COSTS MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS ANALYSIS IN DOMESTIC GARMENT MANUFACTURING AND STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THEM

Abstract

The paper offers a system approach to cost analysis in garment manufacturing. The content of cost analysis and its major elements have been disclosed: the purpose, objectives, object, subject, principles, information and methodological support, unit of measurement and results. The major problems that affect the expenditure level in domestic garment manufacturing have been revealed. It is evidenced that factors of both internal and external environment negatively affect cost management, thus triggering the problems at the three levels: the macrolevel (the Ukrainian industry), the mesolevel (sector of textiles, apparel, leather, leather goods and products from other materials) and the microlevel (garment manufacturer). The key macrolevel problems account for inflation, tax burden, imperfection of legislation, tariffs on public utilities and energy, political challenges, low solvency of the population. At the mesolevel, the major challenges are: the low level of cooperation between domestic enterprises and supporting industries, high import dependency and the high price of imported raw materials, equipment and technologies, small share of medium-sized enterprises or small business associations, intense competition, lack of active government support. Among the main problems at the microlevel are moral and physical depreciation of equipment with depleted resources, low-skilled young employees and high staff turnover, low competitiveness and high production costs, high toll rates, underdeveloped logistics infrastructure which hampers the finished product sales, insufficient product intellectual property rights protection, inadequate national brand promotion policies. The research findings provide an assessment on how the above challenges affect business costs. The problems have been classified depending on the extent of their regulatory management capacity. A matrix has been constructed that allows problems differentiation and their priority setting. This matrix application will contribute to enhance the decision-making and cost management efficiency in garment manufacturing.