the role of sourcing agents in global apparel supply chains

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List of Figures Figure 1 Regional Shifts in Women’s Dresses of Synthetic Fibers.................................. 45 Figure 2 Regional Shifts in Women’s Dresses of Cotton Fibers...................................... 47 Figure 3 Regional Shifts in Men’s T-shirts of Man-made Fibers .................................... 48 Figure 4 Regional Shifts in Men’s T-shirts of Cotton ...................................................... 50 viii
CHAPTER 1 – Introduction Background According to the United States Department of Commerce (2009), in 1989 the U.S. imported $26.75 Billion in apparel goods. In 2008, U.S. imports of apparel had tripled, exceeding $93.18 Billion. Domestic firms import textile and apparel goods from nearly all of the 200+ countries in the world (Kunz & Garner, 2007). In fact, 96.6% of U.S. apparel consumption in 2003 was imported from other countries (Kunz & Garner, 2007). The question then becomes, what has facilitated this magnitude in growth of apparel imports over time? The motivations for this project stem from several years work experience in the apparel industry as a sourcing analyst. Through placing production orders to tracking shipments of apparel from other countries, a need for a liaison existed between domestic importers and off shore factories, namely a sourcing agent. Whether working under the domestic firm exclusively as a contractor or as a third party liaison, the sourcing agent was essential to monitoring, communicating and negotiating production costs within the global apparel supply chain. As the apparel supply chain globalized, barriers to communication and transportation between factories and operations managers, such as geography, language, and culture, have necessitated that apparel firms turn to sourcing agents to assist in delivering the right product at the right time. This research study is an examination of the role of sourcing agents in the production of apparel goods. 1
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: List of Tables Table 1 Average hour
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
Page 57 and 58: Men’s T-Shirts of Natural Fibers
Page 59 and 60:
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
Page 67 and 68:
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
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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