II. Review of Related Literature Due to the growing intensity of competition in both local and global business sectors, several companies and service providers have realized the need to develop more strategic approaches for managing supply chains. These affective factors and realization then led to the development of tradition SCM systems up to the advanced systems companies apply at present. The evolution of supply chain management occurred during the 1990s; at this time, collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers had been established in order to enhance traditional approaches in supply management functions. At the same time, retailers as well as wholesalers had integrated their logistics operations as well so as to achieve greater competitive advantages ( 2002).
In the process, both of these concepts were joined and became a strategic approach to what is now known as supply chain management (SCM). In this chapter, the relation of the apparel industry to SCM is explained. Models, implementation needs as well as the dilemma on the application of SCM systems are also discussed through the citation of various related literatures and studies.
Relevance of the Supply Chain to the Apparel Industry The apparel industry goes through a number of business challenges. Due to certain trends like fashion and consumer preferences, companies operating in the industry often encounter the issue on demand uncertainty. In order to address this, apparel businesses utilize the concept of product variety. This technique however, would require certain activities such as production systems, forecasting and inventory management. This then emphasizes the need for the apparel industry to employ innovative systems to manage and handle its supply chains. Traditionally, the supply chain approach of apparel establishments is made up of the formation of