Human-Centered Supply Chain Agility in AI-Enabled Customized Apparel Production: Evidence from Qualitative Interviews in the Central American Apparel Industry
Abstract
Customer customization and high-mix, low-volume production have increased operational complexity and sustainability pressures in global apparel supply chains. Although artificial intelligence (AI) improves visibility, forecasting, and decision support, limited research explains how AI-generated intelligence is translated into coordinated organizational action in labor-intensive manufacturing. This study examines how strategic flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, AI-enabled operational intelligence, and human expertise interact in the enactment of Human-Centered Supply Chain Agility (HCSA) in customized apparel manufacturing. An exploratory qualitative design was employed using semi-structured interviews with 13 senior managers and executives from apparel manufacturing firms operating in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Reflexive thematic analysis identified seven interrelated themes: customer customization and operational uncertainty, strategic flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, AI-enabled operational intelligence, human expertise, AI–human complementarity, and coordinated organizational response. Participants reported varying levels of engagement with AI-assisted and broader digital systems. Where AI-supported tools were used, they primarily provided enhanced visibility and analytical support, while experienced managers remained responsible for contextual interpretation, priority setting, exception handling, and implementation decisions. Participants associated these digitally supported and human-centered processes with more efficient resource use, reduced operational waste, organizational resilience, and more responsible managerial decision-making. Rather than proposing a new theory, this study offers an empirically grounded, process-oriented interpretation of how established agility capabilities are enacted in AI-enabled customized apparel manufacturing.