Addressing Uncertainty In the Clothing Supply Chain — an Asia to Australia View

摘要

Much has been written about the need for collaboration in supply chains. However, the observations tend to be of a general nature, whereas supply chains can often be affected by international and local conditions that require specific solutions. This paper considers the Australian clothing supply chain and its dependence on imported product from Asia. The paper discusses general matters concerning relationships and uncertainty between organizations in supply chains before considering the Australian clothing supply chain. It identifies the particular factors that affect operations of the chain and aspects of retailer power in Australia and argues that rather than waiting for a "perfect" supply chain collaboration to occur, an intermediate IT-based logistics organization between the suppliers and retailers be used.