Critically evaluate the best practice in global supply chain Essay

Critically evaluate the best practice in global supply chain management at two firms of your choice in the fashion industry - Essay Example At present, fashion industry is an international and highly globalised industry where clothing could be premeditated in one country, contrived in another country and end up being sold globally (Choi 2012). In relation to this, two fashion industries: Gucci and Marie Claire have gradually grown to this level. They are among the renowned fashion industries that deal with shoes, belts, beauty products, hand bags among other fashionable products (Manlow 2007). During the manufacture of these products, a particular strategy is used that entails six principle procedures that incorporate global supply chain planning, global supply strategy and configuration, global sourcing, global distribution, global logistics and managing sustainable global supply chains (Cetinkaya et al 2010). Global Supply Chain Planning Distribution centres Gucci has one of the best distribution centres complete with everything that is necessary, the distribution of Gucci is designed around the needs of Gucci. Unlike other fashion retail chains such as Marie Clare, Gucci has different products for different regions. The distribution centres are designed to meet the needs of the Gucci. Fashion industry is very competitive and time and efficiency is everything if a firm has to be competitive and successful in this industry. To be able develop a way to compete in this way, Gucci has come up with a very important supply chain strategy. This strategy revolves around two main important things as follows: Incorporating the suppliers to have a compact value chain Gucci is a global fashion retailer and this means that Gucci has created a system where it is able to meet the global demand for is goods without missing an opportunity to sell to a ready market. To achieve this, Gucci has been able to come up with ways in which to make sure that they are able to have a compact supply chain. This means that Gucci has merged its businesses with suppliers to ensure that it is able to control the suppliers. As Coo k (2011) point out, keeping the supplier close to the business is becoming a common supply chain management strategy because once it eliminates one of the competitive issues that Michal Porter (2008) identified in his model of five competitive forces. This is the force of bargaining power of suppliers. Gucci, unlike Marie Clare has identified that keeping the suppliers close is a major way of ensuring an efficient supply chain that can be used to make sure that better services are given to the customers. Global outsourcing This difference between Gucci’s supply chain and Marie Clare’s supply chain may be as a result of different business models of the two businesses. For example, Gucci has a very big range of products with some products being more popular in different markets and unpopular in other markets. This means that the supply chain for a firm like Gucci most take consideration of this right from the suppliers through the distribution centres to the final custom er contact. Gucci has also made use of global outsourcing as a way to make it more efficient for Gucci to satisfy the needs of the customers efficiently and cost effectively. According to Schary et al 2007, at present competition globally is entirely stiff. Individual companies no longer compete as autonomous entities, but as supply-chains networks. In essence, companies no longer compete in terms of brand versus brand, but they compete in terms