An investigation into the relationship between performance and product/supply chain alignment in the clothing and textile industry in Gauteng, South Africa

D.Phil. (Mechanical Engineering)Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between performance and product/supply chain alignment in the clothing and textile industry in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was conducted to validate Stavrulaki and Davis’s (2010) framework that unequivocally claims that companies that perform well are those aligned with supply chains. The framework integrates product characteristics, supply chain processes (production and logistics) and strategic focus required to source raw material, produce the products and deliver finished products to customers. It builds on design-to-order, assemble-to-order, make-to-order and build-to-stock supply chains. The study was cross-sectional, empirical, quantitative, non-experimental and pre-structured. It was guided by clear and specific research questions, a clear conceptual framework, a pre-planned design, clear data collection and a thorough data analysis process. The sample frame for this study was comprised of clothing and textile companies in the manufacturing segment. Raw material suppliers and retailers were excluded. A non-probability purposeful sample was drawn from clothing and textile companies operating in the Gauteng. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire comprised of closed questions. The analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS statistics version 22. The statistical methods used to capture and analyse the data included descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, reliability testing (Cronbach’s alpha) and the Mann-Whitney U test. Besides describing the influence of product/supply chain alignment on company performance, the study explained how and why the alignment influenced performance in the sector. The performance analysis section collected findings on product characteristics, supply chain characteristics, product/supply chain alignment, factor analysis and reliability tests. Since the researcher used a purposeful sampling technique, the two supply chain groupings (one with product/supply chain alignment and the other without) were compared on the basis of non-parametric tests. This study used the Spearman Rank Order correlation to determine the magnitude of performance ranked position of one performance measure relative to the ranked performance position of the other performance factors..