Utilization of information technology in supply chain management – A study on garment industries of twin cities

In a technically growing customer centric competitive market many companies are focusing on the efficient Supply Chain Management to increase profit and market share. There are companies that have reduced their manufacturing cost as much as is practically possible and then the key issue is SCM. Basic idea behind the SCM is to develop the network of through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hand of the ultimate customer. The main aim of Twin cities garment industry's desire is in reducing the Supply time required to produce and fulfill the orders placed by some small units in several places of India. One way to decrease the supply time required for producing Readymade Garments (RMG). To increase domestic linkage expansion Supply time refers to the time required for supplying ordered garment products after the orders received. To obtain competitive advantage and to reduce time taken to deliver the order most of the organizations are using Information technology (IT). Quick response (QR) in supply chain management used to meet the consumer's changing needs at a faster placed textile apparel industry (Shin, 1998). QR in the garment industry is recognized as marketing strategy for efficient management of SCM from fiber to textile. The utilization of latest technologies like HRIS(Human Resource Information System), HRMS (Human Resource Management System), e- marketing, etc SCM had been beneficial as this helped in improving the communication channels, production and services. The key objectives are to analyze apparel supply chain matters such as new orders, raw materials supply, production processes and logistics related to finished goods delivery. The data collected from garment manufacturers of twin cities and analyzed to investigate the point of sale (POS).POS is one of the fundamental valuable IT to promote SCM (EANKorea 1998).The analysis shows a positive relationship between supply chain collaboration and competitive advantage among supply chain partners. The study finds the relationship between raw material information, manufacturers, point of sale and quick responses from the customers. The findings show material information is the pre requisite for garment manufacturing units, point of sales and quick responses. Another aspect of this paper is to investigate the utilizing levels of POS. The study examines the relationship between organization characteristics like firm size, and POS user department. Study also suggests theappropriate supply chain strategy for every combination of company type and product offered