Supplier selection process at a South African clothing company

This is a case study that investigates a supplier selection process at a South African clothing manufacturing company, hereafter referred to as Brand Solutions. Brand Solutions is a supplier of a wide range of custom-made corporate clothing, headwear, promotional clothing, bags and luggage. The company has in-house knitting mill that makes fabric using mercerised, bamboo, polyester and 100% cotton yarn that is sourced locally and abroad. Brand Solutions also does branding through digital transfer printing, embroidery, digital ultra violet light printing, silkscreen printing and laser engraving. Data for this study was collected by a University of Johannesburg Industrial Engineering Student. The student had interviews with the procurement, production and quality assurance managers. She verified the answers given by the interviewees by taking informative tours of the production floor, warehouse and management offices of the plant. A review of company documents and relevant literature from journals was also done. The research revealed that on new suppliers, Brand Solutions selects them based on the quality, material shrinkage, colour fastness, grammage, cost, delivery lead time, and product mix flexibility. Once the suppliers pass this test, their performance is not reviewed again. These findings have implications on the performance and competitiveness of Brand Solutions. Moreover the findings have a bearing on Brand Solutions’ growth in employment, market share and revenue. Lastly, the study contributes by suggesting the supplier selection model that a clothing manufacturing entity should adopt in relation to the environment that it operates in