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The global garment industry is changing drastically and quickly for apparel buyers. In the past, a factory that shipped a decent product, on time, and at a reasonable price was advantageous. Today apparel buyers demand factories that can also provide speed-to-market—short production times from designer sketch to warehouse delivery—with a full suite of value-added services bundled into the price. Full-service and speed-to-market are a powerful cost-saving combination but can rarely be obtained by working in a single source market with an individual factory.
Free trade agreements (FTAs) and market proximity contribute to the success of the textile and apparel industries of some regions, such as Central America as a supplier to the US market. Greater China (China–Hong Kong–Macau) enjoys the benefits of proximity and cultural affiliation. Southeast Asia, however, is large and disparate and comprises multiple distinct cultures. The region has no FTA with the United States and its TPA with the EU is of marginal benefit. On what basis, then, can Southeast Asia become the leading regional source for garment buyers?
Despite some of the constraints to sourcing in Southeast Asia identified above, the region does have some of the world’s most important garment factories. However, most of them are acting alone are unable to provide all the required services or achieve the speed-to-market buyers are looking for. They can, however, form virtual vertical factories (VVFs) with upstream suppliers of materials and other services in order to give buyers the fast, full-service, competitive advantages they seek. The Source ASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA) is facilitating exactly that.
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about some of the advantages of sourcing in Southeast Asia and how the SAFSA model serves as an excellent mechanism to develop that sourcing potential.
 Michael Blakeley currently serves as the Director of the “VALUE” consulting project managed by the American consulting firm Nathan Associates Inc. and funded by the U.S. Agency of International Development. The VALUE project, which is based in Bangkok, works with various industries in Southeast Asia to achieve regional economic integration, including in the textile and apparel industry which has adopted the Source ASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA) model. Mr. Blakeley has served as director of numerous economic development projects in emerging economies, including in Nigeria, Morocco and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Blakeley holds a Masters Degree in International Trade Policy and Bachelors Degree in Political Science.
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