Bpo Paper (egc)

I. Introduction

EGC or Emerald Group of Companies is the buying firm that the researcher is in contact with specifically with their Operations Manager, Ms. Susan Velasco. EGC is the "Mother Company" of the brands RRJ (Rough Rider Jeans) and MR Lee (Stylistic Mr. Lee Jeans). They are the ones responsible for the making of those jeans, from start to finish. EGC's company routine starts from the quest to look for the best materials / fabric to be used for their products. There is a specific team that the company sends abroad to complete this step. The style of jeans that they do is dependent on the kind of fabric that they would be able to find. If we come to think of it, the jeans that we wear come in different kinds. In EGC, for example, they produce pants depending on what's available in the market that they buy in. There are those smooth ones, rough ones, or those stretchable ones. They are only responsible for fading certain parts of the jeans, or maybe not at all, depending on what style or design is created. This leads us to the next step of their routine, which is the formation of the jeans. Formation, meaning, the design is followed and executed. They would then proceed to cutting. The fabric bought would be cut into certain parts which make the whole jeans. The company also provides the accessories of their finished products such as the buttons, zippers, labels, etc. Next is the sewing process. They have sewing machines that have the strength to sew different types of denim / fabric. After the sewing process, they have their QC (Quality Control) team check on the finished products, which would lead us to the next and final step of the routine, the delivery of their products to RRJ and Stylistic MR Lee.

Since both brands were able to make it in the Fashion Industry (most especially RRJ), EGC received a much higher demand rate which is indeed a sign of success for the company, but ironically, the problem arises within this excellent encounter as well. EGC doesn't have enough employees or sewing staff to do the job and enough sewing machines to complete the operations. They have the option to buy more machines and hire more people, but after arriving at figures that are way beyond their expectations, they didn't have any choice but to think twice about that option. Should they take the risk or should they not? The answer came in when their team thought about hiring a separate company to do the job for them. They found Merge Garments, a garments company that has Sewing Services as their forte.

They compared the costs computed between Option 1 (to buy more machines and hire more people) and Option 2 (to outsource the sewing services from Merge Garments) and they learned that they would be saving a big amount of money if they decide to go for Option 2.

II. BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING

* The only service outsourced is the sewing.

III. THE OUTSOURCING PROCESS

The sewing process consists of the following specifications:

* The attachment of accessories to the fabric / denim such as buttons, zippers and label patches

* The whole assembly of the different parts of the jeans such as the front and back part, pockets and waist / belt area

The attachment of the accessories to the fabric / denim has corresponding costs, as well as the assembly of the different parts that make the whole pair of jeans. Those are the services included in the outsourcing service. Aside from money, time and effort are also saved in the process. All EGC would have to do is give Merge Garments the design of the jeans, the fabric / denim and all the accessories required to carry out the design.

EGC's routine (after choosing Option 2  to outsource) is still the same as compared to the routine they had before outsourcing. The only difference is that they no longer do the sewing operations of their jeans. The said responsibility is now taken care of by the Vendor Company  Merge Garments.

How will EGC know if the Outsourcing Process is successful? A QC (Quality Control) team from EGC will be sent to "visit" Merge Garments to monitor & know the following:

* Delivery dates are met

* Quality of work

- Stitches

- Correct sizing of pants

- Accuracy of design

- Accurate positioning of accessories (buttons, zippers, label patches)

* Required amount / quantity of jeans are met (The QC Team's visit would have to be before the set delivery date)

IV. PROBLEM

After EGC's decision to outsource their sewing line, problems became inevitable. One major problem encountered by