A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK TO INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS IN A BILTONG FACTORY

The global annual biltong market value was estimated at roughly R640 million to R1.1 billion in 2003. By 2015, biltong sales were reported to be more than R2.5 billion. To stay competitive as a biltong manufacturing company in an ever-changing landscape, the company's success is determined by efficient operations. To achieve efficient operations, the accurate determination of performance measurements is of utmost importance. In world-class manufacturing facilities, one of the primary features of performance measurement is the measurement of cycle time. Although there is an emphasis, especially in Industry 4.0, on realtime data, the biltong factory where this study was conducted is still very much a manual operation. The focus of this study is, therefore, rather on performance measurements in order to achieve efficient operations and competitiveness. The aim of this study is to present different competitive advantage concepts in order to build a production management model. The biltong factory has not yet established cycle times for their production activities. A production management model has the potential to be used by the factory to manage their production processes more efficiently, and ultimately to increase their competitiveness.