Title: Conscious purchasing - Securing the purchasing process in the apparel industry Authors: Jakob Bank, Emma Sjödoff and Helena Zebergs Tutor: Roger Stokkedal Examiner: Helena Forslund Background: There has been several scandals within the apparel industry and due to this brand owners of apparel companies has started to offer their customers’ alternative products, which has been manufactured in a more conscious and sustainable way. The purchasing process has thereby become more complex including multiple criteria such as social and environmental considerations which have to be fulfilled by their suppliers. Purpose: To describe how Swedish brand owners of apparel companies select their supplier for their conscious collections, which sustainability policies they include in contracts with their selected suppliers and how they evaluate these suppliers in regard to the brand owners’ policy on sustainability. Method: This thesis was conducted using qualitative semi-structured interviews and a deductive approach. Several sampling methods was used which led to the involved companies who were interviewed through both structured as well as semi-structured interviews. Conclusion: Swedish brand owners of apparel companies select their suppliers based on how well they fulfil their demands, and if there is a possibility to establish a long term relationship. They include different sustainability policies in their contracts, but all suppliers need to approve the brand owners CoC as well as use organic cotton. The evaluation visits are conducted, but the evaluation responsible, how often it takes place and the duration of the visit depends on the brand owner.

[pt] Como consequência da atuação focada na eficiência da cadeia de suprimento, as organizações aumentam sua dependência nos fornecedores de matérias primas e componentes e tornam-se mais suscetíveis ao perfil de risco dos mesmos. O papel do gerenciamento de riscos em cadeias de suprimento é de entender e tentar evitar os efeitos devastadores ou mesmo os de menores amplitudes de rupturas de suprimento. Torna-se necessário para os gestores o desenvolvimento da capacidade para avaliação de risco, principalmente o risco de rupturas. É preciso estimar os riscos aceitáveis associados às possíveis rupturas e, então, desenvolver estratégias e diretrizes para o gerenciamento de tais riscos, já que, somente com o conhecimento dos mesmos, torna-se viável o desenvolvimento de planos de mitigação ou contingenciais. Nesta dissertação discutir-se-á o tema de gerenciamento e modelagem de riscos associados a fornecedores, destacando-se a aplicação de um modelo probabilístico de redes bayesianas como um recurso útil nos assuntos relacionados ao gerenciamento e à modelagem de riscos. As rupturas de suprimento serão modeladas utilizando-se um modelo probabilístico de redes bayesianas que possuem a habilidade de representar as relações de causa e efeito em um ambiente envolvendo incertezas. Um estudo de caso com a aplicação da metodologia na indústria de Refino também é apresentada. / [en] As a consequence of the supply chain management pursuit for efficiency, the organizations become more dependent on the suppliers of raw materials and more sensitive to their risk profiles. The Supply chain risk management (SCRM) objective is to understand and reduce the likelihood of disruptions. SCRM puts its effort in sharpen the notions of risk and reliability and tries to quantify them. The methodology used in this study can be used by managers to formulate supply chain risk management strategies and tactics that mitigate overall supply chain risks correlated with the most critical suppliers. This research is concerned with developing a Bayesian Network approach to model and to analyze supply chain disruptions associated with suppliers. The Bayesian Networks is a method of modeling the cause and effect of events and has proven to be a powerful tool under conditions of uncertainty. A case study is used to illustrate the application proposed to make the supply chain more reliable.

The diploma thesis deals with the application of the theory of fuzzy logic in the evaluation of client translation commissions for a foreign language text. This fuzzy model is used for better selection of orders and faster allocation of human resources for specific orders. The fuzzy model is composed of multi-valued decision-making criteria that are essential for the company. The model is processed in MS Excel using VBA and MathWorks MATLAB.

This diploma thesis addresses a project of evaluating the selection of a supplier for purchase of a chosen commodity. The theoretical part describes general methodologies of supplier evaluation and selection. It also includes information on the production process and commodity purchase. The analytical part focuses on evaluation and selection of a supplier based on a point rating, where the output is a recommendation of the best supplier, which receives the highest number of points.

採購部門之功能角色從企業中被動及支援者，逐步轉變成為今日具有影響企業策略之決策者。面對激烈的市場競爭，企業轉型時需以策略採購思維著手，將企業與採購策略相互配合方能創造客戶價值，增加企業競爭力。 本研究採取個案研究方法，經由蒐集個案公司及產業相關資料，並與管理階層訪談，瞭解個案公司面臨之管理議題。個案公司為大陸東莞之台資企業，產品為專業五金製品製造。為配合環境變遷面臨轉型，將生產重心由業電腦機殼轉移至大型遊戲機台組裝。遊戲機組裝市場特性為少量多樣與客製化，與原產品工業電腦型態相異，造成過往供應商物料短缺與新供應商開發困難。爾後與個案公司採購部門及相關部門多次深度訪談及焦點訪談，採用PWIO（Process Wide Information Organism）分析方法，詳實描繪企業採購及付款循環流程，將流程拆解成為請購、供應商管理、採購、驗收及應付款項處理作業向下延展至十一項作業功能並展開實作表，再將各作業流程細分為內、外向聯絡管道及接觸點並具體詳實描述。 透過PWIO描述及分析採購作業流程，找出造成個案公司管理議題之採購流程缺失，包含隨機篩選新供應商、新承認供應商直接成為合格供應商、供應商管理策略與企業策略未結合、供應商評鑑缺乏客觀衡量標準、及供應商評鑑作業未與執行面配合。經由產業專家訪談、產業相關資訊之蒐集，及層級分析法(AHP)之應用，針對五項流程缺失給予改善建議方案，包含建立供應商初步媒合流程、配合企業策略設計新供應商評量表、建立新舊供應商分流管理制度、以企業策略著眼設計供應商評鑑表、及加強變革成效，促進新制度落實與執行五面向。以上建議方案可加強企業及採購策略之配合度，透過新舊供應商評鑑與管理篩選適當合作之供應商，將採購流程制度化，進而改善目前採購流程之問題。 / Strategic procurement is crucial to strengthen a company’s core competence in the competition among enterprises. Procurement function has evolved from being supporters to decision makers that can impact the company’s strategies. The main purpose of this research is to improve the procurement process which is related to the case company’s management issues. The case company is a metal case assembly manufacturer located in Dong-guan which has been specialized in Industrial computer products. To increase its share and profit, the company developed new business chances by entering the gaming market that requires high degree of customization and specialization. The switch had caused supplier cooperating and material shortage issues. By focus-group and in-depth interviews with its procurement team members, using PWIO (Process Wide Information Organism) as a description tool to record every single step of the procurement operation process, and finally analyzing all the steps, five crucial gaps are found. The five gaps include the lack of an organized process of new supplier selection, unfair new supplier management process, disconnection between supplier management and company’s strategy, non-objective methods for supplier evaluation, and not executing the evaluation results in practice. By interviews with experts in the industry, questionnaires for procurement members in the case company, and AHP, the research provides five solutions for to improve its procurement operation process. The five solutions include establishing new supplier searching scanning process, designing a new supplier evaluation sheet based on company strategy, practicing a dual management method for original and new suppliers, designing objective evaluation criteria for supplier management, and to strengthening the execution of the evaluation results. The five solutions can improve the procurement operation process, maximize procurement efficiency, and build up core competence while the case company enters the new gaming market.

Problem Since the globalisation has enabled apparel companies to purchase materialsand goods from all around the world, the constant challenge is to find themost beneficial country and supplier who can provide the highest value tothe lowest cost. There are however factors to be considered in the aspect ofsupplier selection and the decision is often made through assessment ofnation-specific resources like labour costs, deliveries, trade restrictions andquality. It is important for apparel companies to relate the outcome of asupplier evaluation to the own company strategy or product characteristicsas factors may be more or less crucial depending on the strategy or producttype the company possess. With wages now increasing in Europe, Ukraine ispredicted to become a new apparel-producing alternative for Swedishcompanies. However, there is no evident niche in Ukrainian apparelproduction, which can be set in the context of company and productcharacteristics.Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to perform a supplier evaluation of Ukraine anddiscuss what company and product characteristics that might be moresuitable for producing apparel in Ukraine.Methodology A qualitative research has been carried out on a MFS scholarship for eightweeks in Ukraine. The empirical findings are based upon semi-structuredinterviews with five experts and observations and interviews in six factories.A supplier evaluation model is created upon the existing theories and theempirical results are discussed in the context of company and productcharacteristics.Conclusion A company should consider evaluating multiple factors and theinterrelationships between the factors in ability to reach a fulfilling supplierselection. It can be argued that there are predominantly characteristics foundto suit companies with the cost leadership strategy or functional products.Furthermore, because of trade rules and a low access to materials mostUkrainian factories work on Cut-Make contracts with foreign customers.Problem: Globaliseringen av klädindustrin har bidragit till att klädföretag köper materialoch färdiga plagg från länder runt om i världen. Det är en ständig utmaning atthitta det landet och den tillverkaren som erbjuder det högsta värdet till den lägstakostnaden.Det finns många olika faktorer som man bör ta hänsyn till i ettleverantörsval och beslutet är oftast taget genom utvärdering av nationsspecifikaresurser som lönekostnader, leveranser, kvalitet och handelshinder. Det är viktigtför företag att utvärdera länder och leverantörer utefter företagets egna strategieroch produkternas karaktär eftersom olika faktorer vid leverantörsutvärdering kanvara olika viktiga beroende på företag och produkter. När lönekostnaderna stiger iövriga Europa framträder Ukraina som ett möjligt produktionsland som spås enframtid som ett alternativ för svenska klädföretag. Ukraina har däremot ingen klarnisch, vilket är intressant att titta närmare på i samband med olikaföretagsstrategier och produkttyper.Syfte: Syftet med studien är att göra en leverantörsutvärdering av Ukraina somklädproducent och diskutera vilka företagsstrategier och produkttyper som kanlämpa sig bäst för produktion i Ukraina.Metod: Uppsatsen är skriven på ett MFS-stipendium under åtta veckor i Ukraina. Detempiriska resultatet är baserat på semi-strukturerade intervjuer och observationer isex stycken klädesfabriker och intervjuer med fem stycken experter. En modell förleverantörssutvärdering är skapad från existerande teorier och det empiriskaresultatet av utvärderingen diskuteras i samband med olika företagsstrategier ochprodukttyper.Slutsatser: Ett företag bör överväga att utvärdera flera faktorer och deras inbördes sambandför att kunna uppnå ett tillfredsställande leverantörsval. Det har påfunnits flestkaraktärsdrag som passar företag med en kostnadsstrategi eller funktionellaprodukter. På grund av handelsregler och dålig tillgång till material jobbar deflesta ukrainska producenter med Cut-Make kontrakt mot utländska kunder. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Atualmente, o ambiente industrial é caracterizado pela intensa globalização, competição entre cadeias de suprimentos, manutenção das competências centrais e terceirização dos demais serviços. Desta forma, a gestão das relações entre os agentes independentes da cadeia de suprimentos e do processo de aquisição são fatores potenciais para o aumento da competitividade empresarial. No contexto da construção civil, a seleção adequada dos parceiros de negócios é um elemento fundamental para o sucesso dos projetos, uma vez que uma grande proporção das atividades podem ser sub-contratadas e possuem relação de precedência entre si. Os suprimentos representam um percentual significativo dos custos das construções, 60%, dado que demonstra o potencial de lucratividade passível de ser atingida ao estruturar o processo de seleção de fornecedores na construção civil. Seleções baseadas no preço prejudicam os sub-empreiteiros e fornecedores mais responsáveis na concorrência, contribuindo para a queda do nível de desempenho e redução da eficiência global do projeto, uma vez que as ineficiências são somadas ao longo da cadeia. Através da estruturação do processo de seleção de fornecedores, é possível mitigar os riscos de suprimentos oriundos de falhas destes contratados ao longo da relação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma sistemática para seleção de fornecedores críticos, considerando diversos critérios além do preço, entre qualitativos e quantitativos. A abordagem visa também, a eliminação da subjetividade do processo e a extração do melhor fornecedor de forma objetiva. Para tanto, foram definidas dimensões competitivas para avaliar os fornecedores e posteriormente foram utilizados dois métodos quantitativos, Teoria dos Conjuntos Difusos (TCD) e Análise de Componentes Principais (ACP), para selecionar o melhor fornecedor dentre as alternativas, com base na avaliação de múltiplos agentes. / Currently, the industrial environment is characterized by intense globalization, competition between supply chains, maintenance of core competencies and outsourcing of other services. Thus, the management of relationships between independent agents of the supply chain and the procurement process are potential factors for increasing enterprise competitiveness. In the construction context, the proper selection of business partners is a key element for the success of projects, since a large proportion of the activities can be sub-contracted and have precedence relationship between them. Supplies represent a significant percentage of the cost of buildings, 60%, information that demonstrates the potential of profitability that can be achieved by structuring the process of supplier selection in the construction industry. Selection based on price take off from competition the sub-contractors and suppliers more responsible, contributing to the decline in the level of performance and reduction in the overall project efficiency, since inefficiencies are summed through the chain. By structuring the supplier selection process, it is possible to mitigate the supply risk arising from failures of these suppliers during the relationship. The objective of this study was to develop a systematic for selection of critical suppliers, considering several criteria other than price, among qualitative and quantitative. The approach also aims at eliminating the subjectivity of the process and the extraction of the best supplier in an objective way. In order to that, competitive dimensions were set to evaluate vendors and subsequently two quantitative methods, Fuzzy Sets Theory (FST) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to select the best supplier among the alternatives based on multiple agents evaluation.

Este trabalho se propõe a desenvolver um método de avaliação da base de fornecedores da cadeia de suprimentos têxtil com foco na realização de uma auditoria das competências operacionais que avalie as práticas da organização auditada em relação aos objetivos de desempenho em qualidade, custo e entrega (QCE). O método proposto deve apoiar as etapas de qualificação, de tomada de decisão e de monitoramento no processo de avaliação da base de fornecedores. A abordagem proposta para a elaboração do método foi a de adotar as práticas promovidas pelo pensamento enxuto, devido às necessidades do setor têxtil no contexto atual. O método foi elaborado a partir de modelos de avaliação sistemática de competências sob a perspectiva do pensamento enxuto. O primeiro objetivo buscado neste trabalho foi verificar se a abordagem de verificar a adoção das práticas promovidas pelo pensamento enxuto pode ser estendida para o processo de avaliação das competências operacionais dos fornecedores em relação aos objetivos de QCE no contexto da cadeia têxtil. O segundo objetivo foi elaborar e testar um método de avaliação das competências operacionais dos fornecedores em relação aos objetivos de QCE baseado na abordagem do pensamento enxuto. O terceiro objetivo foi de explorar como o método proposto para avaliação de fornecedores pode ser utilizado para enriquecer as etapas de tomada de decisão e de monitoramento no processo de avaliação da base de fornecedores em uma organização. Para buscar estes objetivos foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo em organizações da cadeia têxtil brasileira. Os métodos de pesquisa aplicados foram a observação participante, que foi aplicado pelo pesquisador em 10 em organizações enquanto registrava as observações e levantava os dados necessários, a pesquisa quase-experimental e a aplicação do método proposto no direcionamento do monitoramento de fornecedores, ambos aplicados em 6 organizações onde o pesquisador realizou observações e entrevistas para coleta de dados. Também foram coletados dados referentes a estas 6 organizações numa organização compradora que é cliente das mesmas. Os dados coletados serviram para verificar a aderência desses fornecedores às práticas de produção enxuta, bem como a relação entre estas práticas e o desempenho histórico dos fornecedores. Da análise desses dados, resultaram recomendações para apoiar a tomada de decisão sobre a forma de tratar cada fornecedor a qual foi comparada com a que a organização compradora havia decidido. Os dados também foram utilizados para analisar cada fornecedor por meio de uma matriz que relaciona suas competências operacionais em termos de QCE com a importância que a organização compradora atribui a cada um desses objetivos. A conclusão da pesquisa é de que o método proposto é adequado para avaliar fornecedores na cadeia têxtil, porém revelou ter limitações para ser usado na avaliação de fornecedores posicionados em determinadas partes da cadeia. Também é mostrado que o método proposto pode ajudar a organização compradora a evitar decisões equivocadas na tomada de decisão e que pode ainda ajudar a refinar o monitoramento da base de fornecedores. / This study aims to develop a method of evaluation of the textile supply chain supplier base focusing the realization of an audit of operational capabilities to assess the practices of the audited organization in relation to performance goals in quality, cost and delivery (QCD). The proposed method should support the steps of qualification, decision-making and monitoring in the evaluation of the supply base. The approach proposed for the development of the method was to adopt the practices promoted by lean thinking, in face of the needs of the textile sector in the current context. The method was developed based on models of systematic evaluation of capabilities from the lean thinking perspective. The first objective pursued in this work was to examine whether the approach to verify the adoption of practices promoted by lean thinking can be extended to the process of evaluating the suppliers\' operational capabilities regarding QCD goals in the context of the textile chain. The second objective was to develop and test a method for assessing the suppliers\' operational capabilities regarding QCD goals based on the lean thinking approach. The third objective was to explore how the proposed method for supplier assessment can be used to enrich the steps of decision-making and monitoring in the evaluation of supplier base in an organization. To pursue these objectives a field research was conducted in organizations of the Brazilian textile chain. The applied research methods were participant observation, which was applied by the author in 10 organizations while he registered observations and raised the required data, quasi-experimental research and the application of the proposed method in guidance of supplier monitoring, both applied in 6 organizations where the author conducted observations and interviews to collect data. Data on these 6 organizations were also collected in an organization which is their client. The collected data served to examine the adherence of these suppliers to lean manufacturing practices and the relationship between these practices and the suppliers\' historical performance. The analysis of these data rendered recommendations to support decision making as for how to deal with each supplier which was compared to the decision the client-organization had taken. The data were also used to analyze each supplier through a matrix that relates their operational skills in QCD with the importance given by the client-organization to each of these goals. The conclusion of the research is that the proposed method is suitable for evaluating suppliers in the textile chain, but revealed limitations to be used in the assessment of vendors placed in certain parts of the chain. It is also shown that the proposed method can assist the client organization to avoid wrong decisions in decision making and can also be helpful to refine the monitoring of the supplier base.

Η αξιολόγηση και επιλογή προμηθευτών αποτελεί μια απαραίτητη επιχειρησιακή λειτουργία για την επίτευξη βέλτιστων δυνατών προμηθειών. Λόγω της φύσης του προβλήματος αυτού, οι μέθοδοι Πολυκριτηριακής Ανάλυσης μπορούν να παίξουν αποφασιστικό ρόλο στην επίλυσή του. Η εργασία αυτή μελετά και παρουσιάζει τα πιο συνηθισμένα κριτήρια καθώς και τις πιο διαδεδομένες μεθόδους της Πολυκριτηριακής Ανάλυσης για την αξιολόγηση και επιλογή προμηθευτών των επιχειρήσεων. Στο πρώτο μέρος της εργασίας αυτής, παρουσιάζεται το θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο, όπου γίνεται αναφορά στις έρευνες προηγούμενων μελετητών του προβλήματος της αξιολόγησης και επιλογής προμηθευτών, ομαδοποιώντας μια σειρά από τους σημαντικότερους παράγοντες για την επιλογή προμηθευτών. Στη συνέχεια παρουσιάζονται οι πλέον χρηστικές μέθοδοι Πολυκριτηριακής Ανάλυσης στην αξιολόγηση προμηθευτών με αντίστοιχα παραδείγματα. Στο δεύτερο μέρος γίνεται εφαρμογή της μεθόδου της Αναλυτικής Διαδικασίας Ιεράρχησης (ΑΗΡ) συνδυάζοντάς την με Γραμμικό Προγραμματισμό, επί των πραγματικών δεδομένων της μικρομεσαίας επιχείρησης επεξεργασίας νερού Health Affair, για αξιολόγηση και επιλογή των προμηθευτών της. / Vendor selection and evaluation is a very important process for all kinds of firms. Due to the nature of the vendor selection problem, Multicriteria methods can play a decisive role to its solution. This work examines and presents the most commonly used criteria and the most widespread Multicriteria methods for vendor selection and evaluation. In the first part of the project, the Theoretical Framework is presented, where the work of previous researchers is mentioned, by grouping some of the most vital criteria in vendor selection process. Moreover, the most useful Multicriteria methods in vendor selection are analyzed into their corresponding examples. In the second part of the project, the method of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in combination with Linear Programming is implemented on the real data of a Greek water treatment SME.

Atualmente, o ambiente industrial é caracterizado pela intensa globalização, competição entre cadeias de suprimentos, manutenção das competências centrais e terceirização dos demais serviços. Desta forma, a gestão das relações entre os agentes independentes da cadeia de suprimentos e do processo de aquisição são fatores potenciais para o aumento da competitividade empresarial. No contexto da construção civil, a seleção adequada dos parceiros de negócios é um elemento fundamental para o sucesso dos projetos, uma vez que uma grande proporção das atividades podem ser sub-contratadas e possuem relação de precedência entre si. Os suprimentos representam um percentual significativo dos custos das construções, 60%, dado que demonstra o potencial de lucratividade passível de ser atingida ao estruturar o processo de seleção de fornecedores na construção civil. Seleções baseadas no preço prejudicam os sub-empreiteiros e fornecedores mais responsáveis na concorrência, contribuindo para a queda do nível de desempenho e redução da eficiência global do projeto, uma vez que as ineficiências são somadas ao longo da cadeia. Através da estruturação do processo de seleção de fornecedores, é possível mitigar os riscos de suprimentos oriundos de falhas destes contratados ao longo da relação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma sistemática para seleção de fornecedores críticos, considerando diversos critérios além do preço, entre qualitativos e quantitativos. A abordagem visa também, a eliminação da subjetividade do processo e a extração do melhor fornecedor de forma objetiva. Para tanto, foram definidas dimensões competitivas para avaliar os fornecedores e posteriormente foram utilizados dois métodos quantitativos, Teoria dos Conjuntos Difusos (TCD) e Análise de Componentes Principais (ACP), para selecionar o melhor fornecedor dentre as alternativas, com base na avaliação de múltiplos agentes. / Currently, the industrial environment is characterized by intense globalization, competition between supply chains, maintenance of core competencies and outsourcing of other services. Thus, the management of relationships between independent agents of the supply chain and the procurement process are potential factors for increasing enterprise competitiveness. In the construction context, the proper selection of business partners is a key element for the success of projects, since a large proportion of the activities can be sub-contracted and have precedence relationship between them. Supplies represent a significant percentage of the cost of buildings, 60%, information that demonstrates the potential of profitability that can be achieved by structuring the process of supplier selection in the construction industry. Selection based on price take off from competition the sub-contractors and suppliers more responsible, contributing to the decline in the level of performance and reduction in the overall project efficiency, since inefficiencies are summed through the chain. By structuring the supplier selection process, it is possible to mitigate the supply risk arising from failures of these suppliers during the relationship. The objective of this study was to develop a systematic for selection of critical suppliers, considering several criteria other than price, among qualitative and quantitative. The approach also aims at eliminating the subjectivity of the process and the extraction of the best supplier in an objective way. In order to that, competitive dimensions were set to evaluate vendors and subsequently two quantitative methods, Fuzzy Sets Theory (FST) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to select the best supplier among the alternatives based on multiple agents evaluation.