SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONAL

Sustainability in Supply Chains

Sustainability is a complex concept. Sustainable supply chain is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Simply claiming your operation is 'sustainable' or 'green' isn't enough anymore. Your clients, customers, and even your staff members, want to actually know how you are sustainable.

Supply Chain Sustainability. There is no universally accepted definition of supply chain sustainability. Specific definitions and supporting principles and criteria vary by sector and commodity. In general terms the following economic issues are considered on time employee’s payment, overtime and payment, profit share practice, forced reduce item price or cost from supplier, delay supplier payment.

The economic rationale to operate a global supply chain in a sustainable manner is developed. Arguments are made based on marketing, finance, and production theories that by engaging in socially responsible behavior the firm will increase sales, decrease costs, reduce financial risk, and increase profits, which will ultimately increase returns to the firm's shareholders. A model is developed of the mechanism by which modern production methods such as lean production and quality management result in sustainable corporate behavior that, in the long run, translates into higher stock valuations. The production effects cause marketing and financial risk effects that are complementary, and all three channels of influence synergistically result in higher stock values in the model. These effects also provide important benefits to other stakeholders of the firms including employees, customers, the environment, and the community. An important ethical issue in global supply chains is working conditions in foreign plants often leading to allegations of sweatshop labor conditions, such as child labor, labor payment, overtime payment and more. This issue is used to illustrate how lean production practices can affect consumers, employees, and financial risk. Conclusions from the sweatshop labor issue are shown to apply to other sustainability issues as well.

Environmental and social issues are considered - labor use, water use, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, ETP plant, biosecurity, social impacts, displacement, indigenous people, loss of biodiversity, forest conversion and land use and sustainable use of living resources. Legal issues are reputation, human rights, civil liability and more.

Economic, environmental and social issues are supply chain issues. All are connected with each other. Supply chain sustainability is not possible to implement one other than the other an organization.

Sustainable supply chain management

Supply chain management is the process through which a company manages the sourcing and procurement of inputs, the processing and manufacture of products and services, and their delivery to the consumer (figure 1). The primary objective of supply chain management is to meet consumer demand with more efficient use of resources including labor, inventory, stock, and distribution capacity. Accordingly, supply chain management aims to integrate major business functions and business processes within and across companies into a cohesive and high-performing business model capable of quickly reacting to dynamic market demands and rapidly changing features. Supply chain management provides opportunities through which private sector companies can extend their influence in pollution control and abatement beyond their own operations and into their supply chain. This involves coordination and collaboration with partners throughout the value chain, which can include suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers.

The term “supply chain” includes all organizations, activities, and processes associated with all stages of the business processes involved in the planning, sourcing, processing, manufacturing, and delivery of goods and services. This process begins with suppliers of raw materials and inputs, proceeds to processors and manufacturers, and culminates to the delivery of completed goods and services to consumers and end users. The supply chain of multinational corporations can be complex, extensive and may be global in nature, whereas the supply chain of national or smaller enterprises will be less complex, smaller in scale, and local in nature, involving only local contractors, subcontractors, and home workers. Globalization has led to increased visibility of the environmental, social and economic impacts associated with the sourcing and processing of raw materials. Increased visibility has led to heightened consumer awareness and increased demand that firms ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability through the entire supply chain.

Figure 1. Generic Illustration of Supply Chain and Potential Sustainability Issues

Sppply chain management Sustainability

Supply chain management is an indispensable part of a business. Knowing the level of environmental, social, and economic impact and viability of your vendors and customers is becoming increasingly common as all industries move towards a more sustainable future. Company’s pressures are unlikely to be the driver of this change, but you're already seeing corporate pressures on suppliers and vendors.

Companies are striving to operate in a more sustainable manner. There is no denying that going green and being environmentally friendly is the way of the future. And, in order to meet the future head on, companies are making their products or delivering their goods or services in a way that does not impact the environment, that does not deplete natural resources, that does not contribute to climate change, that does not contribute to social inequalities or injustice, and that in general, is done “the right way”.

One of the ways a company does this is by looking at their entire manufacturing process. When I say manufacturing, I mean anything from a product to a service, from where the raw materials are obtained, through the entire process within the plant, to the use and ultimately disposal or recyclability of their product or service. We might call this evaluating the process from “cradle to cradle” (thinking beyond cradle to grave) or on a “life-cycle assessment” type analysis.

Really, companies are looking at every aspect of the way they are and even you, do business and that includes things you might not think of when you think of sustainability. Not just environmental factors, but also things like social factors and economic factors. Obviously, if your raw materials are extracted by forced child labor in a third-world country, like Bangladesh and your business with that source is keeping them going, then you are not running a sustainable business, no matter where you are located or what you say. A bit of an extreme example, but I think you get the point.

One aspect of running a sustainable business is your supply chain. Who do you get your raw materials, your supplies, the things you need to make your operation go from? For example, it could be mineral water extracted from centrally in all division in Bangladesh that you use to make electronic components. Or, it could be locally harvested vegetables you serve in your restaurant. Or, it could be the cleaning products on the shelf in your store. Where did those materials come from, and under what conditions?

Companies large and small are asking these questions about themselves, and their suppliers. They are looking at creating supply chains of top performers with the ultimate goal of using them to create a better, more environmentally sound, and ultimately more profitable company.

Determining a way to find out, and creating a policy based on how sustainable you want to be, is the essence of sustainable supply chain management.

Simply put, you want to do business with people and businesses that do things the right way, and avoid altogether those who don’t. You really cannot run a sustainable operation yourself any other way.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Implementation

You could almost envision this as having the following steps:

• Develop some form of a sustainability plan for your business. What are your goals and objectives, and how do you want to go about them?
• Include your supply chain in your considerations of how sustainable you are. Supply chains are part of your operation, environmentally, socially, and economically.
• Develop a policy for your suppliers and customers. This is up to you, but you should at least be looking at some basic indicators of sustainable operations, whether it’s environmental impact, waste disposal, energy use, employees and community social factors, whatever. It’s your call but make a policy and stick to it.
• Then, go out and evaluate your supply chain. This probably means a survey of some sort. How do they stack up, and more importantly, what are you going to do about it? The customer made it clear that they were making their buying decisions based on the answers. You do the same, figure out where you draw the line. Is your choice price only not sustainable, or solely based on the sustainability level of your suppliers (bold move), or some combination thereof?
• Then, go back to your supply chain and take appropriate action. Who knows, they might surprise you with some changes towards sustainability themselves.

So what types of things were request for information? Questions about economic, social and environmental practices, such as how much they recycled, how much solid waste they generated, how much energy they used, how much practice in your organization human rights, are you allow child labor, how much they payment their stuff, are you delay supplier payment etc.

Notice that these questions had to do with environmental regulations? That's because it's expected you're already following all applicable regulations. If you're not, you might as well consider that customer gone.

There was one question about compliance: can you confirm you are in full compliance with all applicable environmental regulations? How many companies out there can answer that truthfully?

There were also questions about labor practices, minority hiring, third party hiring, community support, volunteering, subcontract without permission from buyer, employee’s education, and safety practices and records. Remember, sustainability isn't just about being green and environmentally friendly. Remember the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.

Best Practices of Sustainable Supply Chain

While the concept of a “sustainable supply chain” is still relatively new, there is a budding consensus over best practices to follow when building a more sustainable supply chain. The National Bureau of Sustainability, in conjunction with various corporations, summarized these best practices which have been modified slightly:

Define Company Objective:

Define ways management will communicate sustainable initiatives internally and externally

Develop a business case that illustrates the costs and payback period. Highlight all benefits, even those where the financial benefit is less obvious but the sustainability value is clear.

Create Meaningful Expectations:

Interview and leverage experience and opinions of all stakeholders to create relevant documents to enhance the applicability, legitimacy and efficacy of policies.

Conduct appropriate environmental research, in the context of international supply chains, to better anticipate challenges and to allow for organization to pro-actively manage supply chains.

Search for and assess the applicability of pre-existing standards that the company might adopt, thus improving efficiency and avoiding audit fatigue.

Select Suppliers and Agree to Targets:

Create an interview process with qualitative measures to select and develop a supplier base, relying less on the traditional “tick box” selection scenario.

Create a safe and open environment that allows for and promotes supplier-led solutions. This includes developing key performance indicators (KPIs) with suppliers, benchmarking KPIs across suppliers to guarantee that standards and metrics will stand up to external inspection and creating a set of clear and systematic processes to obtain performance data.

Evaluate and Develop Suppliers:

Communicate effectively with suppliers regarding performance in relation to sustainability targets. Advise suppliers early if performance is not meeting goals.

Create a development a program for suppliers as a means to understand supply chain failures and as a way to support and improve future performance.

Build on Past Successes:

Cultivate and prioritize a culture of learning, highlighting the importance of transparency and accountability as imperative for success and persistent growth.

Measure continuously the company’s performance against KPIs and metrics developed above.

The shift to a sustainable supply chain typically requires a sizable upfront investment as well as a significant change in the culture of the organization. However, current research indicates that the business case for more sustainable business operations is quite strong. The noted benefits include the ability to reduce costs significantly with the potential to increase revenue through innovation and enhanced market demand. Companies with best practices around sustainability will continuously screen customers for unmet needs generated by sustainability developments in the marketplace. A company think that their some product developing flexible pricing schedules for garments deployment in developing countries. By reducing prices, they hopes to have a first mover advantage in developing markets, gaining significant revenue and market share. Specifically, a preemptive shift to a sustainable supply chain has positive business impacts including risk management, realizing gains through more efficient operations and creating sustainable products.

Sustainable procurement 

Sustainable procurement is a high profile matter for businesses today. It can help to save money, reduce waste, improve competitiveness and build a business' reputation. As part of their sustainability programmes, many oil companies have invested in local transportation networks or built schools. They provide jobs and by sourcing supplies locally help to develop the local economy. The global oil industry has a responsibility to the countries in which it operates to manage its operations in as sustainable way as possible. A purchasing manager might want to consider whether the supplier behaves responsibly, for example, adhering to ethical standards or sourcing raw materials in an ethical way. For example, shell is working with its existing suppliers to implement the shell supplier principles. These set out the minimum standards which Shell suppliers need to meet. These include using energy and natural resources as efficiently as possible to minimize impact on the environment and covering health and safety issues.

Efficiency and responsiveness in sustainable supply chain

An effectively managed supply chain must be efficient and responsive at the same time. Responsiveness can be defined as the ability of the supply chain to respond purposefully and within an appropriate timeframe to customer requests or changes in the marketplace.

Other aspects of sustainable business include managing waste effectively and reducing the company’s carbon footprint. This can be improved by choosing suppliers who also take their responsibilities towards environmental impact seriously. For example, Marks & Spencer made £70 million of efficiency savings during 2010/11. Alongside reductions in waste and packaging and increased energy efficiency, the company is working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions in the supply chain by improving efficiency of deliveries. So sustainable supply chain must be efficient and responsive at the same time.

Important of sustainable supply chain Management

The most important of sustainable supply chains is a positive long term net impact on the financial performance of the organization. While many companies identify the supply chain as the most difficult aspect of their business to make sustainable, it is also one of the most important. This is largely due to the impact that a sustainable supply chain can have on the overall well-being of society and the environment.

Traditional supply chain management has focused primarily on cost, with professional consulting targeting costs (including transport, inventory, and administration) of 7% to 9% of revenue.  

The recent emergence of sustainable supply chain management provides the opportunity to review processes, materials, and operational concepts from a different perspective. It incorporates the role of the environment in supply chain value creation.

Leading companies are finding unique value opportunity in sustainable supply chain management: Pepsi-Cola Saved $44 million by switching from corrugated to reusable plastic shipping containers for one liter and 20-ounce bottles, conserving 196 million pounds of corrugated material.

Benefits and additional reasons to incorporate eco awareness in the supply chain includes:

1. Increase Profitability – Proactively incorporating sustainability concepts into your supply chain will decrease cost and add the value to operations.

2. Asset Utilization – Incorporating greater eco awareness into transportation and inventory practices will increase utilization of key assets.

3. Risk Mitigation – Promoting greater understanding of sustainability within the company’s supply chain will mitigate environmental, social, economic and market risks.

4. Innovation – Incorporating sustainability concepts into the supply chain will be a catalyst for supplier innovation.

5. Alignment – Negotiating business sustainability policies with suppliers and customers will promote alignment across the supply chain.

6. Continuous Improvement – A common understanding of sustainability concepts, goals and objectives provides a platform for continuous improvements.

7. Customer Service – Implementing sustainable best practices within the supply chain will standardize operations and allow for improve customer service.

8. Regulatory Compliance – Green supply chain management will help ensure regulatory compliance.

9. Product Differentiation – Creating uniquely different green supply chain practices will differentiate the company and its products in the market place.

10. Enhance Reputation – Demonstrating green business practices will promote business sustainability and enhance company reputation.

Reduced costs and enhanced efficiency, responsibility and productivity. Improved working conditions can reduce turnover and improve quality and reliability. Environmental responsibility improves efficiency and profitability.

Green Factory and the Conditions

When the environment is being polluted by the world constantly developed world, such as the garment industry, our customers are seeking the happiness of the third world as a factory environment, be off the bad effects of the environment and contribute to protecting the environment through green. Consequently, in 1999 the United States United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to assess the effectiveness of any structure or building environmental LEED, or Leadership in energy and Environmental Design, a certification system was introduced. Allowing deployment of more environmentally sustainable patterns of thinking and expand the building and the building has been staged introduction of the LEED Certification. 

LEED Certification is observed to be a lot of conditions, including the building can be used to reduce carbon emissions, bricks, cement and steel has been made to ensure that the reproduction is the maximum use of resources. At the same time all the ingredients to be purchased from the factory to the nearest institution. The low-cost of fuel for transport, this is also a condition. In his 500-square-meter factory workers to the home, school, market, bus or tempo to be stand. As soon as the car will need to come from the factory workers. The carbon emissions as well as will be fuel consumption. 

The latest technology machines, as well as energy saving, which will absorb the dust itself.

Conclutions

Sustainable or Green supply chain management can be defined as integrating environmental thinking into supply-chain management, including product design, material sourcing and vendor selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life. If you want to become more sustainable, or if you just don’t want to lose business in the future, you ought to consider a corporate sustainability program, including sustainable supply chain management. As part of that, you will want to take a close look at your suppliers and vendors. Are they sustainable themselves? If not, your actions will continue this ever-expanding web of corporate pressure towards a sustainable future.

Supply Chain Management in Apparel Industry: A supply chain is actually a complex and dynamic supply and demand network. Main purpose of supply chain is to satisfy customer needs and generate business profits. Supply chain management is the integration of key business processes from end user to original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders.  In apparel supply chain every organization starting from initial raw materials supplier to apparel manufacturer to customer to consumer purchasing apparel products for final consumption.

The apparel industry stands out as one of the most globalized industries in the world and it is a supply driven commodity chain led by a combination of retailers, contractors, subcontractors, buyers,Manufacturer, merchandisers, and suppliers; each plays an important role in a network of supply chains that spans from fibers to yarn, yarn to fabrics, garments accessories, trims, packaging materials and finally made finish garments, to trading, and to marketing.

Moreover, in today’s competitive environment, markets are becoming more global, dynamic, and customer driven, where customers are demanding more variety, better quality, and service, including reliability and faster delivery. Therefore, to ensure growth, it has become mandatory for the apparel industry to be more participative and adaptive. Traditional, supply chains are viewed as a flow line, where input enters at one end and transforms to output at the other end. This is quite static and is applicable for products that are changing less frequently.

Sourcing Management:

Sourcing is an activity that used at both tactical and strategic levels. It is concerned with what needs to be purchased, why, when and where. The concept is created to help supply chain managers and practitioners to improve, develop and implement strategic sourcing strategies.

Strategic supply chain management aims to improve quality and service while reducing the total cost of purchased materials, products, and services. In other words, strategic supply management is the process of making private contracts with suppliers to achieve corporate goals as a result of the assessments in order to streamline cost and productivity.

The first step in the strategic supply process is to identify clear expectations for material, products, and services. In this step, analysis of expenses for raw materials, finished products as well as all items to be purchased such as yarns, fabrics, apparel accessories, trims, packaging materials, office maintenance, security items, and distribution is performed. Then, a detailed comparison of current and prospective suppliers is made and the suppliers providing the lowest total cost while meeting all other expectations are selected. In the last stage, a structure for continuous improvement is developed by designing processes that ensure regular monitoring of the performance of suppliers.

Sourcing is basically determining the most cost efficient supplier of materials, production, or finished goods at the specified quality and service level. It is closely associated and an important part of apparel merchandiser and supply chain responsibility. Materials basically include piece goods that will be cut and converted into the garments. Not only does the fabric have to be appropriate and suited to the garment design and end use but it must also be made available at the precise time when it is needed. Thus, lead times play an important role in the sourcing and placing orders for the materials required for the production. Lead times required giving form merchandiser to supply chain and execute from sourcing section of supply chain department. Trims are all the materials other than the piece goods that are required to make up a garment. Findings require the same careful planning as the piece goods. As soon as the fabric is in the stores, then only the sourcing of the threads start because the color of the thread must match the buyer’s requirements. The ordering of the threads must be complete by the time fabric is cut ready to be feeded to the sewing lines.

Sourcing section of supply chain department along with apparel merchandiser plays the vital role to execute and shipment of export order successfully. Merchandiser must make sure that all approvals related to fabrics, trims, accessories and packaging materials should be coordinated with the sourcing department in given timeframe. Fabric sourcing section of supply chain is basically engaged in determining how and where its merchandise i.e. fabric will be obtained within the scheduled time and cost. A sourcing manager must have knowledge about all varieties of fabrics and trims in order to execute their functions effectively. The different parameters in sourcing i.e. lead time, process of fabric and trim approvals, cost of logistics and incoterms need to keep in mind while deciding the sourcing tactics for particular export order.

Our approach, beginning with sourcing and procurement goes far beyond negotiating price with suppliers. Our methodology, which has proven successful time and time again, is used on strategic supply projects worldwide, helps our clients reduce total purchasing expenses and ensures high-quality service from suppliers within market pace.

Sourcing Types

There are three type of sourcing in apparel supply chain.

• In house sourcing
• Out house sourcing
• Global sourcing

In house sourcing

In-house sourcing refers to conducting an activity or operation within a company, instead of relying on outsourcing. One of the primary advantages of insourcing is control. If you keep a process, project or facility in house, you and your staff have complete control over it. If you outsource, you pass some of this control to the supplier. These strategies are used for sourcing of yarn, fabric, trims, accessories are available in your company and to meet the demand.

Out house sourcing and Global sourcing

There are many reasons why an apparel company may choose to outsource certain business functions. Some of the most common reasons include are reducing and controlling operating costs, sharing risks with a partner company. If cost of manufacturing is higher or adequate infrastructure is not available then out sourcing or global sourcing is the popular practices for an apparel industry. 

Sourcing Process

A sourcing process is used to select the best product or service for a certain category of expenditure.

Unfortunately, lots of these processes are not run well, resulting in loss of large saving opportunities, delivery of poor quality products, or less favorable terms.

When selecting suppliers through a sourcing process, the buyer works in collaboration with internal customers or budget holders. Internal customers are buyer’s colleagues working in other departments, such as merchandiser and marketing department, finance department or production and manufacturing. They are the ones who originally raised the need for the purchase and who will be actually transacting with the selected supplier. Internal customer involvement is usually highest (around 70%) at the specification stage and then drops to around 30% in subsequent stages.

1. Specification development

What are the needs of your internal customer i.e. the person who requires the product or service to be purchased? As a buyer, your challenge and translate these needs in specifications that suppliers can understand.

The objective of buyers at the specification stage is twofold:

• Reduce total costs
• Safeguard a competitive market at the upcoming negotiation stage

Developing specifications in its turn is a 4 step process:

• Assess Customer needs
• Assess what the market has to offer
• Develop specifications
• Define winning criteria

2. Market Assessment

Once you have a clear picture of the business requirements, your next step is to formally invite suppliers to quote for your business.
You formally approach the market via:

Request For Information

• This is used to pre-qualify suppliers to whom you would send the RFQ.
• An RFI is usually a simple and short questionnaire for the supplier, which enables the buyer to judge if the supplier is promising and has a good chance to win the business.
• An RFI is optional. If you know the market relatively well, there is no need for an RFI.

A Request for Quotation

• This is a formal request to the supply market to quote for your business.
• The RFQ is a more complex document with a company presentation, bidding instructions for suppliers and detailed information about the project and requirements.

3. Negotiation

At the negotiation stage, you analyze the offers and select the most promising suppliers to negotiate with. Only then you prepare for negotiation.

During the meeting, your goal is to clarify the terms of the offer and get additional value beyond what has been offered, this might range from a lower price, a better quality product, improved payment terms etc. At the end of this process, you conclude the deal with the best supplier.

Most suppliers build in a price concession in their first offer. In order to obtain this concession, you must:

• Build competition – To get the best results at the negotiation stage, you should have two or more credible alternatives.
• Carefully analyze all quotations to get a feel for a stretching but credible target.

4. Contract discussion

You prepare a formal contract with the supplier and you limit your companies’ exposure.

Purchasing management:

The purchasing management in an apparel industry is similar to the sourcing management but the main difference is that the sourcing management works for sourcing the yarn, fabrics, trims and accessories while the purchasing management works for sourcing items procure from suppliers, product quality and conform right time delivery, suppliers payment and more relevant activities.

Purchasing management is one such form of management, where goods and services are acquired from a different organization or company. Purchasing management is known to help an organization to save much of the money spent when purchasing goods and services from outside. Procurement involves the process of planning, selecting suppliers, establishing payment terms, strategic vetting, and selection, the negotiation of contracts services and actual purchasing of goods. Thus, procurement is an umbrella term under which purchasing is just a component. Since procurement is an umbrella term and includes all the core business activities, it should be considered an important corporate activity.

Functioning of the Department and Procurement Process

Merchandising and Marketing Department give the tech pack and the BOM (Bill Of Materials) for a particular style to the cost management department and purchasing department and the concerned person will start the further process and for costing purposes the in-house price is given like, the cost involved in the production and also the price involved for a unit involved with respect to the complete procedure involved for its production. In the process of doing the in-house price, suppose the cost of 1000 pieces of Care Label is $ 30 then a Taxes of 2% + 14% of exercise duty + 10% of per unit price is added as the transportation charges and this all together makes the in-house price (a hidden margin of 5% is also taken into consideration).

This breakup is given to the merchandiser by the purchasing department for the costing purpose, the cost sheet is made by the merchandisers and the order is confirmed by the buyer based on the cost sheet given by the merchandiser.

After the order is being confirmed by the buyer the merchandiser will sit with the other concerned departments and then the exact quantity required and the breakup of the trims and accessories with respect to color, size, MOQ, etc., will be given by the merchandiser to the purchasing department in the form of a sheet which is generally followed in the industry for all the orders irrespective of the buyer.

Finally the purchasing department receives this purchase requisition from merchandiser, then source the right supplier for right product for right time then purchasing department. I would like to discussed hear, sometimes some suppliers has nominated from buyers for selected items. There have no need additional sourcing. We source locally and globally only non-nominated supplier’s item such as yarn, fabrics, accessories, packaging materials and trims.

We conform right supplier and raised the PO and sent to the concerned suppliers for yarn, fabrics, accessories and trims as we needed. Once the first shot of the raw materials as a sample is sent by the supplier then the lab dips are done and are approved by the buyer.

As per PO supplier give PI (Proforma Invoice) to purchasing department. Purchasing department and accounts and finance department approved PI and finished all related work. Purchasing department approved PI and necessary paper give to the commercial department for LC (Latter of Credit) or TT (Telegraphic transfer) opening. After open LC or TT commercial department inform to purchasing department. Purchasing department inform to supplier for their LC or TT. They collect their LC or TT form their advising bank. Supplier delivery the goods to the store department right inventory and right time. After receiving the goods from the supplier they a rechecked for the quantity and also checked according to the inspection criteria specified by the buyer and replaced if any of them are not meeting this criterion. This department also keeps track of all the quantities received in-house timely. Suppliers submit their document for payment to the purchasing department. The purchasing department conform their payment finished internal process. Supplier collect approve document from purchasing department and submit to the conforming bank and they get payment.  The goods are generally received in breakups as suggested by the merchandiser according to the requirements stated by the planning and the production department and this breakup will have specified date and quantity and if this breakup is not being mentioned then the order is being placed with the supplier several times for small quantities and PO’s have to be sent all the time so, in order to overcome this a breakups are being is given.

Then the purchasing department has to follow up with the supplier for deliveries as and when the merchandiser asks for the new set of the materials for that particular style and then the department also has to maintain the receipts and also they have to maintain the documents of the inspections that are being carried out for those materials.

Conclusion:

The increasing use of sourcing, purchasing and procurement strategic practices dramatically changes the way of products develop, manufacturing and distribution. These changes scenario makes the industry more efficient to fulfil customer demands in a defined cycle time, and at comparative costs. The strategy of sourcing the raw material for garment manufacturing is depends upon parameters like lead time, cost and quality. The international laws of tariffs and trade affects these strategies strongly.  Apart from these conditions, sourcing decisions are made based on domestic market condition, cost benefits, international market situation, relation between the respective countries and political stability of the country. Well-managed procurement ensures that supplies of the required quality are available at the right time, right place and right price. Reduce waste by selecting right supplier sourcing that generate less waste and also lower costs manage demand, for example, through just-in-time supply.

5G Supply Chain Strategy in Bangladesh

5G Network is now 1,336 globally, a 350 percent increase during the past year despite an ongoing global pandemic, as of January 2021, more than 30 percent of the world’s countries now have 5G availability.

The top three countries that have the most cities with 5G are China at 341, the United States at 279, and South Korea with 85. The U.K. now has 5G in 54 cities, followed closely by Spain with 53. An additional 27 countries added commercial 5G deployments last year, including three countries that have already reached the top ten in terms of cities covered — Canada with 49 cities, as well as France and Thailand tied at 24.

The next-generation of mobile technology is revolutionising the way we connect, and the government wants the majority of the Bangladesh population to be covered by a 5G signal by 2023. So that the entire country can benefit from its social and economic advantages. That decision is the right one, but it also risks leaving us overly reliant on too few suppliers. That is a dilemma faced by countries across the globe - and it is one the government is confronting head-on through the publication of this Strategy.

This 5G Diversification Strategy is a clear and ambitious plan to grow our telecoms supply chain while ensuring it is resilient to future trends and threats. It has three core strands: supporting incumbent suppliers; attracting new suppliers into the Bangladesh market; and accelerating the development and deployment of open-interface solutions.

The Bangladesh government has pledged to have 5G introduced in the country by 2021. However, the debate rages on over whether the dreams of the utopia promised by this technology is coherent with the realities of a market that could still be struggling to adopt the existing benefits of mobile bandwidth. The question of whether it should be adopted may rely on realistic use cases, availability of the technology to the masses and its relevance to the nation’s context.

Generation History

The previous generations of mobile networks have been 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G respectively. The first generation (1G) delivered analog voice in the 1980s. 2G or Second generation introduced digital voice in the early 1990s. The Early 2000s saw third generation or 3G bring mobile data in the hands of the masses. Then, the fourth generation, better known as 4G LTE, became available in the 2010s 4G LTE and welcomed the age of mobile broadband. 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G all have steered the way for 5G. 5G, as the 5th generation mobile network, it is designed to provide more connectivity than ever available in all past eras. 5G allows a new class of network that is intended to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. The higher performance and improved efficiency is intended to empower new user experiences and connect new industries.

The 5th Generation Advantage

While 4G LTE focused on providing quicker mobile broadband services than its predecessor 3G, 5G is designed to be a unified, more efficient. 5G can also natively support all spectrum types (licensed, shared, unlicensed) and bands (low, mid, high), a wide range of deployment models (from traditional macro-cells to hotspots), and new ways to interconnect (such as device-to-device and multi-hop mesh). Qualcomm states the following reasons why making the jump from 4G to 5G would make sense:

• 5G is significantly faster than 4G
• 5G has more capacity than 4G
• 5G has significantly lower latency than 4G
• 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G
• 5G uses spectrum better than 4G

The Next Generation

5G can improve economic growth, enhance citizen experiences and expedite commercial prospects. However, the implementation of 5G in Bangladesh is unique compared to other countries as the South Asian nation is leap-frogging from a complete analog to a digital economy (bypassing many intermediary steps). Moreover, though there may exist potential benefits, without a proper plan, market players have shown significant skepticism regarding the investment case of 5G. This can be improved if carefully crafted with realistic spectrum, infrastructure, taxation and cloud hosting policies. If addressed, this can reduce business doubts and create a promising investment climate for the beneficiaries of this technology. Joining the 5G bandwagon without a proper consumer and business friendly roadmap would most definitely not be in Bangladesh’s best interest. However, not treading onto the 5G wave at all would inhibit at least a generation of citizens and institutions from building a vibrant 5G based ecosystem.

The value of 5G networks

Significant economic and social value can be gained from the widespread deployment of 5G networks. These networks will deliver faster, more reliable and flexible networks that have the potential to transform key sectors across the economy.

That is why the widespread availability of both 5G and gigabit capable networks is a priority for this government. 5G is already available in over 30% of the world's countries and the next few years will see increased investment in these networks as we deliver against our targets for the majority of the population to have 5G coverage by 2023.

The case for diversification

The Telecoms Supply Chain Review identified that the greatest risk of national dependence in our networks is in the ‘access’ network. As the characteristics and potential of 5G mean that 5G networks are likely to play a significant role in our critical national infrastructure it is critical that the supply market for these networks is diverse and resilient.

The global telecoms supply market has undergone a sustained period of consolidation due to a range of commercial factors including low profit margins, high R&D costs and high economies of scale. Technical factors that raise the barrier to entry or solidify the position of incumbents have also been a factor.

Therefore, it is essential that we create a more diverse and competitive supply base for telecoms networks. A more competitive and diverse supply market will increase quality, innovation and the resilience of our networks.

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