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ant impact on lead-times: it takes four to six weeks to ship from the Far East. Airfreight isused sparingly, as it has not been possible to get the type of costs required for routine airfreight.When buying standard ranges there is a balance between buying few colour ranges at highervolumes, or more colours at lower volumes. Combinations add to complexity: if there are eight colours andeight sizes, there are 64 stock keeping units (SKUs) in the range. M&S bought in a ratio across sizes basedon sales history, but actual sales in a season - especially colours - were difficult to forecast. Responding
to changes in volume and mix in the marketplace was difficult enough forthe ponderous M&Ssystems, but the company's insistence on a single brand brought further problems:'M&S procedures do not allow flexibility for short lead times. Had they agreed to sub brand in the past, it
would have been possible to produce to different quality standards for different product ranges.'New product development was also slow and costly. All suppliers were asked to develop all ranges - M&S
would then decide who would manufacture what and where. This increased development costs all round.The company has become more skilled at assessing supplier capabilities in advance. Suppliers who are lowcost
producers receive orders for commodity products, while those with strengths in product ormaterial development receive orders for more innovative lines.
Improving the supply chain
M&S identified opportunities https://www.51lunwen.orgto reduce supply chain costs substantially, and achieved targeted savings of £120million in 2000. The priorities were to eliminate duplication and to increase transparency. Some of the savingswere achieved by using fewer suppliers and by working more effectively with them. This enabled M&S to getgoods to the shops faster and to respond more quickly toemergingcustomer demands. By reestablishingcloser working relationships with its supply partners - historically a unique strength - M&S wanted toachieve further improvements in quality, value, product appeal and availability.
Using information about customer preferences, buyers were better able to give suppliers the informationneeded to be more flexible and efficient in production. The company admitted that the speed of the
changes made, and the replacement of a major supplier, did create availability problems in theautumn and spring of 2000/2001 - particularly in knitwear and lingerie.A focus on the 500 best-selling
products, particularly basic items like socks and knickers, sought to ensure that customers noticed animprovement in availability.
UGB 233 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT 2009/10
Improving the segmentation of clothing
M&S has concentrated on regaining the loyalty of its core customers, whoprefer classically stylish clothes. In thepast, the company had resisted splitting its traditional St Michael brand name, preferring to leverage thepower of a single name that became synonymous with the company. As part of its new plan to segmentproducts across different lifestyles, the company recognized that this was no longer tenable. For example,George Davies was appointed to design and supply a collection for the fashion conscious woman.Davies had risen to fame as a result of making the retailer Next well known on the UK high street with his
innovative designs and methods, and by his subsequent success in developing the Ge