Quick Response System Based on XML for the Textile and Apparel e-Supply Chain Full report available Now !!!

The fabric and apparel industry involves unpredictable variations in market trends. A spike in consumer demand at the retail level is not immediately communicated to the downstream supply chain members, who are actively involved in the production of the required fabric and apparel. Quick response calls for the use of up-to-date software technologies to minimize work-in-progress, maximize customer responsiveness, and to offset the added costs of increased product diversity. Quick response requires advanced technologies such as XML, which helps to convert the linear, sequential apparel supply chain into a well-coordinated, dynamic environment. This work focused on developing an XML model that improves the coordination within a supply chain. Our goal was to implement quick response by designing a system of efficient information interchange with emphasis on fabric and garment data flow while acknowledging both the apparel manufacturer's and fabric manufacturer's needs. XML allows us to build interfaces that remove the communication barriers. The XML model developed requires sharing retailer sales data, manufacturer production data, and fabric supplier inventory data along with fiber, fabric and dyeing properties of materials used in the supply chain. A simulation model of an apparel supply chain comprising retailer, manufacturer, and fabric supplier was developed, illustrating the effect of different manufacturing delays. Using simulations, a comparison of the new XML model to the older supply chain model was carried out for ordering and manufacturing time delays. In the XML model every garment was linked to its fabric, fiber and color information. Hence the exchange of technical information was moved up to the retailer, which expedited the buying process. The retailer can track the status of his orders with the manufacturer and analyze the origin of any delays. Through this XML model the right styles are available to the retailer and the right fabrics to the manufacturer. The application of the XML model results in reduction of excess inventory by 11% at the retailer and a decrease in depletion of the initial manufacturer inventory by 37%, and hence reduction in the possibility of stock outs at the manufacturer. The inventory is closer to the desired inventory with less fluctuation. The XML model also results in reduction of excess inventory buildup by decreasing the fluctuation of the relative retailer-manufacturer inventory compared to the desired inventory level by 32%. The application of the XML model assists in Quick Response by lowering inventories, making faster deliveries, shortening order times, and satisfied customers through reduced stock outs. In addition, creation of XML standards for the textile and apparel supply chain, along with development of relevant schemas, is proposed.

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