CROCS: Revolutionizing an industry’s supply chain model for competitive advantage

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Crocs major competency is that managed to create a highly flexible supply chain that responded to unexpected high demand. The Crocs management examined the industry supply chain and immediately noticed its limitations. The industry's existing supply chain used to process requests that footwear companies received from retailers at the beginning of the year on January and then manufacture the requested supplies for the spring and fall seasons with some excess to manage any unexpected extra demand. This supply chain system had many deficiencies to it;. the retailers would guess what the customer would prefer and how many they would request and then order accordingly and usually this meant either overestimation which lead to unsold stock and subsequently loss, or underestimation which meant loss of potential profit. Crocs managed to develop a supply chain system that avoids these deficiencies by establishing a system that responded to customer needs on real time basis. This system allowed the retailers to place smaller orders and order more when needed, hence Crocs supply chain was able to manufacture the required product during the season and ship it quickly to the retailers. This ability enhanced Crocs relations with the retailers and allowed them to gain competitive edge over their competitors, especially that their products were differentiated by their functionality and new style. Crocs also marketed its products through having agreements with colleges and universities and through targeting healthcare and food industry workers which helped to prolong its products trends. Crocs was able to launch worldwide when it signed manufacturing contracts in Asia and Europe and America who shared the same view of supply chain and therefore provided Crocs with the flexibility it required for product replenishment. This initiative helped also in reducing the dependency in

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