Sourcing Practices in the Apparel Industry: Implications for Garment Exporters in Commonwealth Developing Countries

Sourcing practices in the global apparel industry are changing due to the removal of quotas, new trade agreements and drive by apparel importers to lower costs. This study addresses the implications of these changes for garment manufacturers in Commonwealth developing countries. The principal research activities consisted of face-to-face interviews in North America with top sourcing executives of apparel importing companies and senior executives of apparel manufacturing companies and other stakeholders in six Commonwealth countries. The findings indicate that almost without exception apparel manufacturers are struggling to lower costs and to increase productivity so as to remain competitive. Government and industry are thus faced with critical decisions on how best to support the apparel industry in their respective countries. The principal outputs of the study are enterprise level guidelines to remain competitive in the face of evolving sourcing policies, technology and practices, complemented by related frameworks at government and institutional levels.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 1.1 Context and Purpose of the Study 1.2 Background to the Study 1.3 Objectives of the Study 1.4 Conduct of the Research 1.5 Structure of the Study 2. Changing Forces in the Apparel Industry 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Some Initial Viewpoints 2.3 Summary 3. The Commonwealth and the Global Garment Trade 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Relative Importance of Apparel Exports from Commonwealth Countries 3.3 United States Apparel Imports from Commonwealth Countries 3.4 European Union Apparel Imports from Commonwealth Countries 3.5 Choice of Countries for Case Studies 3.6 Summary 4. Survey of Sourcing Practices 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Driving Forces in the Apparel Market 4.3 The Post-quota World 4.4 The Way Forward 4.5 Summary 5. The Apparel Industry Business Environment in Selected Commonwealth Developing Countries 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Southern Africa: Regional Overview 5.3 Mauritius 5.4 South Africa 5.5 Lesotho 5.6 South Asia: Regional Overview 5.7 Sri Lanka 5.8 Bangladesh 5.9 The Caribbean: Regional Overview 5.10 Jamaica 5.11 Summary 6. Production and Costing Issues in Selected Commonwealth Developing Countries 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Indirect Cost Factors 6.3 Direct Cost Factors 6.4 Productivity and Performance Parameters 6.5 Summary 7. Up-grading Initiatives and Lessons Learned 7.1 Introduction 7.2 National-level Initiatives 7.3 Enterprise-level Initiatives 7.4 Summary 8. Apparel in Commonwealth Developing Countries 8.1 Introduction 8.2 National-level Issues 8.3 Enterprise-level Priorities 8.4 Case Study: An Up-grading Intervention 8.5 Summary 9. Conclusions 9.1 The Importance of the Commonwealth Apparel Industry 9.2 Sourcing Executives' Expectations 9.3 National-level Perspectives 9.4 Industry and Government Co-operation 9.5 Up-grading Manufacturing Capability 9.6 And Now What? Bibliography Glossary