QUALITY; WILL IT WIN OVER PRICE AND POLICY? - THE SIX-SIGMA AND BEYOND FOR GLOBAL TEXTILE TRADES

摘要

The QUALITY has never been properly understood as a discipline of science or technology by fiber, textile and apparel manufacturers and traders even as they compete fiercely under the prevailing free-trade environment. At the doorstep of 2005, one has to ask if the winner will be the lowest-cost producer forever. The answer is hardly yes. This paper examines the competitiveness of the future textile, apparel and fibrous product trades in terms of quality as a measurable output by the ultimate consumers. In doing so, the specific measures of product performance, speed and costs will be examined and analyzed with respect to capabilities of sustained technology development, proximity to the consumers, and the potential for reducing the quality costs. Attempts will be made to show that the sustainable winning strategy is in the development of technology to make the products and services better, cheaper and faster. Reliance on low production costs, derived mainly from labor costs, will become more fragile under the free trade agreement of WTO. The paper will demonstrate the importance of quality technology imbedded on process design and improvement that will lower the costs, appeals to the consumers, and indeed maximizes the business profit as well. It will also show why the , concept of Taguchi's loss function, Zero Defects and the Six-Sigma quality management systems must be applied to fiber and textile products for sustained business growth, trades and profitability in the future. The talk will end with a i discussion on new R&D needs for winning the global quality war and examination of this potential by region.