Organised by the Northern Ireland Textiles & Apparel Association(NITA), the half-day conference will feature contributions from Harvard experts Frederick Abernathy and Daniel Weil, and New Delhi-based international consultant Devangshu Dutta.

Local perspectives and case studies will be provided by David Reade of Desmonds and Ken Watson of the Industry Forum.

Speaking ahead of tommorow's event , NITA director Linda McHugh said the conference would address the issues surrounding increased consumer and retailer demands.

"Retailers are constantly demanding lower costs and faster response times." she said.

"As a result one of the biggest challenges facing the textiles clothing industry here is how to balance manufacturing close to market to get those response times, with sourcing certain product off shore i order to meet the current market price."

Conference delegates are expected from across the textiles and clothing section, including retailers. However, Ms.McHugh insists the 'Strongest Link' will be useful to anyone with an interest in supply chain management.