Abstract

The post-pandemic world will be full of fear of uncertainties and unpredictable behavior. The
post-pandemic world will essentially require an overall shift in the mindset of our manufacturers
and will require greater focus on flexibility and innovation if we are still to remain a contender as
one of the fastest growing economies globally.

Apparel Industry

Investment Opportunities and Government Support

Enormous investment opportunities exist in this sector. In the RMG industry demand for fabric
significantly exceeds local supply and so is currently being met by imports. Backward linkage is
a significant trading opportunity and is supported by a government backed incentive: 15% cash
subsidy of the fabric cost to exporters sourcing fabrics locally. Additionally the government has
created a highly favorable policy framework for investment in these sectors offering investors
the following choices:

 Establishment of new textile/RMG mill in the private sector

 Joint ventures with the existing textile/RMG mill
 Acquisition of public sector textile mills that are being privatised
 Indirect investment through financial services and/or leasing
 Post pandemic proposal on Apparel Industry

Bangladesh needs to prepare for intense competition internationally in a bid to retain its global
market share in manufacturing. The country will need to be able to utilize its competitive, skilled
labour force in more efficient ways to boost productivity while also to embrace technological
innovations and provide more creative solutions. While the import dependency on China for
certain raw materials cannot be eliminated in the short term, we need to efficiently manage our
supply chain to shorten our lead time and allow more flexibility for the customers.

Post-pandemic fashion industry is expected to see the biggest paradigm shift in supply chain in
decades. A stable and manageable supply base will be of critical importance for manufacturing
companies as they prepare to handle unprecedented challenges in day-to-day operations. low-
cost supply and minimal inventory will no longer be enough during such uncertain days ahead in
the apparel industry. Being back in business, manufacturing companies that do make it to the
other side will be focusing on:
(a) Flexibility;
(b) Skilled labour force
(c) Synchronous supply chain
(d) Supply chain through near shoring
(e) Collaborative innovation
(f) Integrated supply chain

Flexibility
Bangladesh's financial sector will need enhanced protection measures for exporters against credit
risk.
'Flexibility' will be the new buzzword. Every customer will be seeking flexibility from vendors
in a multitude of ways.
Additionally, the post-pandemic world will see an increase in credit risk by several folds. There
will also be the need to become more flexible with payment terms.
Flexible supply chains played a critical role, including rapid raw material sourcing, product
design, development and testing, and distribution.
Leaders invest in two capabilities to create flexibility supply chains:
1. Network agility: Setting up alternative manufacturing sites and assembly nodes and
making the most of Industry 4.0 tools to optimize cost, improve visibility across the
network and accelerate reaction times.
 2. Real-time network visibility:  Control tower solutions that integrate data across the
entire supply chain, 5G technology and blockchain offer leadership teams real-time
visibility. 

Skilled labour force

1. In-house training facilities
2. Out-of-firm training facilities
3. Major constraints related to hiring and retaining skilled workers
4. Practice of supporting external training centre

Synchronous supply chain

Push-Pull is also termed as synchronous supply chain. In this strategy, the initial stages of the
supply chain are operated based on Push system, and the final stages are operated on Pull
strategy. The interface between the Push-based stages and the Pull-based stages is referred as the
Push-Pull boundary.
1. Design of supply chain configuration depends on clock-speed of organization. Clock-
speed of organization is the speed with which the product-portfolio and process change in
response to market demand. So, organization having low clock-speed, i.e. with relatively
stable demand may have push oriented supply chain. On the other hand, a high clock-
speed organization with variable market demand may have pull oriented supply chain.

2. In the Push portion of a Push-Pull supply chain strategy the focus is on cost while in the
Pull portion of the strategy, the focus is on service levels.

3. In a Push-Pull strategy, the Push part is applied to the portion of the supply chain where
long-term forecasts have small uncertainty and variability. On the other hand, the Pull
part is applied to the portion of the supply chain where uncertainty and variability are
high and therefore decisions are made only in response to real demand.

4. In a Push-Pull supply chain, inventory is minimized as it is designed to eliminate the

safety stock by make-to-order and long cycle-time is reduced by pre-arranging/ pre-
manufacturing part of the supply.

5. It is found that management of apparel supply chain moves from push to pull and finally
to synchronous system. However, all three kinds of supply chain management co-exist in
apparel industry as appropriate supply chain strategy depends on the industry, the
company, and individual products. The higher the uncertainty in customer demand, the
better to manage that part through Pull strategy

6. Internet and related technology bring apparel manufacturer closure to actual consumer,
with a need to cater individual choice in short time. This coupled with the variable
demand of consumer makes it mandatory for organization to handle single item in short
 quantity in place of multiple items each in large quantity. This shift also increased the
importance and the complexity of reverse logistics to efficiently handle customer-return.

Supply chain through near shoring

Near shoring production in order to be geographically close to the supply base will be a key
sourcing preference to ensure flexibility and greater control.
Recent surveys show brands that have been actively reducing their dependency on China and
Others are strongly focusing on Southeast Asian countries
Although near shoring may not seem to be a cost-effective solution in the short term, in a mid-to-
longer timeframe, it is likely to pay off by covering the loss of time and hence revenue, while
allowing retailers to buy closer to date.
Near-shoring will be accelerated in response to a heightened desire for products made closer to
home, according to McKinsey. New manufacturing hubs may emerge encouraging brands to
think laterally about production, with capabilities and performance tested through smaller
capsule collections. The ability to faster deliver on trends that near-shoring affords may enable a
higher sell-through and offset concerns about margin loss from low-cost manufacturing from
Asia.

Collaborative innovation
While brands and retailers are closing shops and are struggling to keep their businesses afloat, on
the other end of the supply chain, workers are being subjected to massive layoffs.
These are the times that both governments in garment production countries need to step up and
take responsibility for the people who make our clothes.  And although garment brands are
facing extreme difficulties, there are still many things that they can do, too.
A selection of measures that every garment brand should take to mitigate the negative impact of
the pandemic on their suppliers and workers.
1. Anticipate changes or delays in production and be flexible about delivery dates, payment
terms and financial liability.
2. Prioritise orders based on real demand.
3. Accept extended lead times and push back sales meetings to allow for later delivery.
4. Make sure workers and their representatives are included in negotiating changes to
factory policies and the measures the factory is taking
 Integrated supply chain

Reference:
1. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/views/post-pandemic-supply-chain-shift-
1589295483?fbclid=IwAR0SLsnMbxWHrnpooCkqK6LBQvkVsUDMwmPHPE3gVE0Fy37ss-
yRkf2qh-o
2. https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/3315/apparel-supply-chain-and-its-variants?
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3. https://www.fairwear.org/covid-19-dossier/fair-wear-staff-share-covid-19-guidance/how-
garment-brands-can-ease-the-impact-of-covid-19-across-the-supply-chain/?
fbclid=IwAR07g7KEbFByzNx8s1Sc6kxhi2kMp01_boDe5gKi-paXy6e8HJ7OAWK6At4
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dqK7wBf4wv0Y3iXNO3glAPOYwisyqap6-OwEJg
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fbclid=IwAR3Qa4Prf5j9NMsVk3OminDc1N-6hL1GrikpQondXiAH9ne4NOyij6Cc5qA