23008_Nearshoring Report

For example, Mango and Inditex have established facilities in locations far closer to their design centres in Spain to be able to provide flexibility and speed to market. Both have sourcing relationships for products such as basic t-shirts over longer distances from locations including China and Bangladesh, as well as closer-to-home locations such as Türkiye, Morocco and Romania as well as within Portugal and Spain. These closer-to-home locations’ proximity mean greater control and flexibility in the production of fashion items as well as swiftness to market and ability to ramp up production for replenishment as needed. Although lead times depend on order volume and complexity, lead times from Turkish suppliers can be 45-60 days on average compared with 90-120 days from Bangladesh, according to Türkiye’s National Institute of Textile Engineering and Research. Also, the transparency of global value chains in fashion is fast becoming one not only focused on cost but also on impact. Fashion and apparel businesses are under increasing pressure to focus on the welfare of workers and the environment throughout their entire supply chains – from primary product suppliers all the way through to finished product production and warehouse operations. Major brands now conduct supplier audits and inspections in countries all over the world in order to ensure that businesses they contract with are upholding the expected high standards of worker safety and environmental

protection. This is complex and costly particularly when suppliers are based in far-away locations.

67

68

C U S H M A N & WA K E F I E L D

I N D U S T R I A L E VO L U T I O N | N E A R S H O R I N G