Supply chain management practices as a source of competitive advantage for food processing SMEs in Peninsular Malaysia
(Amalan pengurusan rantaian bekalan sebagai sumber kelebihan daya saing IKS pemprosesan makanan di Semenanjung Malaysia)
Nik Rozana Nik Mohd Masdek* and Mohd Fairuz Othman*
Keywords: supply chain management, business practices, competitive advantage, small medium enterprises, Malaysia
Abstract
The present study was undertaken on food-processing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Peninsular Malaysia. It attempts to examine the relationship between supply chain management (SCM) practices and the competitive position of the SMEs. Focus was given to selected supply chain management practices namely supplier partnership, customer relationship, information management and quality issues. A quantitative approach, through the use of self-administered questionnaires, was used to gauge food-processing entrepreneurs’ responses. The findings clearly showed that the selected supply chain management practices have a direct impact on the competitive advantage of food processing SMEs in Malaysia. It was also found that there was still a very minimum adoption of SCM practices in food processing SMEs, especially in small enterprises. Overall, only 21% SMEs claimed to practise a full-scale use of SCM application in their business operations. About 49% SMEs claimed to only partially use SCM practices, while 30% did not use SCM practices at all in their operations. Consequently, the majority of the SMEs’ competitive position was only at the average level.
Abstrak
Kajian ini telah dijalankan ke atas perindustrian kecil dan sederhana (PKS) sektor pemprosesan makanan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Ia bertujuan melihat hubungan antara amalan pengurusan rantaian bekalan (SCM) dengan kedudukan daya saing PKS. Tumpuan telah diberikan kepada amalan pengurusan rantaian bekalan terpilih iaitu hubungan perkongsian dengan pembekal, hubungan dengan pelanggan, pengurusan maklumat dan isu-isu berkaitan kualiti. Pendekatan kuantitatif melalui borang soal selidik telah digunakan. Hasil kajian jelas menunjukkan bahawa amalan pengurusan rantaian bekalan terpilih mempunyai kesan langsung dengan kelebihan daya saing PKS pemprosesan makanan. Dapatan kajian turut menunjukkan bahawa masih terdapat penggunaan yang sangat minimum terhadap amalan-amalan SCM, terutamanya dalam perusahaan yang kecil. Secara keseluruhannya, hanya 21% PKS mendakwa mengamalkan penggunaan amalan SCM secara menyeluruh dalam operasi perniagaan mereka. Sejumlah 49% PKS mendakwa hanya menggunakan sebahagian daripada amalan SCM, manakala 30% langsung tidak mengaplikasikan amalan SCM dalam operasi perniagaan mereka. Kesannya, majoriti kedudukan daya saing PKS pemprosesan makanan di Malaysia berada pada tahap yang sederhana.