The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is encouraging micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to produce high-quality products for the international market. Senior business development officer at the JBDC, Colin Coley, made the assertion at the second JBDC Virtual Biz Zone Webinar in the Trade Series themed ‘Cost vs Quality: The Manufacturing Saga’ on May 30.
“The importance of quality in manufacturing goes beyond providing the consumer with a product they can trust. Yes, that’s a key tenet. But quality is a holistic endeavour that affects all parts of the business, including workspace compliance, risk management, product assurance, consistency, and even innovation,” he said.
Coley added that manufacturers must be strategic when organising the factors of production and access high-grade raw materials to ensure quality outputs. “In the manufacturing situation, we have to look at raw materials and labour input. And in looking at the quality of raw materials and the cost of raw materials, how can we manage input and not affect the quality of goods, or can the input affect the quality of goods and market appeal?” he said.
Continuing, he pointed out that several manufactures have been sourcing cheaper raw materials that are of sub-par quality to reduce the cost of production. This he says is a big mistake. “They are going to pay the price for these things later on because people are complaining about the lowered quality of finished products.”
Coley encouraged MSMEs to ensure that their products are of international standard. “You are in a global market. When you put your products out there, you have to ensure that it is better than your global competitors’. There is an increasing demand for quality Jamaican products on the overseas market, and MSMEs must position themselves to fulfil this demand,” he said.
The JBDC hosts its Virtual Biz Zone webinars twice monthly on Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and entrepreneurs are encouraged to join the informational sessions by registering through the website at www.jbdc.net. Participants can look forward to the first session in the Intellectual Property Series on Tuesday, June 20. Attorney-at-law Ineka Brydson will explore the topic ‘Investing in IP: Pay Now or Lose Later’. Interested persons can subscribe to JBDC’s YouTube page @JBDCJamaica to watch the recordings.
The JBDC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce, which currently places a heavy emphasis on export, particularly within the MSME sector.
Source: The Jamaica Gleaner https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20230613/growth-jobs-do-not-source-cheap-raw-materials-reduce-production-costs-jbdc
