Inventory Management makes sure the best product gets to the right place at the right time. To do this, they have to encourage buying decisions, partnering with cross-functional teams and the field to gather feedback, understanding trends and determining the most effective process to get product to stores.
GAP management focused on improving profit margins, rather than simply increasing sales. The company rebounded through many rising and falling through their history because of the different managements that they had. Gap Inc. depended on seamless inventory capabilities in which these models supported by technology from GT Nexus, they focused on having the right products at the right time for the right channel. They also build innovative features like a “reserve in store” option on their e-commerce site. This allows customers to hold in store any items they see on Gap’s site so they may go to store and try on the clothes before deciding to make a final purchase. Supply chain management comes to help the company to rise up again in which it is the coordination of planning, making, distributing, and returning of different work processes.
Supply chain has also come into play for Gap in regards to its acquisition of specialty apparel chain. As the company continues to invest in building its business, thus adding more points of sourcing and distribution, they’ve relied more heavily on supply chain to bridge the gap.The process is an elaboration of the same in the context of Gap Inc. and its related brands: Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Forth and Towne.
The supply chain at Gap Inc. starts at the design and merchandising phase where designers and merchants develop product assortments and patternmakers create samples. The next phase is of planning and sourcing where specialists determine quantities to order, and factories are selected to manufacture garments. The third stage in the cycle is of production and marketing where factories produce samples and the company approves the fit after which production begins. The marketing teams review samples to develop marketing strategies. Thereafter, distribution takes place where the merchandise is sent to Gap Inc.
‘s distribution centers where audits are performed, the products are inventories and designated for particular stores, then shipped to the stores. The final stage in the cycle is of sales and analysis where the visual merchandising team determines the floor set-up for the products
