the role of sourcing agents in global apparel supply chains

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Chapter 4 – Findings The research for this study consists of both quantitative data from OTEXA as well as qualitative data gathered from interviews with sourcing agents and domestic operations managers from American apparel firms. This section presents the results from OTEXA first and then discusses the results of the interviews. The OTEXA data will provide information about import patterns for the United States from other regions of the world. Then, this information can be used to support the objective of examining shifting production patterns as well as build data for the interviews with industry professionals. Then, the interviews will examine how industry professionals view the role of sourcing agents in the global apparel supply chains. The interviews will also examine why apparel industry operations managers in the United States choose to use sourcing agents. OTEXA Quantitative Data The purpose of analyzing quantitative data originally reported by OTEXA is to explore whether shifts in import volume have occurred over time. Quantitative data was retrieved from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, an office within the International Trade Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The data was analyzed to determine if shifting production patterns exist by country over the last 10 years and if apparel production transitions over time to new destinations by product category. In order to compare the distribution of imports over four apparel product categories, the research method used in this study included quantitative evaluation of raw data from the United States Department of Commerce, labeled by HTS code. HTS or harmonized tariff schedules are 8-10 digit codes used to determine classification of goods 42
as they cross international borders. These codes effectively represent different product categories, including fiber content and the construction of goods. The silhouettes of the product categories selected for this study are simple and distinct to minimize any limitations by customs classification. The four HTS codes analyzed in this study include: 6104.43.1010-women’s dresses of synthetic fibers, 6104.42.0010-women’s dresses of cotton fibers, 6109.10.0004-men’s t-shirts of cotton, and 6109.90.1007-men’s t-shirts of synthetic fibers. Three specific time periods were analyzed to provide a snapshot of production shifts over the past 10 years: present, five years ago and 10 years ago. The values of imports to the United States for these HTS codes and time periods were analyzed to determine production movement patterns. Women’s Dresses of Synthetic Fibers For dresses composed of synthetic material 1 several countries which did not export any goods to the United States 10 years ago, had increased production to several hundred thousand dollars by 2008. Cambodia, for example, exported $0 of women’s dresses of synthetic fibers to the United States 10 years ago, but in 2008 exported $234,980 (see Table 3). This same trend occurred for both Colombia and Israel, who grew from $0 of women’s dresses of synthetic fibers in 1998 and 2003 to $7,606 (Colombia) and $12,987 (Israel) by 2008 (see Table 3). 1 The HTS codes for synthetic fibers are not as specific for natural fibers due to the narrow volume imported. For instance, HTS codes specify cotton for the natural fiber breakdown in code. A complete description of the code is displayed each table containing import data. 43
Page 1 and 2: THE ROLE OF SOURCING AGENTS IN GLOB
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents List of Tables...
Page 5 and 6: Interview Objective 1: To examine w
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: ather identified all relevant infor
Page 53 and 54: fibers exported to the U.S. in 1998
Page 55 and 56: Figure 2 Regional Shifts in Women
Page 57 and 58: Men’s T-Shirts of Natural Fibers
Page 59 and 60: is necessary to understand the mech
Page 61 and 62: with sourcing agents on a daily bas
Page 63 and 64: on import data for the apparel indu
Page 65 and 66: cost. Informant #9, who described a
Page 67 and 68: agents describe marketing their fir
Page 69 and 70: operations and the need for consist
Page 71 and 72: Interview Objective 3: To examine t
Page 73 and 74: Identifying the Best Factory While
Page 75 and 76: Interview Objective 4: To examine w
Page 77 and 78: production from one country to anot
Page 79 and 80: apparel category is at $0 in 1998 o
Page 81 and 82: the United States. While the purpos
Page 83 and 84: apparel goods that are exported to
Page 85 and 86: suggests that not only are sourcing
Page 87 and 88: critical because this person then b
Page 89 and 90: The costs of salary, benefits, etc.
Page 91 and 92: difficult, the sourcing agent sets
Page 93 and 94: Sourcing agents play a critical rol
Page 95 and 96: questions. This minimized the risk
Page 97 and 98: Recommendations for Future Research
Page 99 and 100: Grossman, G.M. & Helpman, E. (1995)
Page 101:
Appendix A - IRB Application Exempt
Page 104 and 105:
Summary Memo: Informant #2 Research
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