Implementation of Supply Chain Management in Bangladesh Readymade Garments Industry: The Challenges

Abstract

Readymade Garments Industry (RMG) is the largest foreign exchange earning sector for Bangladesh. After the Rana Plaza, Tazrin Fashion fire incident and Holey Artisan Bakery incidents, buyers across the globe have heightened the compliance requirements for this industry (Rayhan, 2016). Moreover, the industry is now in free market competition after Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) and General System Preferences (GSP) have been lifted. The country needs to recoup the benefit of efficient implementation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in order to achieve lower lead time, lower cost and higher quality. Cheap labor is no more giving required business for the RMG. This study aims to find out the challenges for efficient implementation of SCM in the sector. A descriptive analysis and use of Kendall Coefficient Concordance were made to find the ranking of the challenges. The study reveals that the main challenges for implementing SCM in RMG industry of Bangladesh is workplace safety followed by unavailability of locally produced raw materials and political instability.