the potential for misleading data.
Page 41 and 42: and industry managers actively enga
Page 43 and 44: interview in time. The experiences
Page 45 and 46: encouraged to add any pertinent inf
Page 47 and 48: 1) How often do you plan production
Page 49 and 50: ather identified all relevant infor
Page 51 and 52: as they cross international borders
Page 53 and 54: fibers exported to the U.S. in 1998
Page 55 and 56:
Figure 2 Regional Shifts in Women
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Men’s T-Shirts of Natural Fibers
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is necessary to understand the mech
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with sourcing agents on a daily bas
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on import data for the apparel indu
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cost. Informant #9, who described a
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agents describe marketing their fir
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operations and the need for consist
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Interview Objective 3: To examine t
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Identifying the Best Factory While
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Interview Objective 4: To examine w
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production from one country to anot
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apparel category is at $0 in 1998 o
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the United States. While the purpos
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apparel goods that are exported to
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suggests that not only are sourcing
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critical because this person then b
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The costs of salary, benefits, etc.
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difficult, the sourcing agent sets
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Sourcing agents play a critical rol
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questions. This minimized the risk
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Recommendations for Future Research
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Grossman, G.M. & Helpman, E. (1995)
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Appendix A - IRB Application Exempt
Page 104 and 105:
Summary Memo: Informant #2 Research
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