Introduction V.F. Corporation (VF) designs, manufactures, distributes and markets lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories. The company offers jeanswear, outdoor and action sports clothing, imagewear, sportswear and contemporary brands. The company markets its products under famous brands namely, the North Face, Wrangler, Timberland, Vans, Lee, and Nautica, among others. It sells its products to specialty stores, department stores, national chains and mass merchants, as well as through direct-to-consumer channel consisting of VF operated stores and internet sites. What are the characteristics of different sourcing arrangements? By 2004, VF utilized two basic types of sourcing arrangements with their suppliers. First, the “cut and make” contracts, wherein VF would have separate contracts for suppliers at individual stages in the production process. This arrangement was applied in legacy products based out of Mexico and the Caribbean and managed in conjunction with internal manufacturing. VF also uses a “package sourcing” model in production where a single supplier is responsible for the entire garment, from raw material procurement to packaging and shipping finished goods to the market. “Package sourcing” has the benefit of low cost, as companies can choose between various suppliers all over the globe based on economic factors, such as labor and transportation costs, and trade quota or tariff considerations to get the cheapest price for finished goods. It also allows VF
In this assignment I will be writing a formal report that will explain a typical procurement process, I will outline a variety of methods of supplier reimbursement and contract relationships; I will also outline the pros and cons of each contract type. As well as this, I will explain a typical supplier selection process through the use of Carters 10 C’s and a typical selection process model.
In today’s business world, production cost was an increasing concern for companies working to stay competitive in the global marketplace. The top management must search for a global solution to drive down costs and reduce difficult activities associate with inventory management and production management. Global sourcing aimed to exploit global efficiencies in the delivery of services and goods across geopolitical boundaries, including low cost skilled labor, low cost raw materials, tax benefits, and price breaks. Whelan Pharmaceutical was the best example to illustrate how the company chose the best manufacturing site for global sourcing from different perspectives.
Applying the new policy to rationalise BAL’s supplier base over six years, BAL achieved direct cost savings by decrease the base of supplier, and the next target was 600. In order to verify whether BAL’s suppliers were authorised and qualified to produce the necessary parts, BAL needed to ensure any “flyaway” items purchased or manufactured had complete traceability.
The most serious threat to The North Face is Patagonia, as both companies target the more serious outdoor adventurers. But of the two outdoor apparel companies, The North Face is trendier and appeals to a younger market, particularly college students, and products are available in thousands of retail stores nationwide. Therefore, The North Face appeals to more of a mass-market. In comparison, Patagonia has a distribution strategy that requires the operation of a limited number of retail locations in areas where demand is not as popular for outdoor apparel. Moreover, Patagonia continues to target the same market and do not aspire to become a trendy brand that is similar to The North Face.
The North Face is a subsidiary of the VF Corporation. VF is one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers with $7 billion in sales. This gives the company incredible financial flexibility, industry experience and management support. The North Face is also a market leader in innovation and technology. Two of their major innovations are Thermoball and Fuseform. Thermoball ushered in synthetic insulation that mimics the properties and the capabilities of dow, while Fuseform completely changed
The value delivery option is another component that supports the supply chain. Providing attention to the changes within consumer demands that will aid in rapid production of consumer products. In order to gain a larger view of the said component it is vital that the value-based method must be clearly understood. Based on the findings of (Feller, A., Shunk 2006).the ability to realign the structure of the supply chain, this process will allows the supply chain to sustain its effectiveness by adopting to changes in consumer necessities with merchandises of larger value. A diversified supply chain is constructed to match the overall components of the chain with customers need in mind. But if this construction of the supply chain doesn’t match the needs it will make nearly impossible for the organization to provide said products and services to the consumer.
Effective supply chain management can provide an important competitive advantage for a business marketer, resulting in improved communication and involvement among members of the chain, increased motivation, and decreased costs. Tracking the movement of and demand for components used to manufacture a product across a variety of potential and actual suppliers, provides insight and the ability to respond instantly to shortages, surpluses, and changes in market conditions. It seeks to optimize production, decrease manufacturing time, minimize inventory, streamline order fulfillment, and reduce cost.
For partners of ASOS, they generally go through the same production process as ASOS own-branded dress. However, they receive the order from ASOS and its merchandisers instead of consumers. It is an important process for ASOS as understanding the product lifecycle and stock level, they can plan the introduction and withdrawal of product. Also price can be adjusted accordingly with which sales are introduced during the decline period (The Times 100, NA). However, this supply chain requires a high collaboration of functions across supply chain (Fernie, 2009). The reason why ASOS can eliminate the traditional functions of a retail store is due to its well-managed supply chain, effective stock keeping system and fast-going logistic system (Meadows, 2007).
The cost of shipping goods has dropped in recent years. Part of this reduction is the result of improved efficiencies in shipping technologies. Also, tariffs on imports have dropped with the North American Free Trade Agreement and other international efforts to promote free trade this will make it easier for companies and corporations such as Nike to outsource the manufacture of their goods. [4]
All their suppliers range from small farming cooperatives to multinational corporations . They consider factors such as capacity, quality and cost when selecting companies to buy from. In addition, seek only to work with suppliers that can consistently meet standards and specifications and
It takes a team of nearly 140,000 workers worldwide to deliver the merchandise that customers expect (Gap, 2001). The process begins with the product managers and graphic artists that design each season’s merchandise (Gap, 2001). Employees around the globe in Gap’s Sourcing and Logistics Group, along with buying agents place orders with third-party factories in
Second, always make sure there is an alternative source. As I mentioned before, this is much easier with single source procurement (but not sole source), since other similar suppliers could be able to supply similar products with more or less that same quality as the previous suppliers.
Transport plays a critical role in the supply chain and according to Bhattacharya et al. (2014) it is becoming one of the key components of the whole supply chain valuation for many organizations. Transportation is the movement of good from one location to another. Supply chain is a network of individuals, organizations, activities, resources and technology that is involved in formation and sale of a product, which is from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the manufacturer, through to the end user. Hopkins (2007) states that supply chain professionals look at whole business procedures, which is from raw materials to manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing. And by
Global sourcing is a technique of strategic sourcing in the global strategy, which is an effective approach as a part of organization’s procurement section. The objective of global sourcing is to develop global efficiencies in the delivery of a product or service for the firms achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and this is an important weapon have been focused in the 21st Century. The well-known organization, Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) is one of the largest international fashion retail and production house with the great deal of businesses all over the world. In the today’s competitive market and
if supplier doesn’t supply on time may incur the company the loses of the clothes out of date fashion . Huge number of tons will be consumed faster than before because of this fast fashion. This was the possible disadvantage of the fast fashion distribution system. There are a lot of advantages that offset the disadvantages of the fast fashion distribution system. We may say here fast fashion requires innovation and brainstorming to get new designs overtime to be