McCormick+Schmitz Handbook for value chain research on - PACA

own in<strong>for</strong>mation. This makes obvious sense. Do not, however, shut yourself into the
library until you have read everything that has ever been written on your sector. Do not
hesitate, at an early stage, to visit factories of different size and to visit some
homeworkers. Ask the owners or managers to explain the production process to you.
Ask them where they source their inputs, what problems they encounter in obtaining
inputs; ask them about their three most important clients and what problems they
encounter in selling their output.
As part of this immersion into the sector, try to interview people who have an overview of
the local enterprises and of the <strong>chain</strong> they are part of, <strong>for</strong> example, the suppliers of cloth
and yarn, consultants, officials of business associations, leaders of trade unions, buyers of
finished products. Tell them that you are trying to understand how the sector works: you
may find it easiest to start by asking how those enterprises you already know fit into the
local economy. Mention early on in the interview that you want to understand the
different <strong>chain</strong>s which the local enterprises feed into. Such interviews with key
in<strong>for</strong>mants are essential to piece together an overview and draw a preliminary map.
Your main difficulty will be that you obtain a lot of in<strong>for</strong>mation on the local economy but
much less on those parts of the <strong>chain</strong> which are not local, <strong>for</strong> example, the distant input
supplier or the buyer in <strong>for</strong>eign countries. There are three ways of dealing with this
imbalance in in<strong>for</strong>mation. First, where the suppliers or buyers are major companies, they
are likely to have Internet sites which give you an overview of their operation. The web
site is unlikely to have in<strong>for</strong>mation on specific links to your buyers, but it will at least
give you an introduction to the key player in the <strong>chain</strong>. For example, a good deal can
learned from visiting the websites of The GAP www.gapinc.com, or Marks and Spencer
www.marks.and.spencer.co.uk. Or you can start with infomediaries which help you to
obtain basic in<strong>for</strong>mation and contact details of importers. For example, the Export
Institute provides a guide (against payment!) to 4,900 active garment importers in 120
countries [check whether it is worth WIEGO investing $295 in the CD-ROM version] or
The American Apparel and Footwear Association www.americanapparel.org which
provides useful import data and an entry point to importers.
Second, the suppliers of inputs or buyers of inputs are likely to visit “your locality”
regularly. Ask a local producer whether s/he can introduce you. And/or find out in which
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