What's Inside

The apparel sourcing industry is experiencing uncertainty due to unpredictable changes to tariffs and trade, the widespread coronavirus pandemic and fast-moving upgrades of technology in the supply chain. In this report, we outline five key apparel-sourcing trends and discuss how apparel retailers and brands can adapt to consumer expectations while controlling sourcing costs.

We discuss the following key topics:

• Apparel retailers moving sourcing away from China—due to rising labor costs, changing consumer sentiment toward “Made in China” products
• The adoption of onshoring and nearshoring strategies and advanced technologies—such as IoT, 3D design, analytics, IoT and robotics and analytics
• Sustainability in the supply chain
• Increasing retailer-supplier collaboration

This report also highlights successful initiatives from selected companies in the apparel industry, including Levi’s, NIKE and Walmart.

For related content, read our reports on New Retail Models in the Global Apparel and Footwear Market and Reshaping Supply Chains for the 2020s: Five Forces Impacting Supply Chains.