Exploring supply chain business bullying of small and medium-sized business suppliers by dominant buyers in the apparel retail sector in Gauteng

Background: Issues relating to dominant behaviour and bullying practices in supply chains are mostly not reported. Some evidence exists of unfair business practices in the apparel retail sector, but the extent and nature of such practices in South Africa, as well as the business implications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have not been researched. The reason could be the sensitive nature of these issues and possible adverse implications for the SMEs supplying apparel to the retailers in Gauteng.Aim: The primary research objective is to determine the incidence and type of supply chain dominance experienced by SMEs in the retail apparel sector in Gauteng, as well as the business implications of such dominant behaviour and how SMEs cope with it.Setting: The setting for this study was the business premises of SME apparel suppliers in Gauteng.Methods: Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with seven SMEs that were apparel suppliers to the large retailers in Gauteng, to obtain the supplier perspective.Results: Six of the seven SMEs had experienced some form of bullying behaviour by large retailers in the apparel sector, such as late payments and long payment terms. For some of these SMEs, it had serious financial implications. Meaningful insight is provided into this supplier–buyer relationship between SMEs and large retailers in the apparel sector in Gauteng.Conclusion: This is the first study in South Africa investigating supply chain dominance, in particular supply chain bullying of SME suppliers through unfair business practices by dominant buyers in the apparel sector.

ANALISIS RANTAI PASOKAN (SUPPLY CHAIN) KOMODITAS TELUR AYAM RAS PETELUR (LAYER)

Secara umum penelitian ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan rantai pasok komoditas telur ayam ras petelur yang meliputi anggota, proses, produk, sumberdaya dan manajemen, serta hubungan antar atribut didalamnya yang akan dianalisis menggunakan kerangka proses Food Supply Chain Network (FSCN) yang dikaji meliputi sasaran rantai pasok, manajemen rantai pasok, struktur rantai pasok, sumber daya rantai pasok, dan proses bisnis rantai pasok. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rantai pasok komoditas telur ayam ras (layer) di Kabupaten Bungo memiliki sasaran pasar yang cukup jelas, namum terdapat sasaran pengembangan yang harus dilakukan berupa penambahan jumlah kandang dan skala usaha ternak dalam meningkatkan produksi dan meningkatkan kualitas komoditas telur ayam ras (layer). Penerapan manajemen rantai pasok berjalan dengan baik. Selain itu dukungan pemerintah di Kabupaten Bungo sebelumnya hanya fokus pada sarana fisik. Struktur hubungan rantai pasok terdiri dari peternak ayam ras petelur (layer), PPP, PPB, agen/ distributor, PP, dan konsumen akhir. Sumber daya rantai pasok khususnya sumber daya fisik dan teknologi di Kabupaten Bungo masih sederhana. Proses bisnis rantai pasok berjalan dengan baik karena aliran produk, finansial, dan informasi berjalan lancar dan terintegrasi dengan baik. Kata kunci: rantai pasokan; telur; ayam ras petelur ABSTRACT In general, this study aims to describe the supply chain of egg laying hens which includes members, processes, products, resources and management, as well as the relationships between attributes that will be analyzed using the Food Supply Chain Network (FSCN) process framework that is reviewed including supply chain targets, supply chain management, supply chain structure, supply chain resources, and supply chain business processes. The results showed that the supply chain of broiler egg commodities (layer) in Bungo District had a fairly clear market target, however there was a development target that had to be done in the form of increasing the number of cages and scale of livestock business in increasing production and increasing the quality of the commodity of broiler eggs (layer). The implementation of supply chain management is going well. In addition, government support in the Bungo Regency previously only focused on physical facilities. The supply chain relationship structure consists of layer broiler breeders, PPP, PPB, agents / distributors, PP, and end consumers. Supply chain resources, especially physical and technological resources in Bungo Regency are still simple. The supply chain business process runs well because the flow of products, finances, and information runs smoothly and is well integrated. Keywords: supply chain; egg; laying hens