Supply Chain Management Strategies in The Globalized Fashion Industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jms.3834Keywords:
Fashion Supply Chains; Quick Response; Agility; Resilience; Traceability; Circular Economy; Brand EquityAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to synthesize contemporary research on supply chain management (SCM) strategies in the globalized fashion industry through a brand-management lens. It explicitly aims to evaluate how core operational choices, specifically regarding speed, resilience, and sustainability, impact consumer-facing brand equity, and to quantify the distribution of these strategies within the existing academic literature.
Methodology: The study utilizes a structured, desk-based research design that acts as a conceptual–empirical hybrid. A secondary "micro‑empirical" analysis was conducted on a curated corpus of 20 verified, peer-reviewed English-language studies and systematic reviews. Each source was systematically coded across four distinct dimensions: primary strategic emphasis, evidence type, focal supply chain level, and explicit brand relevance, utilizing a rule-based codebook to ensure replicability.
Findings: The secondary synthesis identifies a dominant strategic triad in fashion SCM literature: (1) speed strategies dominated by quick response and agile/lean hybrids (40%), (2) sustainability and transparency strategies focused on circularity and traceability (25%), and (3) resilience strategies driven by sourcing configuration and network governance (20%). Cross-tabulation reveals that 75% of the analyzed sources explicitly link SCM performance to brand metrics. The analysis also tracks a critical paradigm shift in competitiveness from individual firm efficiency to broader multi-tier network and product-lifecycle governance.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice, and Policy: Theoretically, this paper bridges the traditional gap between operations management and marketing by framing supply chain design as a core component of brand architecture and risk management. Practically, it delivers an actionable portfolio logic and decision sequence for fashion brand managers to navigate the trade-offs among speed, cost, mitigation of disruption risks, and reputational credibility. From a policy perspective, the study establishes an agenda centered on digital product passports and multi-tier data governance, offering insights for industry-wide compliance with emerging global transparency and circular economy regulations.
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