Supply chain performance measurement in textile and apparel industries

Abstract

In this thesis, one important issue of Supply Chain Management (SCM), that is Supply Chain Performance Measurement (SCPM) in textile and apparel industries has been addressed. The final objective of the study is to provide a practical tool for SCPM in textile and apparel industries. To achieve this objective, a hierarchical system for SCPM was firstly set up. A combined fuzzy multiple attributes evaluation (CFMAE) method was then developed to obtain the index value of supply chain performance. Multiple methodologies were utilized in this study. Based on literature review, the modified Delphi technique was employed to solicit best thinking from supply chain related managers and experts in textile or apparel companies or related organizations. The result was used to construct the SCPMS in textile and apparel industries. A CFMAE method was then developed. A comprehensive questionnaire for a mail survey was conducted to assist in the evaluation model. The questionnaire survey was completed by 77 senior managers related to SCM, who were from Hong Kong and mainland China. Based on above two stages, a SCPM online system was developed for application in reality. PHP and MySQL were employed for the online system development. The SCPMS developed in this study have two hierarchies. The first level include eight attributes, which are supply chain product development, supply chain cost, supply chain time, supply chain quality, supply chain flexibility, supply chain information sharing, supply chain innovativeness and supply chain profitability. The eight attributes for the first level are further decomposed into 35 operational metrics in the second level, respectively. Three stages comprise the CFMAE method. The first stage was to obtain the evaluation values for the eight attributes, and fuzzy measure and fuzzy integral were employed. The second stage was to obtain the weights of the first-level attributes, employing fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). The weight of supply chain profitability is the highest with the number of 0.2087. Followings are supply chain cost, 0.1863; supply chain time, 0.1565; supply chain product development, 0.1321; supply chain quality, 0.1179; supply chain information sharing, 0.0987; supply chain flexibility, 0.0626; and supply chain innovation, 0.0373. A MATLAB program was developed for the process of fuzzy measure and fuzzy integral. The third stage was simple additive weight (SAW). The online SCPMS is then developed for practical use.