A recent article in Apparel outlined the responses from Sourcing Execs [Who] Reveal[ed] Best Practices which clearly demonstrated that not all best practices are created equal. Of the twelve (12) best practices outlined in the article, three (3) were good, six (6) were okay, and three (3) were out of left field and about as useful as < insert favorite euphemism here >.

Good:

• Look at what is behind the costs. What influences can you have on each cost?
  Understanding what drives costs is the key to understanding what you may be able to do to reduce costs and/or increase value.
• Innovate in product, technology, finishes.
  Innovation is not restricted to one area — products, services, and technology employed, are all valid areas where innovation can add value to you and your customer.
• We’re trying to push a total cost of ownership.
  Always look at the big picture. A decision should not be made on one or two cost components or contributions to value.

Okay:

• The reasons why we source in China remain valid and China will still be a huge part of our sourcing going forward.
  You should double check your decisions against your reasons and assumptions on a regular basis. Sometimes they will still be right, sometimes market conditions will have changed.
• Vietnam and Bangladesh can be used for key items. But China will not be going away.
  Yes, these are two other sourcing destinations, but they are not the first destination for most companies for a reason. They are smaller, and there are only so many high quality products that can be sourced from these countries.
• Use technology to mitigate risk.
  Technology can only mitigate certain types of risk. Certain political, natural, and societal risks cannot be predicted with any degree of accuracy.
• We need to focus our human capital on the things that matter.
  Of course you have to focus on the right things, but how do you identify what those right things are?
• The real question is who is the next best guy.
  Locale is only one component of outsourcing / best cost country sourcing. The supplier is the other component.
• We feel strongly about Vietnam, and Colombia is of great interest. Pakistan will straighten itself out and come back.
  There is definitely a lot of interest in Columbia, Vietnam remains a strong contender in Asia, and Pakistan may be a good future option.

Out of Left Field:

• We are also working with our suppliers in China to share the joy of sewing the company way. We are working with these suppliers to help promote the idea to their employees that sewing is cool.
  What does a job being cool have to do with sourcing?
• Avoid interfaces and legacies.
  Legacies, yes. But interfaces? Your software needs to interface not only with what you have today, but what your suppliers and customers have today if you are to have visibility up and down the value chain. Interfaces are critical. While the software should not be restricted to interfaces to legacy technology, they must be supported — your suppliers and customers may not be as innovative as you!
• I remain very interested in the Western Hemisphere, particularly on our intimates side.
  Uh, ok, why?