Traditional versus fast fashion supply chains in the apparel industry: an agent-based simulation approach

Sabrina Backs (), Hermann Jahnke, Lars Lüpke, Mareike Stücken and Christian Stummer
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Sabrina Backs: Bielefeld University
Hermann Jahnke: Bielefeld University
Lars Lüpke: Bielefeld University
Mareike Stücken: Bielefeld University

Annals of Operations Research, 2021, vol. 305, issue 1, No 20, 487-512

Abstract: Abstract In the past, most companies in the European apparel industry focused on minimizing manufacturing costs in the design of supply chains in conjunction with long-distance shipping from production sites in the Far East and relatively long production cycles. Today, for some market segments, the speed of production cycles is more important than the cost because short throughput time allows the flexibility to adjust to rapidly changing fashion trends in these market segments. Accordingly, choosing the most beneficial supply chain strategy has become an established research topic. However, apparel markets are complex systems. Therefore, attempts to reduce the underlying complexity in order to model these markets have limited existing research to the consideration of only selected aspects of markets (e.g., considering only homogeneous buyers, a single period, a single product, or a single manufacturer in the absence of competition) rather than taking a more comprehensive view. These limitations can be overcome by applying an agent-based simulation approach—an approach that can account for a wider range of factors, including several competing manufacturers utilizing different supply chain strategies, individual consumer preferences and behavior, word-of-mouth communication, normative social influence, and first-hand experience, as well as advertising. In this paper, the capability potential of such agent-based market simulation is demonstrated by investigating two supply chain strategies (fast fashion vs. traditional fashion) with varying product and communication strategies (product attributes and advertising) in several market scenarios.

Keywords: Agent-based simulation; Supply chain management; Apparel industry; Fast fashion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10479-020-03703-8

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