Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Kedah Branch, Malaysia and Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU), Thailand held their first meeting recently on their international collaborative research. The research was a spin-off from the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which was signed in November 2019 between UiTM and SSRU. The meeting which was held on 29th February 2020 at the Centara Hotel, Hatyai, Thailand was to monitor the progress of research projects, discuss issues pertaining to the joint research, knowledge sharing as well as assessing the milestone of all research projects under this matching grants. The UiTM team was led by Professor Dr Roshima Said, Deputy Rector of Research and Industrial Linkages Unit, UiTM Kedah Branch, whilst SSRU team was led by Dr Chattrarat Hotrawaisaya, Associate Dean of Research and Development, College of Logistics and Supply Chain. The research projects were initiated by Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin and Assoc. Prof. Dr Nik Ramli Nik Abdul Rashid from UiTM, and Asst. Prof. Dr Preecha Wararatchai from SSRU.
The collaborative research consists of six (6) projects related to supply chain, logistics, product development and migration issues focusing on Malaysia and Thailand.
The first research entitled “Comparative Study of Circular Supply Chain Management (CSCM) Adoption between Malaysia and Thailand Manufacturing Firms” is headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin. The research aims to compare the CSCM adoption between Malaysia and Thailand manufacturing firms to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG 12.
The second research “Supply Chain Management Sustainability Index (SCMsi): A Comparative Study between Malaysian and Thailand Companies”, is led by Professor Dr Roshima Said. This research aims to develop a sustainable supply chain management index for the listed companies in Malaysia and Thailand.
The third research “Inland Cross Border Trade & Logistics: Driving Factors and Bottlenecks”, is headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek. This research tries to identify main factors affecting the choice to trade via inland borders and the bottlenecks emanating from the governmental authorities and logistics companies.
The fourth research headed by SSRU, “The Community Capability in Product Development for the Export of Nakhon Pathom Province to Malaysia”, is led by Mr Hathaipun Soonthronpipit. This research studies the capabilities and problems of communities in the development of Nakhon Pathom community products for exporting to Malaysia.
The fifth research entitled “Issues of Migrant Workers on the Thai-Malaysian Border: Songkhla Province, Kedah State, and Perlis State” is headed by Dr John Sterling Forssen Smith studies problems regarding migrant labor in the border economies of Songkhla Province, Kedah State, and Perlis State.
Finally, the last research “Collaboration Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) in Orchid Supply Chain”, is headed by Dr Chattrarat Hotrawaisaya and the study focusses on developing a model of CPFR for the orchid supply chain in Thailand.
All research projects are being carried out jointly and leverage on the researcher’s expertise from both universities. The one-day meeting ended very successfully with fruitful discussions between the principal researchers and co-researchers from both universities. Both institutions are very determined to complete the research projects by the end of this year.
Prepared by –Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin (UiTM) & Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek (UiTM)
Edited by – Geetha Subramaniam, Fellow, InQKA (UiTM)