In today’s age, the selection and management of a supplier is the key to success for any business and more so in the garment sector, where the norms of global business are a must for local operations. One has to evaluate a supplier on wide-ranging parameters – value for money, quality, reliability, service, product skills, customer base, financial strength, infrastructure and machinery, quality procedures, management attitudes, price competitiveness, location, compliance, merchandising efficiency, etc. Apparel Online tries to unravel the parameters which make one a ‘preferred supplier’. Bangladesh is going through one of its worst phases in two decades with growth in garment exports slowing down quite drastically in the Financial Year 2016-17. In a very honest interaction with Team AO, BGMEA President Md. Siddiqur Rahman, shares the reasons behind the setback and measures being taken to get the industry back on the growth track. As Bangladesh gears up to achieve the magic figure of US $ 50 billion by 2021 in apparel exports, Team AO under segment ‘Resource Centre’, speaks to company heads of three establishments on their growth, vision and initiatives taken to achieve this target. The companies are DCC Print Vision LLP; American & Efird (A&E); and Java Paper Group. Besides the above, our regular columns of Buyer Blog, Exporter Profile, Bangladesh Canvas, Retailer Current, Beyond BD, Tech Management, Export Statistics, and Fashion pages make the issue worth reading.