A Study on Supply Chain Management in

Garments Industries of Bangladesh

Acknowledgement
This research proposal concludes our Master’s degree studies in Textile
Engineering,
Program at Faculty of Science ,University of Science and Technology, China . It is
our
pleasure to conduct the research on ‘Supply Chain Management’, especially to
discover the
case of Ready-Made Garments industry of Bangladesh. Ready-Made Garments
industry is not
only the main source of export earning but also creates millions of job for
Bangladeshi people
who are involved directly or indirectly with this industry. Our research work will be
successful if it contributes to increase the supply chain efficiency in Ready-Made
Garments
industry.
Firstly, we would like to thank our supervisor Dr. Chaw Lee for his precious
guidance, advice
and suggestions to complete the research proposal successfully. We also
thank other
concerned person in Master in Textile and clothing Management program and
authorities of
University of Science and Technology China to give us such a great opportunity to
study here.
Thanks to our class fellows and friends who had been helpful with various
information and
suggestion.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to our parents and relatives for their
love and
inspiration during the study period in China, wherever we now, you are always with
us.
Abstract
The term “supply chain management” has become a popular buzzword, probably first
used by
consultants in the late 1980s & then analyzed by the academic community in the
1990s. The
ready-made garment (RMG) industry has recently occupied the largest part of
exports and
foreign currency in Bangladesh and has been for more than a decade the second
largest
contributor to gross domestic product (GDP). Millions of poor women and men are
employed
in this industry. However, a supporting import quota system in the USA was stopped
in 2005
which has left the RMG sector struggling against new challenges that need to be
properly
addressed. As the end consumers of the apparel fashion market are becoming
increasingly
time-sensitive, a decrease in lead time, besides quality and cost criteria, is needed to
win more
orders from buyers. We have examined the opportunity that lies in an integrated
supply chain
to provide a competitive advantage to the Bangladesh RMG sector. A system
dynamics
approach has been used to identify the dominant variables of supply chain
performance (such
as enablers, performance or results, and inhibitors) in the RMG sector. Open and
open end
questionnaire will be conducted with senior management personnel, supply chain
professionals, and merchandisers of the RMG industry. Based on the findings, a
causal loop
diagram is proposed to help understand the dynamic behavior among the said
variables so that
the top management may take effective decisions in order to enhance the supply
chain
performance in the long run.
Keywords: Causal loop diagram, Integrated supply chain, Lead time, Ready-made
garment
industry, System dynamics analysis, Supply Chain efficiency
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Research background
1.3 Research problem
1.4 Research question
1.5 Research objectives
1.6 Research significance
1.7 Definition of terms
1.8 Summary
Chapter 2 : Literature review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Definition
2.3 Dependent variables
2.4 Independent variable
2.5 Conceptual framework
2.6 Theoretical framework
2.7 Summary
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Deign
3.3 Population and Sample
3.4 Sample size
3.5 Sampling Technique
3.6 Measurement Scale
3.7 Hypothesis development
3.8 Questionnaire design
3.9 Pilot testing/ pre testing
3.10 Reliability and validity
3.11 Data Analysis
1. Chapter-01
1.1. Introduction:
The export of ready-made garments (RMG) from Bangladesh has been increasing so
rapidly for the last two
decades that it has come to occupy the lion’s share of its total exports. Bangladesh
started exporting RMG at an
annual value of about US$32 million in 1983-84 but experienced a continuous
massive growth which resulted in
an almost US$18,000 million of export value of RMG in 2011-12 (Export Promotion
Bureau, Bangladesh, 2012).
Once heavily dependent on exporting jute products, the economy of Bangladesh is
now experiencing more than
three fourths of its export contributions from the RMG sector alone. In Bangladesh,
the export value of RMG out
of total exports was almost 76% in 2008 and 79% in 2012 (Export Promotion
Bureau, Bangladesh, 2012). This
newly born industry has become immensely significant in the economy of
Bangladesh due to its high
contributions to the total export value, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and job
creation, especially for women, as
well as helping the backward-forward supply chain industries to grow.
Among developing economies such as Cambodia, Sri-Lanka, China, etc, Bangladesh
has achieved a strong
position as one of the global suppliers of RMG, mainly due to having one of the
cheapest labor costs among the
apparel manufacturing countries. The globalization of industries created pressure for
location-based
manufacturing economies which were also supported by the US and European Union
(EU) import policies. The
‘multi-fiber arrangement’ (MFA), a quota system imposed by the US federal
government forced US importers to
source from less developed countries with the aim of fostering their manufacturing
ability and supporting the
growth of the apparel industry in countries from South Asia, China and other
developing nations. After the MFA
system became defunct in 2005, Bangladesh started to counter more rivalry, both
anticipated and unanticipated,
from many producers and suppliers because it turned into an open market for all.
Now, the RMG industry of
Bangladesh is struggling with many global competitors in terms of cost, quality,
customer service, and lead time.
In recent years many reputable organizations are purchasing products, and sourcing,
distributing and
selling simultaneously from different corners of the world. This globalization of
operations has become
inevitable because cheap labor is available in some countries while raw material is
readily available in others.
Moreover, the time, cost and quality sensitiveness are also significantly varied
among customers in different
regions of the world. Through an efficient implementation of integrated supply chain
management, the RMG
industry in Bangladesh could stay competitive by maintaining the required efficiency
and responsiveness. This
was the traditional view of all companies that they existed as single and complete
units and operated their
businesses separately.
1.2. Research Background:
The historical background of supply chain management starts with understanding the
mindset of the consumer.
1940 have become the starting point where the Supplier started to focus on
customer values. This idea only
becomes a good theory not in practice, but after twenty years in 1960, the first
generation of modernized supply
chain management theory was launch which was only focusing on the flow
of the material to reduce the
maximum cost (Ericsson, Key to success in the digital economy, 2001).
Early 70s reveal the second generation concept of supply chain management ,
which was only focusing to
generate maximum revenue by restructuring the organisation management and by
developing the good relations
with the vendor, to cope with the upcoming challenges of competition.
Number of organization started to
integrate by global sourcing, which become a core business in late 80s.The idea of
globalization has given a firm
grip on supply chain management to increase competitive advantage, value-adding
and reducing cost. Foreign
competition was brought by globalization, into markets that were local
traditionally. Most of the Local
companies were thereby forced to respond by improving their manufacturing
practices and supply chain
management (Ericsson, Key to success in the digital economy, 2001).
The fourth and fifth generation is a Time and Information Technology based
Logistics, the introduction of ICT
(Information communication Technology) filled the tool gap, which was not
available in early 70s and 80s.The
Lean concept of manufacturing has given birth to agility, which means that the
concept of supply chain is taken
over by demand change management. The companies started to remove
the costly waste from vertical
manufacturing and implements cost effective outsourced This integration
requires specialized supply chain
partnership, which requires the companies to extend their hands beyond their
thinking (Ericsson, Key to success
in the digital economy, 2001).
Globalization has made competitive pressure, which indulged today’s organisation to
work on quick response so
that they could market their product as quickly as possible. We can see now interest
is shifting from material
planning, inventory management to integration or partnership building.
Figure; Typical Supply Chain
1.3. Research Problem:
Various factors affect the efficiency of the entire Supply Chain system of
companies. The problems are
identified based on the impacts over the Supply Chain which is summarized below:
1.The main weaknesses of Bangladesh lack of vertical integration due to its low
production of raw materials in
compare with India and China which leads to import fabrics from other countries,
ultimately long lead time for
order fulfillment. The RMG industry highly dependent on imports and had to spend
about 55-75 days to import
fabrics from abroad (Nuruzzaman, M., 2007). This backdrop is the main reason for
long lead time and higher
material costs. The Present lead time is about 90-100 days,whereas China requires
only 30 days (Khan,S., 2007).
2. Productivity is hampered due to Quality Inspection/Compliance Inspection which
is a common term in the
garment industry.
3. Lack of awareness of upcoming technologies, telecommunications & IT
impediments and energy supplies
unreliable. Full package production and fast replenishment demands adequate
IT systems to connect the
buyer and supplier. This requires a modern and reliable telecommunications
infrastructure, and back-up from
IT professionals.
4. Bangladesh does not have sufficient infrastructure to support this garment industry
and poor port facility is
another issue. Chittagong is the only port in Bangladesh. The port facilities are not
sufficient with increased
volume of export. As a result container keep stuck-up at the port and remain
container jammed which
increase lead time for either in imported and exported cargos.
5. Bureaucratic delays still undermine attempts to shorten lead-times. Customs
clearance, port congestion and
corruption are all cited by businesses as presenting enormous hurdles.
6. Political instability; is a regular incident in Bangladesh. Strikes and violations are
very frequent
which affects on productivity a lot.
7. Production hampered due to Labor cohesion in the factories.
Cultural barriers to information sharing between buyer and supplier are important
issues in global
outsourcing. Information sharing is must for good relationship and trustworthiness.
Misunderstanding
can takes place due to cultural differences.
1.4. Research Objectives:
The objectives of our research is to investigate how inefficiency factors affect
the Supply Chain
Management system of Garments Industries of Bangladesh. With that view we
will analyze what
implications of these factors in overall efficiency in entire value chain System, how
these factors affect
Supply Chain efficiency and, in particular, which factors are significantly responsible
for inefficiency.
We will also analyze probable solutions to minimize inefficiency of supply chain in.
1.5. Research Questions
In this research proposal we will conduct in Bangladesh to investigate how Supply
Chain inefficiency
factors create problem for the off-shore operations, and how they are handled by the
companies. we
have found the following one main research questions on the basis of problem
discussions. To be able
answered our main research question; we addressed two more research sub-
questions:
Main Research Question:
What are the probable solutions to minimize the effect of inefficiency factors of
Supply Chain
Management of Garments Industries in Bangladesh?
Sub questions:
1. What are the factors affecting the Supply Chain Management (SCM)
performance of
Garments Industries in Bangladesh?
2. How these factors affect the Supply Chain Management (SCM) performance and
what
are the impacts of inefficiency factors on the entire Value Chain system?
1.6. Research Significance:
Our research is very significant for the improvement of the factors that affecting the
Supply Chain
Management (SCM) performance of Garments Industries in Bangladesh. It is very
important to
maintain lead time, to deliver the orders just in time(JIT), to control the inventory
properly. to maintain
the production line balancing, to obtain buyers satisfaction. It reduces raw material
costing. Increasing
supply chain management performance efficiency can save lot of money of the
garments industries. As
a result the profit of the garments industries will increase.
1.7. Definition of terms:
Supply Chain : A supply chain is actually a complex and dynamic supply and
demand network. A
supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and
resources involved in
moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
Supply Chain performance: Supply Chain Performance management approaches to
implement the
necessary optimization cycle within the supply chain process.
Causal loop diagram: A causal loop diagram (CLD) is a causal diagram that aids in
visualizing how
different variables in a system are interrelated. The diagram consists of a set of nodes
and edges.
Nodes represent the variables and edges are the links that represent a connection or a
relation between
the two variable.
Integrated supply chain: Integrated supply chain is a close alignment and
coordination within a
supply chain, often with the use of shared management information systems. A
supply chain is made
up of all parties involved in fulfilling a purchase, including raw materials,
manufacturing the product,
transporting completed items and supporting services.
Lead time: A lead time is the latency between the initiation and execution of a
process. For example,
the lead time between the placement of an order and delivery of a new car from a
manufacturer may be
anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months.
System dynamics : System dynamics is an approach to understanding the nonlinear
behaviour of
complex systems over time using stocks and flows, internal feedback loops and time
delay.
1.8. Summary:
Limitations of research:
There are some other enabler variables such as data accuracy and introduction of new
products,
and two other inhibitors, namely, a lack of trust and resistance to change ( Agarwal et
al., 2005)
that can affect supply chain performance. These variables are not considered
in our research.
Customer satisfaction was also excluded from our research though it could be
used as a result
variable. Though customer satisfaction is the measure of availability of garments to
the buyers’
location when they are required, measuring this index seems to be very difficult in
the case of
Bangladesh RMG industry. Thus customer satisfaction has not been considered in
our research.
Nowadays, green supply chain management has a significant impact on the sales
performance of
garments in developed countries. But green supply chain has also not been taken into
consideration
to develop the causal loop diagram because its exact impact on supply chain
performance was
difficult to identify. We have considered the cost, quality and delivery
(CQD) as the order
qualifiers; flexibility has not been considered, though it can have a significant impact
on sales or
the order winning process. The results of the supply chain models might vary when
more variables
are included.
Chapter 2. Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
With the advent of globalization and enhanced levels of competition, many
organizations have started to have
considerable difficulties in developing and maintaining the range of expertise
and skills needed to compete
effectively. The emergence of American, European, Japanese and Third World
multinationals has created a new
competitive environment, requiring the globalization or at least semi-globalization of
corporate strategy.
st
However, the business environment has changed in the 21 century such that
working alone is less competitive
while collaborative working among upward and downward supply chain partners is
more profitable. Through

managing the supply chain, the ultimate objective of companies is offering maximum
value to customers for the
delivered products or services by achieving either responsiveness or efficiency. To
add dynamic capability to the
RMG sector and enhance supply chain performance, manufacturers should plan and
work collaboratively with
the upward suppliers of fabric and accessories as well as the downward buyers and
partners of the supply chain.
2.1. Definition of Supply Chain Management:
Scott and Westbrook (1991) and New and Payne (1995) describe the supply chain as
“the chain linking each
element of the manufacturing and supply processes from raw materials to the end
user, encompassing several
organizational boundaries”. According to this broad definition, supply chain
management (SCM) “encompasses
the entire value chain and addresses materials and supply management from the
extraction of raw materials to its
end of useful life”. Farley explains (1997) that SCM “focuses on how firms utilize
their suppliers’' processes,
technology, and capability to enhance competitive advantage”.
Houlihan (1987, 1988) defined SCM as the technique of combining various key
departments such as production,
finance, marketing and human resource of a company so that this unified chain links
tier-one suppliers and
distributors to enhance performance by reaching the final customers on time. There is
already some scholarly
work that shows focal companies can utilize vendors’ manufacturing expertise and
other R&D assets to design
new products at lower costs through collaboration among trading partners.
S.C.M in the R.M.G Sector:
Some of the key characteristics of the fashion industry are that the life cycle of any
new styles of apparels is
continuously decreasing, end demand for any garments is highly fluctuating and
changing over time, various
kinds of designs and styles are evolving everyday worldwide, and the total chain
from yarn and cotton supplies
to final garments through a lot of suppliers from many countries is very dynamic and
difficult to manage (Sen,
2008). So, apparel manufacturing companies of any country should manage the
supply chain in a way that
meets the total needs of the end consumers (Gunasekaran et al., 2008). This has
caused the fashion industry to
become increasingly complex and dynamic, and this sector has attracted many new
market entrants and thus
has triggered intense competitions (Gunasekaran et al., 2008).
The business of the fashion industry is so volatile and competitive that the driver for
successful
entrepreneurship is capitalizing on opportunities and scopes by integrated efforts
among supply chain
partners (Sen, 2008); apparel manufacturers and traders are engaging themselves to
utilize integrated supply
chain management as a source for improving their business performance
(Gunasekaran et al., 2008). Lam
and Postle (2006) found in their study that supply chain management consciousness
was still
comparatively low among the apparel manufacturers and traders in Hong Kong. Lee
and Kincade
(2003) mentioned some of the key dimensions they found in the US apparel supply
chain including
“partnership, information technology, operational flexibility, performance
measurement,
commitment of top management and demand characterization”.
The current RMG manufacturers of Bangladesh are importing most of the required
woven fabrics
from China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia. As a result, the total lead time is
becoming longer, putting a
negative edge on competitiveness. It is possible to reduce the total lead time through
supply chain integration
among upstream and downstream partners to make RMG manufacturers more
competitive (Nuruzzaman and
Haque, 2009). Supply chain integration makes it possible to manufacture fabrics
before taking orders from
buyers but requires more collaboration among buyers, fabric suppliers and garment
manufacturers in
Bangladesh.
2.3. Dependent variables:
Figure: five basic variables of supply chain
a. Production:
What products does the market want? How much of which products should be
produced and by when? This
activity includes the creation of master production schedules that take into account
plant capacities, workload
balancing, quality control, and equipment maintenance.
b. Inventory
What inventory should be stocked at each stage in a supply chain? How much
inventory should be held as raw
materials, semi-finished, or finished goods? The primary purpose of inventory
is to act as a buffer against
uncertainty in the supply chain. However, holding inventory can be expensive, so
what are the optimal inventory
levels and reorder points?
c.Location:
Where should facilities for production and inventory storage be located? Where
are the most cost efficient
locations for production and for storage of inventory? Should existing facilities be
used or new ones built? Once
these decisions are made they determine the possible paths available for product to
flow through for delivery to
the final consumer.
d.Transportation:
How should inventory be moved from one supply chain location to another? Air
freight and truck delivery are
generally fast and reliable but they are expensive. Shipping by sea or rail is much
less expensive but usually
involves longer transit times and more uncertainty. This uncertainty must be
compensated for by stocking higher
levels of inventory. When is it better to use which mode of transportation?
e.Information
How much data should be collected and how much information should be
shared? Timely and accurate
information holds the promise of better coordination and better decision making.
With good information, people
can make effective decisions about what to produce and how much, about where to
locate inventory and how
best to transport it.
Variables of the system dynamics model for RMG in Bangladesh:
After the ‘multi fiber arrangement’ (MFA) phased out in 2005, the
Bangladesh RMG industry had to
compete with all other apparel manufacturers and suppliers around the world. As a
result, it was forced to reduce
costs while maintaining reasonably good quality. According to experts in the
industry, good quality means
sophisticated products that are somewhat difficult to sew and conform to buyers’
requirements. They also
comment that buyers from USA focus more on reduced costs while buyers from
Europe emphasize on high
quality and fashionable products, but also reasonable costs. As the product life cycles
are decreasing
continuously, the lead time is also decreasing and putting extra pressure to the
Bangladesh RMG industry. So,
RMG manufacturers have to supply high quality products at a reasonably lower cost
and shorter lead times than
before to attract customers from USA and Europe. Some key variables have been
identified from the literature
review and opinion of experts in the RMG sector. These variables are classified as
results, enablers and inhibitors
(Table 1).
Components of each variable:
A number of factors were identified to represent each enabler, result and inhibitor
variable, through a search in
the literature including published articles and supply chain management textbooks.
After listing these factors,
questionnaires were distributed among respondents of the sampled factories to collect
their opinions. Factors
associated with each variable have been listed in the Table 2.
Table 2: Factors associated with the variables under study
Variable Components (associated factors)
Market sensitivity Starting time of raw material sourcing and procurement. Training
managers, technicians,
workers to manufacturing ability of sophisticated and fashionable garments.
Procuring
sophisticated machinery to increase the sewing ability of sophisticated garments and
improve
quality
Delivery speed Assigning importance/priority on special tasks to meet future
requirements of market demand
such as training of human resources, usage of IT, working together with buyers &
suppliers,
exchange of necessary information among supply chain partners, enhance
collaboration with
suppliers and buyers, having stable workforce
Process integration Strategically fixed and fewer numbers of suppliers and buyers.
Joint work team with buyers
and suppliers to solve problems. Providing feedback information to buyers and
suppliers to
keep them updated.
Collaborative Using centralized collaboration teams among factories or production
facilities. Informing
planning suppliers and buyers about changes of product design/specification well in
advance so that
necessary preparation can be taken to reduce waste. Maintain and share up-to-date
production
and inventory status with buyers and suppliers
Use of IT Using both hardware and software at least in three aspects such as internal
operations,
purchasing and vendor management, and on buyer relationship. Different kinds of
hardware
and software can be used for managing all these aspects like ERP software, marker
and pattern
making software, inventory management software, etc.
Uncertainty How many times did the buyers change their order quantities and
product specifications? What
is the rate of shipments of 100% quantity of original orders or without shortage by
the
factories? How many times factories could not ship out within the original lead time?
How
frequently did the overseas and domestic suppliers fail to deliver fabrics and
accessories within
lead time, without quantity shortage and with appropriate quality?
2.4. Independent Variable:
Our independent variable is supply chain management performance of garments
industries.
2.5. Conceptual Framework:
A conceptual model has been developed based on the literature on strategic supply
management skills,
supplier integration, the perceived status of supply management, and
supply management
performance. This implies that firms can improve their supply management
performance through an
increased emphasis on strategic supply management skills, supplier integration
and improving the
perceived status of supply management. The investigation of this explore is stand on
Secondary Data
specially, together with online databases, digital libraries, boos, journals, conference
papers, etc. Far-
reaching Supply Chain Management (SCM) of Bangladesh Garment Industry
study papers of
academicians and practitioners are progressed from distinguished
international journals etc. The
relevance of Supply Chain Management (SCM) on Garment Industry was
developed based on the
scrutiny of literature.
2.6. Theoretical Framework:
A supply chain is actually a complex and dynamic supply and demand network. A
supply chain is a
system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in
moving a product or
service from supplier to customer. Supply Chain Performance management
approaches to implement
the necessary optimization cycle within the supply chain process. Integrated supply
chain is a close
alignment and coordination within a supply chain, often with the use of shared
management
information systems. A supply chain is made up of all parties involved in fulfilling a
purchase,
including raw. System dynamics is an approach to understanding the nonlinear
behaviour of complex
systems over time using stocks and flows, internal feedback loops and time delays. A
lead time is the
latency between the initiation and execution of a process. For example, the lead time
between the
placement of an order and delivery of a new car from a manufacturer may be
anywhere from 2 weeks
to 6 months. A causal loop diagram (CLD) is a causal diagram that aids in
visualizing how different
variables in a system are interrelated. The diagram consists of a set of nodes and
edges. Nodes
represent the variables and edges are the links that represent a connection or a
relation between the two
variable.

2.7. Summary:
Nuruzzaman et al. (2010) realized that a long lead time was one of the greatest
problems of the RMG
sector in Bangladesh and that its top five causes constituted the issues of integrated
supply chain
management (SCM). They emphasize that SCM is basically a complex process for
countries, and a
new in the apparel sector especially in the least developed countries like Bangladesh.
Nuruzzaman et
al., (2010) concluded that a country like Bangladesh may create a remarkable
position in the world’s
total apparel export by managing the partners of supply chain to reduce the lead
time.However, there
are only a few in-depth studies about SCM for the RMG sector in Bangladesh and no
study offers
indications on how factories can increase productivity, reduce costs, and respond to
changing customer
needs using effective and efficient integration among supply chain partners. The
primary purpose of
the study is to identify the interdependence and dynamic behavior that exists
among supply
chain performance variables.
Chapter 3. Research Methodology
3.1. Introduction
Research is a systematic inquiry process that is used to interpret or discover the facts
in an area of interest. The
main objective if research is to understand the theories or events or behavior, or to
justify the applicability of
theories in the practical field. The objective of a business research is to gather
the knowledge that assists in
business decision making. The validity and reliability of a business research would
be questionable if it is not
scientific. It is important to know about science before explaining how a research
could be scientific. According
to the Princeton University Thesaurus (2004), “science is a domain of knowledge
accumulated by systematic
study and organized by general principals”. Kerlinger (1973) thinks,
science is a method of collecting
information on a particular subject or activities and to obtain knowledge from it.
Kerlinger, F.N. (1969) defines
scientific research as – “Scientific research is systematic, controlled, empirical
and critical investigation of
hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among natural phenomena”
(Kerlinger, F.N., 1969, p.
13).
2.2. Research Design:
Modeling using System Dynamics:
System Dynamics has evolved mainly from industrial dynamics which was first
written by Jay W. Forrester in
1961. Forrester (Industrial Dynamics, 1961: 13) explained industrial dynamics as a
complex system of inter-
dependent industrial organizations; this interdependence changes over time as
information feed-back changes
and that’s why it is called a dynamic system. Sterman (2000) used industrial
dynamics for analyzing
business systems depending upon changing information and time. Thus system
dynamics is very useful to craft
future policies for running businesses in a complex environment as time changes. In
addition to tangible factors,
it can also be used to model intangible factors which are not easily measureable such
as human behavior,
customer satisfaction, and employee skills. Simulation of intangible factors is
sometimes called strategic
simulation because it doesn’t actually quantify the exact numerical value but shows a
pattern of the likely
outcome for intangible factors when they are acting in various feedback loops with
inter-relations, change over
time, or demonstrate a dynamic behavior.
There are two structural ways to analyze any dynamic systems: ‘causal loop
diagram’ (CLD) and ‘stock and
flow diagram’. CLD diagrams can be used to show the governing inter-relations
among a number of different
variables using feedback loops. A positive feedback loop means the dependent
variable moves in the same
direction as that of the independent variable; as such, the polarities are assigned as a
plus (+) sign on the
arrowhead of feedback loops. In the case of negative feedback loops, if the
independent variable increases, the
dependent variable decreases and vice versa. Thus a minus (–) sign is assigned to the
arrowhead of the feedback
loop.
The other structure of system dynamics is a stock and flow diagram which is used to
explain both variables, i.e.
the stocks and flows. Stocks refer to the status of variables at a point/moment of time
while flows exist during a
period of time. Stocks are accumulated over time through inflows and outflows.
Apart from stock and flow
variables, another kind of variable called an ‘auxiliary variable’ has been used here.
Auxiliary variables are used
to connect between stocks and flows as well as among themselves. By using all these
three kinds of variables,
we can explain dynamic systems more appropriately.
3.3. Population and Sample:
Our population size 5000 garments industries of Bangladesh and sample is collected
by random
sampling method.
3.4. Sample Size:
Our sample size is 250 garments industries of Bangladesh.
3.5. Sampling Technique:
Our sample is collected by random sampling method.
3.6. Measurement Scale:
For measuring the nominal data we will use Likert scale. For the accuracy of data we
will run T-test,
Anova, Chi square test.
3.7. Hypothesis development:
The hypothesis that we are want to test are as following:
H1= What are the factors affecting the Supply Chain Management (SCM)
performance of
Garments Industries in Bangladesh
H2= How these factors affect the Supply Chain Management (SCM) performance
and what are
the impacts of inefficiency factors on the entire Value Chain system
3.8. Questionnaire design:
Our questionnaire respondents have local production office in Dhaka and
surroundings of Bangladesh .
All of them are operating their business in Bangladesh. So it was impossible for us to
travel so far and
conduct direct interviews due to financial and time constraint. So we decided to send
questionnaires
and make telephone call to perform the data collection.
A questionnaire should consist of some characteristics; like- questions should be
meaningful to the
different respondents, it should be simple and understandable. It should be
ensured that, the
respondents are qualified enough to answer the questions (Berdie, 1986). We
prepared different
questions for garments manufacturers. The questions are prepared and answers are
expected in such a
way that can solve our research questions. We asked and include those questions in
our questionnaire.
Questions were arranged in different headings and mostly in unstructured manner.
This is why; there
was freedom for the respondents to answer the questions at their own convenience.
3.9. Pilot testing:
For pilot testing our sample size is 25. We will do the pilot testing by SPSS software.
3.10. Reliability and Validity:
Numerous evaluation criteria are used to justify the validity and reliability of
researches based on the field of
research but the credibility can be justified by the readers. The outcome of research is
significantly depends on
researcher’s background when the research is a scientific approach to the knowledge
creation. Moreover, it needs
a critical approach of researchers that, how they use the theories and empirical
findings to analyze and interpret
them for drawing a meaningful conclusion.
Reliability:
Reliability indicates the degree of dependability on research findings. It also
implies that, if the research is
conducted again, the research result will be more or less same (Bryman, 2001). We
were very conscious about
the matter of reliability during the selection of theories, case company and
respondents. The questions included
in our questionnaires and respondents’ answers were relevant to our purpose and
research questions. To maintain
the reliability, our research findings will be analyzed by SPSS software to
determine the value of cronback
alpha. In a word, all the data will be collected and presented very carefully to make
this research reliable.
Validity:
There are two types of validity in a research – internal validity and external validity.
Internal validity requires a
research to be conducted according to the rules and conditions of a
standard research. It also includes
researchers’ level of understanding to analyze and interpret the study findings in a
sensible way. On the other
hand, external validity refers that, the findings of research can be generalized in other
situations (Bryman 2001).
To establish the validity in this research, empirical findings would be compared to
the similar data in secondary
sources. Even, to avoid the misinterpretation, the information of one secondary
source will be compared to those
of other sources. To maintain the validity of the answers of our questionnaires,
we will be scrutinized the
responses very carefully. After receiving the answers from both of the respondents,
we recorded the findings as
our requirements and send back to our supervisor for verification and correction. In
this way, finally we will use
the verified data in our thesis.
3.11. Data Analysis:
Quantitative data analysis will be used. Raw data will set and input to generate
descriptive statistics, which
include mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient. To test the
relationship between top level
management commitment, mutual understanding, flow of information,
organizational factors, relationship and
decision making and supply chain responsiveness, statistical analysis was done using
SPSS statistics presents
Mean, Standard deviation and Correlation and coefficient.
Measurement:
SPSS software was used for analysis purpose. Data will be put in this software and
results will
Be collected in the form of table. These results are in the form of Mean, Standard
deviation and Correlation
coefficient. The score of different attributes for the manufacturing firms
will be given in table below,
Variables Unstandardize
d coefficient
Standard error Standardised
coefficient
t significance
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
Table: Multiple regression used to study supply chain management performance of
garments industries
Questionnaire
This questionnaire contains 9 open end questions and 8 open questions. Your free
and frank responses
would be highly appreciated and helpful for us. Your answers will be used as the
input of our thesis
and subject to be disclosed for the interested readers.
Respondent :
Working place :
Designation :
Open end question
1. Do you have any specific requirements for the supplier to source the raw materials
for
manufacturing the products?
[yes] [no]
2. Regarding the quality assurance of the product, do you perform the re-
check?
[yes] [no]
3. Is there any solution if the supplier fails to meet up the shipment deadline?
[yes] [no]
4. Do you interact with the buyer frequently ?
[yes] [no]
5. Does buyer’s compliance check affect in your productivity?
[yes] [no]
6. Do you source the fabric & accessories for order from Local ?
[yes] [no]
7.Is it a quality issue or unavailability?
[yes] [no]
8. Do you face any problem in the port area regarding the shipment?
[yes] [no]
9. In case of air shipment, is there any the extra cost involved in it?
[yes] [no]
Open question:
1. How do you make decisions regarding any issue arise on the way from sample
development and
placing order to supplier?
2. How many days are involved from sample development stage to final sample
approval stage?
3. How much time is involved in issuance of PO (purchase order) to the selected
supplier?
4. What is the average delivery time mentioned in the PO? (From PO issuance to
shipment)
5. When and in which stage of the manufacturing process do you check the quality of
the product?
How many times do you perform this job?
6. How much time is involved for Cutting, production, Quality Check, packaging for
shipment?
7. How much time (total) does it take to source the raw materials?
8. What about the total lead time for an order (from sampling stage to shipment)?
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Introduction

Statement of the Problem

Public libraries are a great phenomenon throughwhich people from all

classes can learn accordingto their own interests.Public library systems
and services refer to the overall
management of the components of the public library and their functional
output. In spite of
having some problems there are some good prospects of the public
library systems and services in Bangladesh.

Research Question

What are the objectives of public

library? Is the collection

adequate?

Are the staffs skilled

enough? Is the

infra.structure good?

Is the user gettingproper

services? What are the

problems?

What are the prospects?

Significance of the Problem

Bangladesh has a poor literacy rate.Most of the people still can not
afford to go to school because of their poor economic condition. Public
library is a place where people fromall classes can learn freely.The
public library systems and services can play a good role to educate the
people.This will be the first study of its kind to explore the problems and
prospects of public
library systems and services in Bangladesh.

Objectivesof the Study

1. To determine the problems of public library systems and services.

2. To explore the prospects of public library systems and services.
3. To propose a modelfor the public library systems and services.