TF Research Focus
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (JFMM), one of the leading global journals in the world of fashion industry, has recently published a research work that investigates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global textile and apparel supply chain. Researcher Md Arif Iqbal, currently working as a Ph.D. fellow at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, co-authored the paper with Jin Su, Nancy Nelson Hodges, and Huicheng Wu, veteran researchers in this discipline.
The paper provides crucial insights from the perspectives of industry professionals within the two leading manufacturing countries of textiles and apparel (TA): Bangladesh and China. Applying the theory of dynamic capabilities, the study explored the impact of a major supply chain disruption because of COVID-19–while it was happening. Findings illustrate the pivotal role played by a firm’s unique dynamic capabilities, including sensing and assessing the COVID crisis for supply chain challenges and identifying and embracing new opportunities brought on by it.
The COVID-19 pandemic put global TA manufacturing supply chains and retail operations under unprecedented pressure. During the pandemic, especially in 2020, a substantial number of TA manufacturing firms experienced unfilled orders, order cancelations, shipping delays, and stalled production. In terms of social impact, thousands of TA workers faced the possibility of job loss or furloughs. The worldwide lockdowns caused operational challenges and led to the closure of apparel retail stores. Stay-at-home orders and greater work-from-home practices abruptly reduced consumer demand for clothing. Social distancing and the practice of remote working have shifted consumers’ preferences in clothing and will probably have long-term effects on the global TA industry.
Due to sheer volume, firms in China and Bangladesh experienced some of the largest supply chain disruptions of any country coping with the COVID-19 pandemic involved in the TA supply network. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe manufacturing slowdowns for both Chinese and Bangladeshi exporters. As a result, compared with 2019, total US imports of textiles and clothing from China and Bangladesh 2020 decreased by 31 and 11 percent, respectively.
To persuade the investigation, researchers employed a qualitative approach to dive deeply into the two interconnected research questions guiding the study:
RQ1. What are the most critical effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on TA firms in China and Bangladesh?
RQ2. How has the current crisis helped these firms, and global sourcing and production in general, become more capable of withstanding other catastrophic events that may occur?
After receiving the institutional review board’s (IRB) approval, members of the research team, coping with the COVID-19 pandemic one with experience in the Chinese industry and the other in the Bangladeshi industry, recruited interview participants using a combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling through their existing network connections with apparel industry practitioners in the two countries. They conducted three contacts with each interviewee: (1) recruitment; (2) introducing the project, reviewing the consent form, and conducting the interview; and (3) requesting a review of the interview transcript and summary of the initial findings.
The findings of this study were elaborated in the following themes: consequences, challenges, and opportunities. It evaluates the scenario with 4 major factors that played a role in the supply chain disruption during the pandemic: firm size, channel diversification, sourcing method, and the type of product produced. The consequences of this disruption were enormous. Participants in larger firms in both countries reported major order cancelations, but most could manage them. In contrast, those with smaller firms faced greater difficulties due to lower capitalization and limited geographical reach. The global trend of online shopping received a boost, as the countries were at a standstill, and there was no way people could go to a shop and buy clothes of their choice. Therefore, online business channels provided substantial advantages compared to the brick-and-mortar shop in both Bangladesh and China. One interesting observation was the massive sales growth of knit activewear, as people stayed home most of the time. Manufacturers that supplied woven products had to suffer more, whereas knit activewear suppliers were taking even more orders than before.
These consequences led to creating several challenges for the TA supply chain during Covid-19. As a global natural calamity, Covid-19 raised enormous concerns about safety and sustainability. Researchers concluded that the aftermath was different in these two countries. Industries in China opted to set a higher standard of safety measurements by practicing social distancing and long-term plans, whereas industry experts from Bangladesh were afraid that the lack of safety would still prevail. Covid-19 also increased the cost of production as sourcing was harder.
One crucial observation that was brought up by this research is Covid-19 increased the pace of industry 4.0. The sudden halt of physical activities encouraged the adoption of more automated processes in production, enforcing the necessity of digital
innovation. 3D modeling, 3D body measurement, and automated machines contributed to making a shorter lead time, which the industries will quickly adapt.
A key strategy found in this study was to offer diversified and value-added products and services and broaden the customer portfolio. For example, some of the participants’ firms saw opportunities as the demand for PPE skyrocketed and quickly pivoted to manufacturing fashion face masks, medical face masks, gloves, and gowns. Last, the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 highlight the need for network collaboration and inter-organizational sharing of resources and capabilities.
Even though the pandemic had demerits of its own, researchers concluded that it presented the industry with certain opportunities and responsibilities to carry on for the future. To grab these opportunities, the industry needs to strengthen its employee program and social responsibility initiative. According to the participants, one of the key positives that emerged during the pandemic was realizing that coping with the COVID-19 pandemic is a connection between business sustainability and maintaining a focus on workers’ safety and welfare. Focusing on technology and innovation is another measure that the industry should implement immediately. COVID has been a wake-up call for many firms, not just in China and Bangladesh, about the critical role of technology as key to the pandemic response. The limited operation of transport facilities worldwide created difficulties in getting raw materials from overseas suppliers and in selling finished products to overseas customers. Yet, for many of the participants, this challenge was viewed as an opportunity, as some firms shifted to local sourcing and vertical integration for necessary materials or sought local end markets for their products amid the pandemic. Last but not least, during the early days of the pandemic, most of the TA supply chain activities stopped completely. Some firms used this time as an opportunity to restructure their production operations to improve efficiency and agility.
In these difficult times, when the industry is on the verge of another major disruption, a publication of this caliber was of great importance. The study provides unique practical implications for the global TA industry. Specifically, the findings of this study shed light on the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis affected the global TA supply chain, as well as how China and Bangladesh’s TA manufacturers have coped with the crisis. Participant responses offer valuable lessons on quickly reshaping the business to meet emergent needs. It will enable supply chains to return to normal swiftly in response to the next crisis, whatever that may be. It is noteworthy that many of the TA firms in this study took a positive view regarding the challenges posed by this unprecedented situation. As a result, many strove to turn the uncertain TA supply chain environment into an opportunity to develop growth initiatives and enhance their capabilities to improve resilience and viability. It is important that TA firms deploy strategic initiatives and develop new or reconfigure existing capabilities and resources to address emergent opportunities. Findings, therefore, offer practical lessons on how to resolve future supply chain risk challenges when the next crisis comes around, and the risk might hit us sooner than we expect.
About the Scholar
Md Arif Iqbal is a passionate researcher and data analyst who is currently completing his doctoral degree in Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies from Bryan School of Business and Economics, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). He has recently received the Naomi G Albanese Doctoral Fellowship for his excellence and dedication to his research field. Besides working as the International Ambassador of the International Program Center of UNCG, he has worked as the President of the Graduate Student Association of UNCG. Previously, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the department of Textile Engineering Management at the Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX). During his decorated career as a researcher and academic scholar, he has taught numerous courses, supervised projects, and explored the fields of technology adoption in the apparel industry, supply chain management, sustainability and buyer-supplier relationship in textile and apparel supply chain, consumer behavior and social media marketing, and skills and education in consumer, apparel and retail studies.
As an expert in the studies of textiles and apparel, Md Arif Iqbal has supervised undergraduate and MBA projects and left extraordinary scholarly contributions to peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. This year alone, he published articles in top journals, including the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education; and the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. Md Arif Iqbal also works as a peer reviewer of the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. He presented ten research articles at different international research conferences. In the Annual Conference of the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA), 2022, five of his research works were selected to be published in the proceedings, revealing broader perspectives and underlying data in the fields of consumer behavior, sustainability, and technology adoption through the eyes of consumers, manufacturers, and experts. Md Arif Iqbal is a member of the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) and the Institution of Textile Engineers and Technologists (ITET).
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