Browsing by Author "Ali, M.I. Saifil"
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- PublicationIntegrated Supply Chain Management: A Model for Asian Knitwear Export SectorIn the Post-MFA phase-out trade regime, the Asian textile and garment industry has carved a `niche’ in the European and US markets. According to the WTO’s latest international trade statistics, the phase-out of the WTO agreement on textiles and clothing has boosted the roles of Asian players, especially, China, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, in global exports of textiles and clothing, in 2005. Knitwear, one of the constituents of garment exports is a major clothing item exported from the Asian countries, especially, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.Globally, there is a spurt in demand for knitwear, and, Asia has become the hub of knitwear manufacture and export. The Asian knitting industry, with the predominance of small and medium enterprises, engaged in direct and indirect exports, has emerged as a premier supplier of value added items, earning high foreign exchange for the countries in the region. There has been a phenomenal change in technology and modernization initiatives, and knitwear exports from Asia have been increasing ever since, the phasing out of the quota system. However, the industry is confronted with fast changing consumer tastes and preferences in the developing and developed country markets, hectic competition from countries within and outside the continent and frequent changes in government policies, especially, in the erstwhile quota countries.Knitwear manufacturing and exporting firms in Europe and North America compete in the competitive global market place, using their supply chain as the weapon. Whereas, many Asian firms are experiencing severe problems in managing their supply chains, especially, due to lack of best practices. The primal reason behind the scenario is lack of conceptual framework and the basic knowledge of SCM, amongst the business professionals, missing of global context and the focus being on only one or two parts of SCM, rather than the complete concept. The challenges of Asian knitwear industry can be overcome by proper supply chain management, that facilitates integrated and interdependent decision- making between all the partners in international business operations.This paper is part of a research work, the author undertook, on the state of affairs of knitwear export industry, in India. It presents a conceptual model of supply chain management, for the Asian knitwear manufacturers and exporters, integrating the functions of export business, especially, product and logistics functions, at the front and back ends, leading to value addition/value creation.
14 60 - PublicationTotal Quality Management (TQM) - the Practical Implications for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)When globalization is discussed, it is the big multinationalbrands that usually come to mind. The small and mediumenterprises can also cash in on the opportunities ofglobalization, if they take advantage of modernmanagement practices and information technology. Theglobalised industrial scenario today is such that, it isinevitable for every progressive organization to keep pacewith the developments taking place within and outsidetheir national boundaries, in order to overcome thechallenges and become successful in their respectiveindustries. With the increasing focus on quality issuesworldwide, due to the explosive growth of the number ofmanufactured products and services, organizations havestarted adopting appropriate management strategies in thefield of quality, to succeed in the market place and SMEsare of no exception. Total Quality Management (TQM), aconcept that became popular in the 1980s among theJapanese, North Americans and Europeans has beenwidely practiced by industries world over, as an integratedmanagement strategy, for continuing and cumulativegains in quality, productivity and cost reduction. Thoughthe quality movement has gained momentum among largeindustries and TQM concept is increasingly practiced bylarge scale industries, it is receiving little attention by thesmall and medium scale industries. In the changed andemerging scenario, competition from domestic companiesand multinational corporations, both from within andoutside will be intense, and small and medium scaleenterprises, comprising the most vibrant sector in many ofthe national economies, will have to look into this pursuitfor quality, primarily to survive and to grow.In view of their significant role in the national economies,small and medium scale enterprises require special careand efforts for sustaining them and improving theirworking. Although there are several measures that can besuggested for SMEs, an effective approach for improvingoperational efficiency is that of Total QualityManagement (TQM). In this paper, an attempt is beingmade by the authors to present the implications of TQMon the performance of small and medium scale enterprisesand a model of TQM application.
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