Degree
Master of Business Administration
Faculty / School
School of Business Studies (SBS)
Advisor
Faisal Jalal, Visiting Faculty, Department of Marketing
Client
International Textiles Limited (ITL)
Committee Member 1
Faisal Jalal, Visiting Faculty, Business Studies - Academic Affairs Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi
Project Type
MBA Research Project
Keywords
https://ir.iba.edu.pk/do/search/?q=International%20Textiles%20Limited&start=0&context=8598587&facet=">International Textiles Limited, CMT, CPEC, Agility
Abstract / Summary
Previous two years have been instrumental in augmenting the textile footprint of Pakistan across the globe specially in the towel industry. While the growth was hampered in the hospitality segment but that was bridged by the surging demand from Health Sector.
International Textiles Limited (ITL) has been a powerhouse in the towels segment in Pakistan with two multi-layered facilities in Korangi, Karachi. With the increasing influx of orders, ITL wanted to enhance their CMT capacity but first wanted to evaluate if increasing CMT operational capacity in Pakistan would be the right step or is there a better option outside Pakistan to gain cost advantage and trade benefits.
To tackle this problem, we conducted an extensive secondary research as the first step by quenching insights from the already done research across the Globe. The secondary research gave us a direction to work on South Asian countries and some African countries.
Post-secondary research, we initiated our primary research interviewing 9 respondents having experience across the industry and globe including CMT specialists, Marketing professionals and Association representatives. The inputs we received were then churned into a thematic analysis to give a constructive view of the whole process.
Majority of the respondents wrote-off African countries due to increasing law and order situation and depleted skilled labor reserves, Sri-Lanka was eliminated in the selection process due to its very high labor costs. The only realistic outcomes were Bangladesh & Vietnam which were short-listed for further evaluation.
We analyzed Bangladesh and Vietnam against Pakistan on key 3 metrics (Price, Quality & Lead Time) and it was evident that on these parameters Pakistan ranked higher than both these countries. Moreover, in a qualitative setting below are key takeaways:
- Pakistan offers lean timelines as there is no extra layer of freight and transportation.
- With CPEC investment coming in Pakistan, the cost of CMT will automatically come down as the learning curve improves.
- Command and Control within Pakistan will be very important as we have seen in Covid times how borders close within hours, so Agility is a critical point of consideration.
Recommended Citation
Kumar, M., Siddiqui, M. I., Hijazi, S. A., Farooqui, U., & Kidwai, V. (2021). Feasibility of foreign CMT operations International textiles limited (Unpublished graduate research project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/research-projects-mba/264
