Jossey Menswear – the Supply Chain Project

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When it came to setting-up teams for the two production lines (i.e. trouser and jackets) no one was forced to move from their current positions. Instead the company asked for volunteers. They then selected personnel from the volunteers. This ensured that the staff working in the new teams were people that actually wanted to be involved and would do their best in making the QR process a success.

In the past, I have worked in a factory that had two different production lines in operation. It was widely perceived that the company that I was working for picked most of the skilled and experienced assembly workers for one particular project. However, this meant that the other project suffered due to many lesser skilled and experienced workers being expected to do the same standard of work as the skilled. However, Cornwall seemed to have address. In order that the conventional production did not suffer, the factory was wise to ensure they picked a mixture of skilled and semi-skilled workers for their two teams.

The payment structure was a sensitive area. The factory decided to implement a different structure to the one that was being used on the conventional production lines. Implementing a new payment structure is risky. It could either de-motivate the QR team members because they feel they are earning less than their counterpart in other parts of the factory or it could end-up making the QR process expensive to run if the employees are on a generous incentive. It could also cause jealously amongst other employees on different production lines. However, Cornwall seem to believe they had developed a system that worked by carrying out simulation trials.

The QR process was a new approach by the factory and not everyone was convinced it was a wise move. Therefore, the company decided to take a cautious approach by only allowing 30% of the production to go through the QR process. The company felt that 30% was a reasonable figure to gain the benefits without putting too much risk to their conventional production. However, by setting ‘Key Performance Indicators’ (KPIs) the company are able to see the benefits. The KPIs can be used as evidence to justify increasing the level of flexibility of the production line further.

Future Actions

The company plans to extend the current proportion of trouser production from 35 - 40 % and the jackets from 30 – 35%. This would mean moving more staff in to the QR teams. Again, there would be initial costs to train and motivate the staff, which could involve team building exercises. However, the long term advantage is the increase in flexibility. The company should continue to strive for complete flexibility by moving the whole of the trouser and jacket production under the QR process.

The company should encourage the cloth suppliers to link-up with the QR system. This will benefit both parties because the lead times will be reduced, which means less inventory. Which in turn means more cost saving for both sides. The suppliers can use the ‘near live’ data to determine the requirements and arrange for stock to be available when required. The cloth suppliers will realise that the company will be willing to do more business with them in the future, if they can see the supplier is able to quickly meet demand.

Currently, it is taking months for the company to develop a product from the initial design stage to having the product ready on the shelves in their stores. Speeding up the product development process further will help reduce the risk of having products that don’t sell very well. Having real time data will help the company spot the direction the fashion trends are heading. The company can then arrange for the designs to be developed around the captured data. Also, during the season, the company will be able to identify the main styles that are more popular and arrange for their designers to come up with similar styles straightaway. Knowing what customers want and being able to respond to the requirements in the shortest time possible will give the company a competitive edge on its rivals. This process will also increase the company’s FPS because the retail stores will be stocking more items that are in high demand. Again, it will also reduce the inventory between the manufacturing and retail sides of the business.

References

Christopher, Martin (2005), Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-273-68176-1.