SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FOR RETAIL BUSINESS OF CLOTHING (MODEL AN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO GET BETTER SUPPLY CHAIN FOR THIS RETAIL BUSINESS

Executive Summary

Supply Chain management is the network of activities where the raw material is purchased then transformed into the usable goods and then finally delivered to the customers through the distribution systems. ICE Design is an Australia based clothing and accessories retail business which deals within Brisbane. It has more than 17 branches and there are a few issues that the business faces such as slow and delay in stock delivery to where they are needed which and ultimately lower sales. As such the goal of this project is to come up with a real-time inventory management system which would allow the assigned manager keeps the records of purchase and sales in a technology managed platform. The paper consists of the evaluation process that ensures that a working system is put in place following a number of steps and performance. The evaluation will help the supply chain system of ICE Design to overcome the poor performances. The performance measurement criteria consist of the customer satisfaction, supplier performance, integration of material flow and the information. The performance is also evaluated on the basis of finance of the business as well. It is analysed that the inventory management system helps in further improving the strategies of the company for the better competitive advantage. This paper also analyses the data and other project factors that the business should in order to perform better and improve continuously in the process and procedures of the supply chain management. The report gives the structure, issues and problems, strategic alignment and analysis that can be used and applied to the ICE Design supply chain to improve the quality of the end product and services which will definitely increase the profitability of the company of delivery and supply within all the business locations. A central warehouse would be vital for the business so as to help in keeping supply records and reduce losses. It is vital for the company to have sustainability in the global supply chain as it will help in maintaining the competitive advantage. In this report, the factors are considered that will help the supply chain in developing and maintaining the sustainability of the company. The project has various challenges such as finishing time, and insufficient or poor estimation of resources that need to be used in building the inventory management system. The result of the project is an efficient inventory management system which is directed at maintaining sufficient goods at right amount in every store. The system scales from one computer that runs the multiple warehouses and stores from the central warehouse.

Key words: warehouse, inventory management system, supply chain management

1.0 Introduction

ICE Design is an Australian clothing and accessories retailer based in Australia. The company aims to bring the trendiest and latest fashion inspired from the world’s main fashion centers, like London, Paris and New York, but with an Aussie twist (ICE Design). The company was established in 1991 by Garry Leonard and it has 14 stores across Brisbane region and is still increasing in number. ICE Design stores receive deliveries once or twice a week.  The basis of this project is to create a real-time inventory management system and a central warehouse for the clothing and accessories retailer. Various techniques and materials are employed in developing this project. Upon completion of the paper, we found that the built system is functional and efficient since it allows for easy operation of tasks in the business.

This paper sufficiently gives an analysis of the inventory management system to determine its usability and feasibility in the ICE Design business system. The primary concept is to make sure that the stocks are always in the branch stores and track the sales while interpreting the data fed into its system. The features and the final framework need to be completed in the shortest time possible to allow implementation. It is found that due to the increasing number of branches, the company is facing the problem of distributing the right quantity of items to meet the expectation and satisfaction of the customers. Some stores make more profit than the others and usually run out of sizes and items. They have to call the head office to send more of the items, but the delivery usually takes a week or more before it gets to its destination. According to one study, the success or failure of the company can be determined by the organization’s ability to be flexible and respond immediately to the demands (Christopher et al., 2004). This problem could affect the profit of the company as the fashion trend keeps changing. The paper describes the system that is used to correct the delivery and inventory problems of the business.

2.0       Description of Proposed Project at Organization

• Build a real-time inventory management system to provide real-time stock level information and prevent the problem of inventory stock-outs. To enable quick deliveries and communication in case some stores are out of stock. The current system requires an inventory management system to provide different sets of benefits and functionalities. It would work by tracking the various functions of the central warehouse and of different stock rooms. The management system will bring insight by tracking quantities across the 17 locations, hence allowing the management to make more rational inventory decisions.
• Build a centralized warehouse in Brisbane for central purchase to reduce delivery time. It will ensure that the stocks are ready for deliveries anytime there is a shortage in a branch. There is no warehouse at the moment, hence the purchase orders are not generated. The centralized warehouse would receive inventories and check out on the orders to help simplify the work flow from a central location.

3.0       Project Management Overview

3.1 Scope of Project

For ICE Design project, scope management will be the responsibility of the Project Manager.  The scope for this project is defined by the Scope Statement, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and the scoping diagrams.  The Project Manager, Sponsor and Stakeholders will establish and approve documentation for measuring project scope which includes deliverable quality checklists and work performance measurements.  Proposed scope changes may be initiated by the Project Manager, Stakeholders or any member of the project team.  All change requests will be submitted to provide estimate and impact to schedule and costs if any to the Project Manager who will then evaluate the requested scope change.  Upon acceptance of the scope change request the Project Manager will submit the scope change request to the Change Control Board and Project Sponsor for acceptance.  Upon approval of scope changes by the Change Control Board and Project Sponsor the Project Manager will update all project documents and communicate the scope change to all stakeholders.  Based on feedback and input from the Project Director and Stakeholders, the Project Sponsor is responsible for the acceptance of the final project deliverables and project scope.

3.2       Objectives and Constraints

The objectives are to model a supply chain management system for the ICE Design business. And the other objective is to build a centralized warehouse. To build an inventory management system for the organization we need to amend a user-friendly system to maintain proper communication between the store manager and the warehouse team regarding the stock. It also needs to design an effective and precise process for managing supply chain activities of an online shopping portal. The company has to hire effective manpower including Distributors, Store Managers and CRM. Also maintain SLA so that the warehouse team delivers the goods and products on time. Scorecards will be made for the Store Managers and CRM and monthly targets will be assigned to them. Also, incentives will be given if they achieve the targets over and above. Providing interesting deals to make more customers to attract them towards our brand and provide excellent customer service also request customer feedback in order to improve the customer service. So these are the objectives we will implementing to achieve positive outcome.

Some of the constraints for the project are limited time and implementation and the tight schedule that has to be maintained in order to finish the project on time. Similarly, the project might need more money than that stipulated in the budget, hence causing issues of concern. To deal with these, the project management need to hire appropriate candidates for the organization and make sure they work efficiently also make sure they achieve the given targets. If there are no necessary resources for the project, the delivery time will definitely increase. This may increase the cost of the project since the alternate resources may be more expensive than planned. If the quality assurance team finds out that the deliverable quality is not good, it means that more resources will be needed hence additional time of delivery and costs. The quality of the outcome needs to be good. Contrary to this, the project will be more problematic. Another constraint is the scope, as in what is the exact outcome that is expected. Also, there are risks on what the things that might not go as planned and the mitigation effects about them. If the portal is not updated, then customers might end up ordering a product which is out of stock. To source a product on short notice in such scenarios could be very challenging.

3.3 Statement of Work

The project is going to model a supply chain management system for this ICE Design Retail business. All the branches will be controlled centrally through the main warehouse located in Sydney. An inventory management system will run through master computers in each branch office. All the sales registered will be linked to the master computer located in the branch office.

The system will be capable of counting the stock side by side while it’s sold out. At the end of trading day it will produce an order list for branch manager, according to the sold items. After that branch manager will be able to edit and send the list to the central warehouse.

In the Central warehouse system will match the orders from all branches and sort out similar items. Where a purchasing officer would be able see the stock of all branches and can shuffle the stock, according the demand and then Purchasing officer will produce a final order list to put order for all branches.

All stock will be delivered to a central warehouse and will be distributed to the branches.

Note: At this stage we are going to declare the Sydney branch as a central warehouse by renting some extra space. In future we will implement this system to each branch to work independently.

Resources Requirement:

• Modelling an inventory management system (IMS), to the supply chain better by stock rotation, distribution and control
• Developing (Developing of the system will be outsourced)
• Arranging and small warehouse
• Sale register and master compute
• Training for staff and branch managers

4.0       Team Members

Clarinet Chien Sajuela S0279192

Atif Hafeez S0181554

Kamalpreet Kaur Pabla S0279869

4.1       Role and Responsibility Specifications

Task Description: Each member is responsible for individually assigned tasks.

Risk management:  One of the major risks covered by this application is theft breaks synchronization between the inventory and the database.  The information could be generated by the data stored in this application.  The confidence level of trusting data generated depends on the accuracy of the restocking procedure.  Therefore, ICE Design is facing a risk of reckless stock manager who could detriment the accuracy of the data.  As of the reliability of the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, a resolution for this could be by developing SSL and digital certificate policy and configuration guidelines.  In addition, giving a choice to the user to set the minimum level of SSL used by not violating the policy should convince them the trustworthiness of the application.

Another risk is the competition from the other Point business company in Australia which want to adopt the same inventory management system.  There are several large competitors in this field, including a solution from Microsoft; however, all of these tend to be expensive.  Inventory Management System will be a low cost solution mainly targeted at smaller businesses while including the possibility of later expansion. Also, weekly project leaders will lead this important role. In the case of some emergency or any delaying situation, members will be immediately contacted by the project leader.   The project manager will also be responsible for playing his role in conflict resolution and will project will be carried forward at any cost without delaying. Below is the assigned task to each member.

5.0       Work Breakdown Structure

The following will be the work breakdown structure for ICE Design new supply chain system project.

6.0       Project Schedule

The project schedule will be as follows with the favorable circumstances.

6.1       Gantt Chart Screenshot

7.0       Cost Estimation

BUDGET

ACTUAL COST TO DATE:  $90,000

PLANNED COST TO DATE:  $90,000

8.0       Summary

The time for the completion of the project is fairly short. However, the system provides a way of managing and easily understanding the daily business activities in all the 17 branches in Brisbane with the outgoing an intake data clearly recorded. Moreover, the inventory management project centralizes the database and supports login which is only available for authorized members. The current system depends on manual processes, hence causing problems in the business. It makes it hard to retrieve, send and receive data within the required time. Applying the new system will solve all the problems and give a friendly and secure application.

9.0 Proposed Strategic Alignment

These are the mechanisms which can be employed by the business so as to visualize the relationship that exists between the processes that take place in its operations and the strategies that are used in the very context. There are many proposed plans for the business so that it be more efficient and have a better operating system. The purpose of the alignment is to provide an organizational or business decision makers with the platform of sustainability in a context which is operational. It allows the management to make meaningful decisions and insights basing on the processes available in the business. For this clothing business, there should be a workflow system that ensures that there is correct alignment for sustainability. The shortage problems of products in some branches give the decision makers the reason to measure and table some strategies that ICE DESIGN can use or enact. A different process models can be of significant help for this purpose. The models are more efficient, especially when employed by the business to produce the optimal results regarding the measure of the quality of the services given to the customers in every location. These strategies, on the other hand, should not strenuous to the business as the aim is making profits while satisfying both the clients and the organization. The employees should be happy, and if there are different ways in which they can be happy, then the decision makers should enact the ways which ensure there is an optimal quality of service description.

If the results are lower than expected, then the management is supposed to employ the ways which can be suitable for the area by carrying out an extensive study of the place and the things or specific products that they prefer. It should also be accompanied by having the right kind of advertisement which is believed to be most effective. There should be correct modeling language by the management to allow for the description of optimization objectives, plans, and goals. The goals from each branch can be evaluated in the business as for whether fulfilled or not. For instance, there should be a system of checking if the products are running out of stock to allow them to be transported early enough so that they reach the required destination at the right time without the customers complaining of delays. The delays make the business lose a lot regarding reputation and profits since there is a much-competing organization which offers the same types of clothing designs. The staff should be encouraged to give the accurate feedback since they are the ones who deal directly deal with the clients (Luftman, 2003). It is necessary to know that the end effects of a scenario are realized only if the situation entails other scenarios which are beneficial to the organization. Some of the importance of the alignment is that it would link the business with technology, allow for the optimization of the business model, enhance success, and improve efficiency and effectiveness (Bak, 2016). So far, the reason for the success of ICE Design retail business is because the organization has a clear fundamental core values and business purpose, and as a result of having a business model which is applied when executing various business processes in line with the objectives and goals

It is appropriate for the business to integrate digital initiatives into the overall supply chain so as to measure value which is long term and generate the needed results. There is a need for a thorough analysis phase that is meant to highlight the potential for creating value in the chain supply that is available for the business. There should be identification if business profits and inputs according to the best processes in the industry and the pain points already perceived. A synthesis of the pain points will directly lead to the adoption of a working inventory system and an expensive digital operating model (Chi, 2010). It is essential to integrate the various supply chains functions such as logistics across all the locations, customer satisfaction, procurement and product development (Refinery29.com, 2017). The primary focus is designing a process which models a supply chain management system and a centralization of operations for the ICE Design business. Also, to build an inventory management system for the organization which needs to amend the system user-friendly to maintain proper communication between the store manager and the warehouse team regarding the stock.

10.0 Description of Current System

10.1 Issues

§  Cost of Project absorption

Implementation of technology calls for the IT teams to travel to all locations, implement the setup. Train the people and stabilize the sites post Go Live. The cost of implementation can run high. Again all the locations that the project need to be implemented may not be able to bear the cost of such implementation.

§  Availability of technology infrastructure

Technology infrastructure availability is different amongst countries and within the country. Internet connectivity and bandwidth may not be the same cross all locations which can hinder implementation of an internet based technology application. Normally if the project is driven at a multiple resource level, the local infrastructure issues of many countries do not figure while considering the suitability of IT platform for implementation.

10.2 Problems

§  Internal & External resource capability

The ICE Design Project involves multiple locations and cross functional departments and teams within the organization. Besides they also include multiple external agencies who manage the logistics.

Driving projects through various locations managements requires enormous internal selling and management to be done. The projects also call for more funding with the clothing and accessories business. All other business partners may or may not have the same interest and commitment to the project as much as the ICE Design project leadership would have. These are soft challenges faced by Project Managers, to be able to sell the idea and get commitment from all stake holders.

The availability of quality resources both internally and externally in all locations is critical to the implementation of the project and is often a challenge which can hold up implementations and progress of the project.

10.3 As-is versus a to-be Diagram

11.0 Proposed Stakeholder Analysis and Management

Analysis

The aim of the study is to inform on who has a stake in a planned or current project, where there are actions to be taken for the barriers that might occur before a detailed plan is set. The guidelines of the stakeholder analysis put emphasis on the participation of the stakeholders to ensure that there is the constructive engagement of everyone involved in the entire spectrum throughout the success of the business (Chew & Gottschalk, 2009). The interests, interrelationships and the characteristics of the stakeholders are essential for ICE Design retail business. Since the company is dealing with many branches, it is essential to consider the following stakeholder types:

• Those who are instrumental in spreading the outcomes of ICE Design, for example, the local platforms, local and national authorities, the local agencies, traditional authorities, other significant NGOs and many others.
• The influential parties like the trading companies in Melbourne and other institutes which affect how business is contacted in Australia at the local levels. Sometimes these groups are the decision makers on various issues the effect how business takes place in vast areas.
• The important stakeholders to engage with the ICE Design retail business since they are critical to the identity of the business, e.g. the local customers in the locations where the branches are situated, authorities and other big companies like Versace in Australia.

For ICE Design retail clothing business, the stakeholders include:

• Decision makers, that is, the management
• Beneficiaries, such as the government
• The interest groups; that is, the groups that have an opinion about, interests in, or affects the use of the clothing products
• User groups, which include the customers extensively
• Those who are often excluded from various processes such as decision making

To assists with the identification and analysis of the stakeholders, there is a stakeholder analysis group which entails the information herein:

• Actions and strategies for opportunities, risks, and issues addressing
• Opportunities, risks, and issues associated with each group
• Readiness state of the desired change
• Readiness state of the current change
• Group level that the business has impacted
• Effect level of the business
• Group description
• Stakeholders’ name in the group
• Name of the group

A significant result of the analysis and identification of the stakeholder is the identification of the most impacted and influential stakeholder groups so that a focused management strategy of stakeholders can be revised can in turn executed.

Stakeholder engagement

There are developed guidelines for the participation of the stakeholders to ensure that there is a constructive and systematic stakeholder’s engagement throughout the lifetime of the business. It is primarily done by guiding the partners and knowing the right time of engaging the stakeholders in the implementation of some business guidelines, and in the analysis of problems such as making up an inventory management system and centralizing the warehouse for fast and reliable deliveries at the branches.

To manage the stakeholder management in an efficient manner the ICE Design clothing retail business will be ensuring the utilization of strategies identified to increase effectiveness and appropriate communication plan to communicate the needed information about customers reaction and timely delivery of products where needed. If the stakeholder management is well-managed, there is a likelihood that the business will be more successful since the stakeholders have a clear understanding of the organizational risks, benefits, objectives, and goals.

In line with the analysis of the firm, the management should be willing to listen actively and be soliciting feedback and input to ensure there are communication and prompt action to them. Also, to ensure that the relevant information is captured for the purpose of making an adjustment and responding to the problems in the areas which are affected. About the participation of the stakeholders, there are common factors that result in failure. They include the biggest problem that ICE Design clothing retail shop is facing which is the distribution of items in branches. The products are always running out in those branches where the demand is more, while the same product remains available in other departments where there is no demand. As such, the inventory and the chain supply system should be operating efficiently, and the subsequent problems of some places are running out of stock be addressed. Monitoring the areas and drawing a drawing the general guidelines for stakeholder engagement such as those listed below is needed. The guidelines are:

Addressing the obstacles and problems in the branches: best strategies to address the communication and delivery issues, and conflicts of interest between the stakeholders; the essential barriers for successfully engaging the stakeholders (Van Looy, 2014).

Way or the level of engagement: the reliable and functional way and level of engagement with the various key stakeholders.

Choosing the key stakeholders: the relevant interested parties in the business to be engaging out of:

• Different levels (locations of different importance regarding customer base)
• The various types of stakeholders
• Different categories
• Factors of success and failure: the factors that can be concluded to be the result of the failure and success regarding the business stakeholder engagement.
• Sustainability: the best strategies are used to allow for sustainability
• External circumstances: the changing circumstances which have a bigger impact and the better way of reacting about the engagement of stakeholder.
• Assumptions: what are the assumptions that the meeting has concluded to be reliable and which ones are not?
• Transparency, information supply, communication: the safe strategies used by the stakeholders to ensure collaboration and contentment.

It is essential to for the business management to make agreements with the key stakeholders on the set of general guidelines and sustainability plans to apply.

12.0 Proposed Requirements Elicitation Methodology

12.1 Management function

Creative solving of problems when they arise to make up the purpose of setting up the administration in any business. The ICE Design have distribution problems, and hence it calls for the management to enact strategies that would ensure that they are corrected for optimizing the business functions. The functions of management that can solve the problems include planning, controlling, directing, staffing and organizing. The desired result is distributing the products appropriately in all the branches and ensuring the resources of the business are used in such a way that they help in accomplishing the objectives and missions.

Planning is the continuous process of developing objectives and goals for a business and getting ways to ensure that they are performed. This process includes both the narrowest view of the business, like tactics to be employed to achieve individual goals and the broadest such as the general purposes of the organization. The management needs to establish plans and a working inventory program to counter the distribution problems that the company has.

Organizing is creating a functional internal structure for the business. It aims at controlling the tasks efficiently, systematic information flow, coordination and proper division and distribution of products in every location within the business organization. The management uses this function to distribute authority to the people who manage the various branches. Staffing, on the other hand, is ensuring that the branches have the qualified personnel who serve the customers to the best limit there can be. Compensating, evaluating, training, hiring and recruiting are some of the activities in this function. It will increase the morale of the workers, hence allowing for proper communication with the management.

The presence of almost 17 branches gives the notion that ICE Design retail business is fragmented. Retailing in the clothing industry in Australia needs proper organization as it is becoming a boom industry. As such, a business cannot mostly ignore the competition that is presented in the common locations where the branches are located since they provide facilities and services of perceived quality. Since location is a major factor for any business that relies on real clients, some location decisions are hard to change when formulating on what amount of goods or products to put in a given area.

Selection of the right format of retailing the products is necessary for ICE Design. There are differences between the customers in the countryside and those in the urban areas, as such the business should adopt multiple formats which will be suitable for the region where a branch is located. One methodology or format won’t be appropriate for every location (Narasimhan, 2009). Technology is an essential factor in method since it eases the operational functions of the business. Payment, ordering, and advertisement is easily done by adopting the right technology.

13.0 Proposed Requirements Statement

13.1 System models

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

The systems can be developed since the branches which are retail specific. This would help in integrating all the functions from merchandising to back and front store operations, distribution, and warehousing. A chain supply which is well integrated would enable the business service the clients better while reducing the costs by preventing stock-outs, getting the supplies to all the location on time and maintain the available stock at a reasonable volume.

Customer Management Systems

The business can access the consumer data through the rise of loyalty programs. Data warehousing allows the retailers to make the correct assessment of their customer data and otherwise apply it to the business functions (Voehl & Harrington, 2016). . With the many CRM systems available, the management can follow up on the consumer behaviors at different locations and hence grow the value to the customers regarding supplies and services offered.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Systems

These systems can be used to give improved chain supply control in all the local places. The packages that come with APS can work in complement with the packages that ERP has. They allow for the consolidation of activities such as routine distribution scheduling into the overall business system, monthly forecasting, and long-term budgeting.

In a well-integrated business, it would be easy to have the products received and incorporated into the warehouse management system and the finished products deposited in the system. It will facilitate the tracking of the clothes and other products through cycle counts and moves while in the warehouse. It would enable the users to model efficient ways of storing different products in the warehouse depending on various factors such as demand for the products. The warehouse should have an arrangement in such a way that the goods can quickly move faster from one region to another where is needed more urgently. It would make running the business easy and efficient. The customer service can be improved by making sure that orders are received and processed in time so that the customers can get what they need at the places where they are located. If the high quality of products is maintained, the business will be able to attract new customers while retaining the old ones.

13.2 Data Model and Requirements

Simplified ICE Design retail business Data Model

Business Data Model

The business requires a logical and physical data model which allows for the provision of the business entities and the relationship so as to give a better knowledge of the data and business requirements for the data warehouse. The data model for ICE Design should provide a substantial foundation for a data warehouse in the retail clothing business.

The data model of many businesses which are consumer oriented is rapidly changing due to technology. The rapid growth of the social network and high penetration of Internet have significantly affected the demand patterns and consumer buying behaviors. The impact that these has in consumer-oriented industries such as clothing is significant as most retailers and manufacturers depend on social media to advertise their goods. On the other hand, most sellers are taking advantage of the fact that most people are using social media and hence providing a good platform for advertisement.  However, will the adoption of technology have a significant effect on the supply chains to ensure that there is continuous supply to the consumers? Is it possible that the emerging technologies will help fulfill the customers’ needs in the chain supply? The answer is an absolute yes, since there is a fundamental difference in delivery terms, especially when using digital ways rather than the traditional ones. The clothing industry organizational is made up of geographic and functional silos which frequently lead to sub-optimal performance since informational is not shared openly. When the chain supply is digitized, it gives the capability of having extensive communication, superior collaboration, and availability of information across the digital platforms established in other branches of the central organization.

Specific technologies are not required for achieving higher performance. However, value creation potential relies on the model that operates in a given organization. The business should have a model which enables it to reap the profit from every department through consistent and smart application of available standard digital technologies. As discussed in this paper, digitization can help the business since the help increase value delivery process in the 17 branches hence eliminating the problem of distribution of items. Also, it would create unique opportunities and reduce the consistent deficits experienced in various stores.

13.3 Process models and requirements

An operating model which is digitized would allow the management to choose the centralization degree which is appropriate for them not only regarding deliveries, but also in support of the minimization and specialization of cost processes to different productivity levels across every given branch or location. Outsourcing and out-shoring of functions are dependent on the ability on the customers’ location or the natural flows. For this to be done effectively, all the processes should be accessible from a platform which is digitized to make it easy for management and control purposes.

Planning the chain supply activities have bigger profits since most business functions are optimized and furthermore the central data management would help avoid certain mistakes, inconsistencies, and possible double entries that occur in business. The primary benefit of centralizing the business is increasing the value of the firm through higher productivity and quality of services given to customers at different locations. For instance, with the fragments of 17 sites in Australia, there are many fragments which are not easy to fix unless there is close monitoring of all the branches which can be undertaken physically. As such, a central function should be set up for controlling and planning the product flow from location to location, through a process which is automatic. Cost, demand and supply data should be available to give a consistent output to every location without delays. Also, there should be the integration of inbound and carrier flow information. This strategy can, in a way, help ICE DESIGN build an integrated and flexible business organization, redesign supply management section, enhance fast transport of product to where they are needed, improve customer service and increase business efficiency.

14.0 Proposed Candidate Evaluation Methodology

Demand planning enables the coordination of the flow of dependent clothes market through the various retail suppliers in the supply chain. It is the application for the finished products that the consumers demand and how the providers take into account the production and delivery of them. Demand planning integrates all the processes across all the 17 outlets in the chain supply. Collaborative forecasting would allow for timely information to the leading retail once the clothes are almost out of sales and allow for supportive trade between the trading partners so as to develop a single shared program for demand and supply. The benefit of this is that there is a forecast of the request for every location and supply that everyone can agree to. Lastly, demand management is essential for the management of application across all the branches in the chain supply. The activities involved are used to create or modify the request in the particular branches so as to optimize the supply. It can be done in different forms, such as: having mutual decisions regarding market positioning and segmentation; timing and nature of the promotion of the trade brand; and other exclusive packaging and customer relation options.

14.0 Analysis Process

An effective system starts with design and analysis. If the analysis of the inventory management is thorough, and more care is taken when developing the design, there will be fewer  problems and it will be easy to control the system from the central warehouse. If the system is almost operational, the analysis should concentrate on identifying the problems that it currently has and which it might have in the future.

The system would be a failure if it does not cross-reference the inventory items in the branches of the business. Lack of system optimization may also make it difficult to have forecasts and plans which are accurate. It is essential to have optimization as a measure of control especially is a business like ICE Design which deal with the direct clients.

14.1 Process Analysis Worksheet

Below is a worksheet of how the supply chain of the ICE Design works

14.2 Process Scoping Diagram

Clothing and Accessories delivery diagram

15.0 Proposed Risk Analysis and Risk Management Strategies

15.1 Proposed change management solution

Following the evaluation of risks, it is necessary to perform an analysis of the external threats and opportunities, and the internal weakness and strengths. A SWOT analysis would give an honest assessment of the UCE Design. After the study, the potential consequences of the risks are supposed to be measured on how the impact on business operations, cash flow, and overall earnings. The shortages in some of the branches may lead to loss of profits in the future since the customers may, for instance, want to migrate to better-planned clothing businesses. It is important to measure the risks by having the scrutiny of all the costs that are associated with the firm. The risks of losing the customers and building a bad reputation cannot be overlooked. On the other hand, there should be valid ways of payment since the employees who reconciles the funds, deposit them, accept payment by cash and process other business functions which involve money may have the temptation of committing theft.

15.2 Analysis of issues and proposed solutions

Employing reliable systems that can report various activities is a sure way of ensuring that products never get depleted or are delivered when late for use by the customers. Having a functioning warehouse management system will ensure that the correct orders are delivered at the right time to the place where they are needed the most. Having this kind of accuracy when producing and transporting the goods would minimize the mistakes that occur and rather use it to the advantage of the business by having less expensive and timely transportation. Most of the products are automated giving a chance for the customers to get the products of their choice from where they are. Only the verified people in every branch should be allowed to deal with the finances. Moreover, the accountants should be able to count the money in the presence of one another.

16.0 Conclusions and Recommendations

In summary, the ICE Design retailers need to make more investment in the markets which are more capturing which has reliable customer purchase behavior information. Due to the increase of competition, there is the potential for decreased retail productivity and costs cutting, as such, it is essential for the business to have secure and distinctive position in the market by gaining the loyalty of the customers regarding the supply of products, quality, and price. Winning the market is important much as it is important to satisfy the customers’ demands. During the analysis of the business, ideas came up about the strategies to be used and corporate management. These thoughts are invaluable and can contribute essential know-how and information during the ICE Design business lifetime. The design of the products should be of modernity, elegance and simply available to the customers. Putting up latest and modern technologies would be necessary to underpin commune modernity. As such, the business should be a mixture of simple and timeless elegance. On the other hand, the corporate management should establish clear structures which will minimize the room for shortages and poor services. Also, establishing direct and clear communication ways will be priceless. Consequently, the staff know-how should well be used to develop the business and give results which will be satisfactory to everyone involve in The ICE Design retail clothing business.

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