Identifying and prioritising operational performance indicators of the Ethiopian leather industry

Abstract

Operational performance is essential to the success of manufacturing industries. To realise this, proper identification and prioritisation of key performance indicators has to be made to embark a rational improvement program. The present study aims to identify, propose and prioritise key performance indicators that have a high impact on production performance of the Ethiopian leather industry (ELI). Based on the literature review and expert interviews following the customer preference rating approach, this paper identified and prioritised five key operational performance indicators, namely human resources management, quality, downtime, cost and flexibility. The study result revealed that quality and flexibility are the most important indicators in order to enhance the industry's production performance. Interestingly, it has been found that cost is the least important indicator. Owing to limited resources, the results of the study would be imperative for the ELI when manufacturing strategies need to be established or improved.