Apparel product development: an overview of existing models

Abstract

The product development process is recognised as a key element for ensuring long term success and sustainability of organisations. Constantly re-evaluating the strategy and tactics of product development is deemed to be vital to better manage the process of creating more 'on-point' products. Thus, the main focus of this research is to assess how deeply and comprehensively the existing apparel product development models outlined in literature discuss and analyse the development process and identify the prevailing gaps that exist with respect to customer-supplier collaboration and decision-making. Some of the existing models discussed in depth in the reported research are design, design development and style selection stages. A few have considered the integration of the responsible divisions. The theoretical models presented in the literature have not adequately addressed the customer-supplier collaboration and the decision-making involved in the apparel product development process although many of them focused on the activities undertaken to complete the product development.