Supply Chain Capabilities, Operational Constraints, and Performance in Bangladesh’s Textile Retail Sector: A Mixed-Methods Investigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63539/2026009Keywords:
Supply Chain Management, Textile Retail Business, Inventory Planning Capability, Supplier Relationship, Technology Adoption, BangladeshAbstract
The management practices, problems and improvement pathways of textile retail supply chains in Bangladesh are not well documented, as they link millions of consumers with the manufacturers, wholesalers and importers. To fill this void, this study examines the practices of SCM, capability factors and operational constraints in domestic textile retail sector in Bangladesh. A concurrent mixed methods design was used. A quantitative survey was conducted on 422 textile retail outlets with different sizes, areas and product specializations. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were used. Twenty-two semi-structured key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with retailers, suppliers, wholesalers, logistics actors, technology providers and institutional stakeholders, and analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Existing SCM practices and operational constraints were the two most significant predictors of SCM outcomes (β = 0.278, p < 0.001 and β = −0.295, p < 0.001, respectively). Each of the three capabilities – inventory planning capability, supplier relationship capability, and technology-enabled capability – made positive contributions. Results were significantly different between small and large businesses, and between experienced and inexperienced businesses, but were not different between product categories. Ten themes emerged qualitatively, indicating that the structural characteristics of the sector are seasonal demand cycles, informal supplier relationships, memory-based inventory systems and organizational readiness deficits. Operational constraints are systemic and are co-produced by actors in the supply chain, and need to be addressed collectively rather than individually at the level of the firm. Relationships with suppliers are a form of resilience capital that is underutilized. Inventory planning is the area of the sector with the highest consequence and lowest development. A sequenced approach of basic inventory discipline, structured supplier collaboration, incremental digitalization and enabling institutional support is needed to modernize the supply chain sustainably. The results provide a focus for the SCM literature to move away from the export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh and towards the comparatively under-researched retail textile industry.
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