Supply chain collaboration among Malaysian SME manufacturers

Malaysian 3rd Industrial Master Plan was developed to improve the country global competitiveness by positioning Malaysia as a major manufacturing hub and service provider in the global supply chain. To achieve this, it is suggested that Malaysian manufacturers especially SME should be involved in supply chain collaboration in their business operations. However, it is discovered that there are very few reported research on the supply chain collaboration activities among Malaysian SME manufacturers. The objective of this research is to uncover the supply chain collaboration activities among Malaysian SME manufacturers with their trading partners. This is to be done by determining the level of supply chain collaboration of Malaysian SME manufacturer and investigating the reason Malaysian SME manufacturers supply chain collaborations is at that level. In order to achieve the above objective, a mixed method of quantitative approach using survey method is employed to determine the level of supply chain collaboration and qualitative approach using personal interview method is employed to find out the reason for why Malaysian SME manufacturers’ supply chain collaboration is at that level. This research discovered that the supply chain collaboration of Malaysian SME manufactures with their trading partners is at minimal level. This is due to their current business relationship that they have with their trading partners do not required them to collaborate at higher level. On the other hand, Malaysian SME manufacturer are willing to have a high level of supply chain collaboration if long term business relationship could be established. Therefore, it is concluded that the type of business relationship or cooperation with trading partners can determine level of supply chain collaboration

Green Lean Practices towards Increasing Operation Value of Manufacturing Company

Nowadays, manufacturing industries are rapidly developing. However the constraints faced by today's producers are how to produce their products quickly through low costs while at the same time, the reduction of waste disposal in the environment. The high waste of time in the manufacturing industry is often attributed to the wastage that occurred in the company’s operations. Lean manufacturing is linked for improving the standard working. It is one of the production strategies that drive the industry towards a more efficient production of goods and services. Meanwhile, green manufacturing has been adopted as a requirement to achieve a minimal negative impact on the environment. The green lean is a concept to make sure system more efficient, reduce unwanted product releases and minimize the environmental impact. So, the main objective of this research is to reduce cycle time in manufacturing company by adopting green lean elements. This research focuses on furniture manufacturing and conducted a structural interview question, observation and time study method. To refine those time operation problems, the company had implemented the new green lean practices into the operation department. The results after implement these methods totally show an improved progress. The paper would help the manufacturer to organize and improve their company performance. In conclusion, this research is about to identify and reduce the time waste to improve the operation value of the manufacturing company while at the same time it would reduce the environmental impact in future

Trustworthiness in buyer-supplier relation on supply chain collaboration among SMEs

Due to the growth of operational complexity and global competitiveness, firms have recognized the worth of establishing collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners. Research found that the level of collaboration in Malaysian SMEs manufacturers is too low to gain any relational advantage from collaborative relationships in supply chain. This research is sought to review the literature to determine the factors that create trustworthiness in buyer-supplier relation on supply chain collaboration among SMEs manufacturers. According to past researches, five behavioral signals are determined to be contributing to creating trustworthiness in supply chain collaboration. They are performance to promise signals, professional relationship signals, openness signals, benevolent collaboration signals and empathy signals. This conceptual paper reveals the factors that contribute in creating trustworthiness among Malaysian SMEs manufacturers. This research provides practical implications to the Malaysian SMEs in understanding how trust-building can be produced and enhanced in developing supply chain collaborative relationships

Bumiputra SMES food manufactures halal certification challenges: a review

The concept of halal is associated with food products which are of high quality in terms of cleanliness, sanitation and compliance with Islamic law. In Malaysia Jakim is given a mandate by government of Malaysia to monitor and certify food industries with Halal certificates. In 2014, among the 828 Malaysian exporters of halal products, only 92 or 11% of the companies were bumiputra-owned. Also it is reported that 90% of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owned by bumiputra operates without a halal certificate. They in fact did not apply for the halal certificate and did not display the halal logo. With an annual trade value of US$2.77 trillion for halal global market, there is essential for Malaysian bumiputra SMEs to acquired halal certificates in order to capture the vast opportunity offered by global halal market. This paper is to review halal development and challenges faced by Malaysian bumiputra SMEs food manufacturers in getting halal certificate. It is hope that future steps can be implemented to enhance the performance of bumiputra SMEs in Malaysia

Green lean practices towards increasing operation value of manufacturing company

Nowadays, manufacturing industries are rapidly developing. However the constraints faced by today's producers are how to produce their products quickly through low costs while at the same time, the reduction of waste disposal in the environment. The high waste of time in the manufacturing industry is often attributed to the wastage that occurred in the company’s operations. Lean manufacturing is linked for improving the standard working. It is one of the production strategies that drive the industry towards a more efficient production of goods and services. Meanwhile, green manufacturing has been adopted as a requirement to achieve a minimal negative impact on the environment. The green lean is a concept to make sure system more efficient, reduce unwanted product releases and minimize the environmental impact. So, the main objective of this research is to reduce cycle time in manufacturing company by adopting green lean elements. This research focuses on furniture manufacturing and conducted a structural interview question, observation and time study method. To refine those time operation problems, the company had implemented the new green lean practices into the operation department. The results after implement these methods totally show an improved progress. The paper would help the manufacturer to organize and improve their company performance. In conclusion, this research is about to identify and reduce the time waste to improve the operation value of the manufacturing company while at the same time it would reduce the environmental impact in future