Human Resource

Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 9 – 10, 2010

Determinants of Supply Management Performance: A Study of the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Mohammad Asif Salam Department of Business University of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada Abstract

This research examines the relationship between antecedents of supplier integration and supply management performance. 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. To test the model a survey interview was conducted to obtain primary data from the purchasing managers or equivalent within the highly competitive garment industry in Bangladesh. Finally, the model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling. The finding 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.

Keywords

Strategic supply management skills, supplier integration, perceived status of the supply management function, supply management performance, Garment, Bangladesh.

1. Introduction

Today, market leaders, such as General Motors, General Electric, and Black and Decker, use supply management as a critical strategic resource to externalize their pursuit for competitive advantage by including their channel members (D’Avanzo et al., 2004). These companies realize that supply management decisions and practices provide value in the areas of cost management (Carr and Pearson, 2002), high quality, short cycle time (Hult et al., 2000) and fast delivery (Spekman, 1988) and enable all channel members to establish closer links and relationships, where appropriate, among buyers and suppliers. Supply management encompasses, “organizing the optimal...