Enhancing quality management in the globalisation of US textile-apparel supply chains

Abstract

This study addresses current quality issues in the US textile-apparel industry from a supply chain management perspective. It introduces the concept of quality in supply chains and highlights the impacts of quality in other performance-related issues such as flexibility, agility, integration, and cost effectiveness. This research considered two major performance measure components for quality assessment in this industry. The first component includes a process/product component that concentrates on the physical characteristics of goods in the manufacturing processes. The second one is a logistics component that focuses on the smoothness in the flow of goods and information to ensure that all participants in a supply chain can manufacture and deliver products in the right quantities, at the right time, and with the right quality. The result of this research provides a set of key quality management factors for the implementation of supply chain management in the textile and apparel industry with the consideration of some of the potential opportunities and pitfalls that companies may encounter in the process.