The International Journal of Information, Business and Management recently reported on the garment industry and the impact on quality in the current environment.

Garment factories in Bangladesh have been the site of rights abuses and fatal accidents. The industry also faces its share of traditional business challenges, including mounting international competition and a lack of formal quality management systems, researcher Hasanuzzaman writes. Common challenges to adopting quality management systems – such as Six Sigma – include a lack of financial resources, infrastructure, and education, according to the author’s interviews with factory managers. Those who had implemented quality management, however, reported better customer and employee satisfaction, better waste management, and faster delivery.

CGMA Magazine highlights the ongoing issues noted in the textile/garment supply chain despite attempts to implement corrective actions via quality management:

A recent article posted to Supply Chain Digital “raises the point that all companies need to see evidence of suppliers’ own manufacturing and sourcing practices, particularly in health and safety, quality assurance and ethics.”

Due to the risks involved, retailers, associations and others are increasingly refining supplier requirements. Organizations wanting to sell products to these companies must ensure their suppliers meet code of conduct or other specific standards. Walmart is certainly one of the largest companies that comes to mind here and has changed the landscape of supplier compliance in many ways.  When qualifying suppliers to Walmart sourcing standards, audits are performed that address global security, social responsibility and general quality management systems. An example preparation audit report performed for a potential Walmart supplier can be found here.

“Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.” ~James Dyson

We post this quote predictably each year as Manufacturing Day approaches.  This year, Manufacturing Day will be observed on October 7th.

What is Manufacturing Day? 

“Manufacturing Day℠ is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.”

Why is it important?

Research reveals the theory behind Manufacturing Day works. For the first time, participants were polled about their experience. A new Deloitte perception survey developed in collaboration with The Manufacturing Institute was distributed to the more than 2,500 manufacturing hosts to gather data from attendees. The results are dramatic:

The September issue of Harvard Business Review  includes an article related to The Elements of Value. In the article, a study highlights what customers value in products varies by industry.

An included table summarizes the top 10 elements of value that various industries find influence loyalty. (Left)

The 10 types of businesses evaluated include:

Apparel/Retail
TV Service Providers
Discount Retail
Consumer Banking
Grocery
Brokerage
Food and Beverages
Auto Insurance
Smartphones
Credit Cards

See anything in common? For all industries noted, “Quality” is referenced at the top of the list.

“Some elements do matter more than others. Across all industries studied, perceived quality affects customer advocacy more than any other element. Products and services must attain a certain minimum level, and no other elements can make up for a significant shortfall on this one.”

“A rigorous model of consumer value allows a company to come up with new combinations of value that its products and services could deliver. The right combinations, pays off in stronger customer loyalty, greater customer willingness to try a particular brand, and sustained revenue growth.”