Nicoleta S. Tipi

Linking supply chain processes’ performance to a company’s financial strategic objectives

The main aim of this paper is to develop a performance measurement method which links supply chain (SC) processes’ performance to a company’s financial strategy through demonstrating and utilising the relationship between SC processes’ performance and a company’s financial performance.

Creating a Logistics Competency Framework for Egyptian Clothing Companies

Egypt is one of the developing countries which face numerous challenges in accessing the international exports’ market. The Egyptian economy experienced an evident fall in its growth rate during 2001-2006 which made the government concerned with increasing Egypt’s competitiveness in the international market through a series of reforms targeting exports from the manufacturing sector (Enders, 2007). The Egyptian Textile and Clothing industry has proved to have good potential to succeed in the international market; however, according to a number of studies (World Bank, 2006) and (Fawzy and Masoud, 2003), there have been some logistics- related issues which are said to negatively affect exports. The lack of strong relationships with large retailers as well as the ability to implement quick order replenishment and lead time reduction presents logistical constraints that impact the volume of Egyptian clothing exports. The purpose of this research is to determine the logistics skills required to successfully perform the necessary logistics activities which result in building strong relationships with foreign retailers through the creation of a competency model specific to the logistics positions in the Egyptian clothing industry in order to set standards for logistics competence. This has been achieved through the examination of supplier selection models used by foreign retailers to select potential suppliers and determining the common logistics aspects included in the selection criteria. Consequently a list of the common logistics aspects has been developed and compared with the most important and frequent logistics activities performed in the supply chains of clothing companies. A short list of the logistics aspects used in supplier selection criteria has thus been created and an investigation has been conducted to search for the skills required for the successful performance of the logistics aspects used in supplier selection. This investigation included a review of related scientific journals, specialised associations reports, logistics job descriptions as well as structured interviews with managers in an Egyptian clothing manufacturer company ‘DYETEX’. The work responsibilities-driven approach by Rothwell (1994) was selected to create the model due to the availability of data necessary to build the model. The model comprises four main domains: interpersonal and workplace competences, apparel knowledge areas, logistics specific competences and finally logistics specific technical competences. Each domain includes a number of skills which are considered crucial to the successful performance of the logistics activities within the clothing supply chains. The contribution of this study is presented in the development of a logistics competency model specific to the requirements of the Egyptian clothing industry to set standards for logistics competence. This competency model can be further utilised as a tool to assess and evaluate the level of skills in Egyptian clothing companies to determine the skills and competences requiring improvement to increase the tendency of Egyptian clothing manufacturers to become potential suppliers for foreign retailers, thus increasing the volume of Egyptian exports to the international market.

Skills, Management Knowledge or Logistics Expertise - What Do Logistics Managers in Clothing Companies Really Need?

This paper presents the preliminary investigation of the research aiming at creating a competency framework for senior logistics managers in clothing manufacturing firms in Egypt. The purpose of this framework is to describe the knowledge and skills elements that are necessary to perform the most important tasks and functions of logistics managers in clothing manufacturing firms. The preliminary investigation described in this paper aimed at determining the skills and knowledge elements that structure the logistics manager’s competency. A content analysis of relevant published texts and interviews revealed 53 elements that relate to the skills and knowledge required for logistics managers. The frequency of these elements was recorded to examine the acknowledged skill and knowledge elements related to the logistics profession in the literature.