Global Operations Logistics at Laura Ashley and Federal Express Strategic Alliance

Well Known for their minute maid outfits Express Inc. was ranked 24 out of 100 with the most industry sales in 2016. With over 35 years in business Express has over 650 stores within the US, Canada and Puerto Rico (Unknown, 2017) . Shooting to expand their stores express has employed over 17,000 individuals as of present day. Getting to know more about fashion and retail industry exploring on Express Inc. for potential background on how to run a retail company in the US.

Logistics and supply chain management is an important aspect of a firm’s strategy for the business to achieve success by creating value throughout the logistics and supply chain. The research paper will outline the concepts that are involved in creating the logistics and supply management framework. The logistics and supply chain management strategies will drive success for the company towards fulfilling and supporting customer needs, procurement and manufacturing operations of the firm.

Due to the large quantity of freight and the long distance that it must travel to arrive to its destination exporters and importers alike have found logistic service providers essential to engage in international trade (Rodriguez, Comtois, Slack, 2013). While some Logistics service providers focus only on the area of transportation others specialize in freight consolidation, distribution management, and warehousing (Robinson, 2014). They have enough market knowledge, information and communication systems to offer supply chain solutions tailored to the specific needs of any company be it small or large (Rodriguez, Comtois, Slack,

There are several ways and strategies through which an organisation distributes its products to provide customer convenience. Placement and distribution of the products the right way results in saving the customers’ time as well as one of the fast ways of growth in the organisation’s sales target. The product can pass through many distribution channels depending on the type of organisation and the kind of business they’re doing. However, the organisation has to deal with costs such as transportation and storage facility. The wider the distribution chain, the more costs the organisation needs to put in.

Therefore, the company’s distribution plan of products is required to be flexible since each product has to be moved around the world and forecasting is an important key in logistic activities. The shipper must be able to adjust and deal with a swing in business activity. This may require a versatile transportation plan to keep the global supply chain moving smoothly. Moreover, the company also focuses on the cost of every painstaking aspect of the shipping process. The smaller the product packaging means the higher number of items that can fit into an individual case. The more cases that can fit into the shipping container means a larger number of items that can be shipped at one time. This cuts down on the transportation costs of fuel, paid driver hours, and vehicle maintenance cost. All these savings can be passed on to the customer who comes back to the manufacture and the shipper with customer loyalty.

In today’s world, competence is taking on new dimensions. The ability to compete is being determined by the degree of responsiveness to customers & key issues handling. How fast you deliver the goods/ products, what the price paid by customers & what value customer is getting throughout the service is considered in a schematic & ordered way. Markets are quick demanding & customization of each logistics activities is essential for each customer, & has become the essential factor in logistics management.

Over the last few decades, the role of logistics in business has increased in scope as well as in strategic importance (Caplice and sheffi, 1995). In general, distribution logistics is expected to ‘provide the right goods at the right time, at the right place, in the right amount and quality, and at the right price’ (Jünemann & Daum 1989, p. 18.)

It emphasizes on differentiation of logistics operations, effectiveness and efficiency. Fugate analyzed the relationship between organizational performance and logistics performance and concluded that logistics performance is not only multidimensional but also a function of resources used in logistics in relation to outlined outcomes and objectives against other players’ in the industry or competitors. The authors concluded that the better the joint quality of planning, human resources logistics and customer feedback and satisfaction, the lower the levels of redundancy, waste, and inefficiency (Fugate, et al 2010.p8-22).

Due to globalisation, a growing trend was observed where businesses expanded across national boundaries to capture new markets and outsource production. This increased the need for movement of goods which created demand for global transportation. From increasing inflation and competition, businesses were sought to reduce operating costs, hence demanding for more efficient logistics management to reduce inventory costs and implement just-in-time inventory.

Coyle, J. J., Bardi, E. J. & Langley, C. J. (2003).Management of business logistics: a supply chain p

The globalisation of markets has increased customer demand and product differentiation. Higher quality products and shorter delivery times are essential for maintaining customer satisfaction in highly competitive markets like the consumer electronics industry. Consequently, supply chain management is an important process in all businesses, and if managed effectively, can give companies a competitive edge. However, it often

The world’s economy has increase within the last few decades due to innovation and globalization and international trade. Many organizations have increased economic activity across the world and have shorten the time it takes products to be produced, transported, and received to consumers domestic and internationally. With the advancement of new technology, many companies have expanded their markets by implementing tools and by the customer and government regulation. With the rise of globalization, warehouses have become a more promenade asset and act as holding facilities until the goods are ready for transit. With the emergence of new innovations, warehouses and now been centrally located to attract more transportation activity transforming way logistics companies operate (Williams, O’Neil 2016). Distribution centers are being centrally located close to highways, it allows logistics companies to pick up loads without long delays. The RFID devices allows warehouses to reduce labor cost, improve accurate inventory and improve the relationship with the customers. Boosting RFID technology drives the consumer market which in driven by globalization, regional distribution and new strategies. Transportation has been a major role in integrating global trade. The delivery of goods is now as important as the production of goods. New technology creates more jobs and more competitive completion among organizations and forced companies to engage strategic planning to compete

A second considerably large trend within the logistics industry is omni-channel logistics. Since the beginning of the digital age and e-commerce, omni-channel logistics (retailing) has been upcoming. It is a multi-channel approach many companies use in attempt to provide customers with the best shopping experience possible so that customers in turn provide more business. This form of commerce is an “operational strategy to deliver a seamless, integrated and personalized customer-centric retail experience to the shopper across all transactional channels” (Karolfski, 2016). Overall, omni-channel logistics focuses on providing customers with the best shopping experience possible so that he or she is eager to come back and provide additional business in the future.

Following the paradigm shift on the role of logistics management in the recent decades, there has been a wide recognition of this as a very important aspect a business strategy in general. However due to the numerous factors promoting complexity of logistics management companies have adopted the idea of outsourcing their logistic activities to Third Party Logistics (3PL) providers. Hence, 3PLs have taken a critical role towards supply chains of heir customers.

ZHANG Chaoying, WEI Xiao Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, P.R.China, 102600 zhangchaoying@bipt.edu.cn Abstract:Hong Kong SASA International Holdings Limited is the largest and leading cosmetics retailing and beauty care service group in Asia. Its sale prices are much lower than those of exclusive stores and counters because it adopts the strategy of bulk purchase throught the world and marketing many brands comprehensively. This thesis, through field research, systematic analysis and hierarchy analysis,will analyze SASA’s secrets of success and challeges confronted today according to its supply chain and logistics system. Two conclusions have been drawn from