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

Hobbes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hobbes - Essay Example Thus, in his book, Morgan had tried to trace moral and political philosophy within realm of science and its numerous branches. He had also tried to establish civic peace as a way to direct mankind to fulfill their individual civic duties. To delineate these, Morgan has illustrated lifestyles and works of some of the greatest philosophers, sociologists, mathematics and scientists like- Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, etc. Through some selective excerpts of their works, Morgan has tried to establish his goal. Moreover, he has also attempted to motivate citizens in performing their civic duties by analyzing the aspects which makes thought and action of one individual different from another. Once goodness of soul is achieved, citizens will be able to establish civic peace in their societies (Matthews,. 4-27). History Philosophy and science were interrelated from the very beginning, so much so that philosophical ideas developed during seventeenth century has played a huge role in development of science and technology of modern times (Matthews,.1). It was during the beginning of seventeenth century that contradictory views of Plato and Aristotle were noticed by the modern world. At that time, philosophies theories and ideas were re-modeled due to two important contemporary movements- the European Renaissance and Scientific Revolution, with the latter supporting medieval thinking patterns of Plato. However, aspects of Aristotle’s views had more to offer regarding â€Å"empiricism, essentialism, naturalism and teleology† (Matthews, 5). Added to these, Aristotle’s thinking had directly influenced thinking of some of the greatest geniuses like Galileo, Newton, etc. who in turn contributed a lot to modern philosophy. The fact that science and philosophy are interrelated is proved again and again. For instance, the proposition that the stars do not twinkle because they are near or because the stars are so near that they do not twinkle. When there is no con version of the middle term with more relative non- explanatory term, or at times when the middle term is present outside, the proposition is proved by logic but the reason remains unexplained (Matthews, 31-32). Solution to this unexplained reason can be traced with help of different branches of science, like- optics can be related to geometry, mechanics to solid geometry, harmonics can be related to arithmetic and watching stars and comets could be linked to astronomy. This is what Morgan had tried to establish in his book. Putting moral and political philosophy on a scientific basis Appropriate upbringing is required for making good citizens. For this reason, people must learn to abstain from pleasure and pain generated by every single action. The same hypothesis is supported by medical treatments- the corrective treatments to be more precise. Thus, science has its own remedies for pleasures and pains as consequence of any action generated by excess of virtues. Virtue is a part of moral philosophy which pursues people to avoid anything that is wrong. The difficulty to fight pleasure makes both craft and virtue more challenging. This theory holds true for political science also (Morgan, 267). ‘Knowledge’ exists in two forms, namely of â€Å"fact† and of â€Å"consequence of one affirmation to another†. While the former one relies on individual’s sense and memory, the latter strictly relies on science. Philosophy and logic differs from science in the