Integrating Kano's model into quality function deployment to facilitate decision analysis: a case study at a medium enterprise of export garment manufacturer in Bali

Capturing, understanding and acting towards customer needs are a constant challenge to any firm. With globalisation, this need become complex, overwhelming, yet necessary. This research was a case study in a medium size specialty-garment manufacturer in Bali, Indonesia. The studied company sells high quality sarong and beach wear to export markets. To improve their marketing and operation management toward their customers, this study helped to identify and quantify the customer attributes using combination of gap and Kano model. The result was then followed up by generating technical attributes and possible action plan using quality function deployment (QFD) methodology. The result showed top three customer attributes are 'on time delivery', 'reasonable price', and 'fast production lead time', and recommended to improve in 'post-manufacture quality inspection control', 'laundering control', 'dyeing and printing control', 'hiring more lease sewing operator', and 'periodical design update based on season'. The study was also able to apply systematic methodologies that can be applied even to a medium size firms for them to improve their management.