Title: A multiple criteria supplier selection model for Vietnamese textile and apparel companies Major: Business Administration Major code: 9340101 PhD Candidate: NONG THI NHU MAI Scientific advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Thanh Phong University: International University-Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City

1. Summary of the thesis content

Competitive international business environment in the global textile and apparel (T&A) market has forced many T&A firms to concentrate on supply chain management in order to face with fierce competition. Supplier selection process, a part in supply chain, has been a prime concern recently because many of firms have been spending considerable amount on sourcing. Although the selection of suppliers is important, little has been published regarding Vietnamese T&A industry. It is inappropriate for Vietnamese T&A companies to use the supplier selection criteria and model of the large countries because the selection of suppliers needs to be built on the specific purchasing context. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study a multiple criteria supplier selection model for Vietnamese T&A businesses to enhance their sourcing activities. In order to achieve this purpose, supplier selection criteria and decision-making method need to be defined. Therefore, an integrated approach was employed. Firstly, a qualitative approach in which a multiple case study design with expert interviews was utilized to have an in-depth understanding about supplier selection situation of the Vietnamese T&A industry. Next, a prequestionnaire was built and sent to some practitioners and experts for their revision. Then, a pilot survey of 31 T&A companies with numerous statistical tests was conducted to validate the questionnaire. After that, an official study of 282 respondents was conducted to determine supplier selection criteria which are best suited for T&A companies through exploratory factor analysis. Finally, a multiple criteria decision-making method, in which analytic network process (ANP) was chosen by basing on the characteristics of the T&A industry to select the best suppliers for three illustrated companies.

2. Findings of the thesis

2.1 In terms of supplier selection criteria Firstly, there is an emergence of one new criterion that is Company’s Image including two sub-criteria: factories and reputation, which can reflect one company’s business operation and capability. Rather, there are also an emergence of some new sub-criteria which only exist in the T&A industry such as Payment method, MOQ and Discount in Costs cluster, Carriers and Sample development capacity in Delivery cluster, and the new re-arrangement of sub-criteria of CSR into Sourcing country or After-sales service sub-criteria into Relationship cluster. Secondly, the set of supplier selection criteria covers full and comprehensive criteria and sub-criteria including from micro to macro criteria; both organizational features and performance metrics, both tangibles and intangibles, both short-term and long-term, both internal and external criteria. Therefore, the findings overcome the gap of lacking a comprehensive set of supplier selection criteria for theories on supply chain management. Thirdly, both qualitative and quantitative methods of the dissertation were conducted not only in apparel industry but also in spinning, dying, and weaving; covering from CMT to FOB1, FOB2, ODM and OBM. Thus, the results can be practically applied into the whole T&A industry. 2.2 In terms of supplier selection model A critical multiple criteria supplier selection model was proposed, which has notable significance for the Vietnamese T&A industry. The most advantage of this approach is that it helps them solve the interdependence among criteria, while still allowing them to apply various criteria into evaluating candidate suppliers.

3. Practical applicability

Firstly, the thesis brings about administrative implications for T&A companies, T&A suppliers, and policy makers. Secondly, the thesis can be used as a reference in studying, researching, and teaching for students, lecturers of Colleges and Universities in the field of business administration. Summary of Thesis: