Concept explainers
Case summary:
T, a F500 company in M is one the largest retail chains in U. it has over 900 stores in 49 states, over 365,000 employees and revenue of over $70 billion. Its supply chain includes 37 distribution centres, and 4 warehouses near coastal ports to receive foreign shipments.
For its non-fabric products, such as electronics, furniture, hardware, kitchen goods and sporting goods, T collaborates with over 3000 factories worldwide. To maintain total quality, it must strictly monitor quality standards.
To do so, T ensures quality is maintained even as products move through the supply chain, before arriving on shop shelves. However, with 3000 vendors globally the chance of quality variation is high. When a supplier joins T’s supply chain, it must sign a “standards of supplier engagement” to meet quality requirements. Further the factory is inspected, and a rating assigned to determine if a supplier can use the factory. The factories are also required to sign and conform to T’s global social compliance about worker treatment.
T assists factories to improve performance on these fronts, however repeated failures lead to a termination of the agreement. T employs Six Sigma and various statistical processes in monitoring and quality control.
To determine: How other large companies with a global supply chain might use formal rating systems to evaluate suppliers.
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OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT