A Case Study Solution on Finish Line - Essay Example

Having a mix of products at a store is a very valuable technique to keep the sales rolling throughout the year. For instance, in the given case study, when in winter the demand for warm clothes is high, it creates automatic sales for the company regarding their clothes. Although the company is, inherently, a retail shoe brand but having clothes in their store neither affects their sales of shoes adversely nor jeopardizes them by losing sales in winter, when the demand for clothes is more than the demand for shoes. Seasonality, on the other hand, is a very vital factor that any store should not neglect. 

Question 2 many people are complaining about the wrong shoe size or shoes that are outdated in fashion terms. There are researches, like the one mentioned by Better Health Channel (2013), that put a high emphasis on foot care when it comes to running and jogging. So, the customers need the types of shoes that are not only in fashion but also take care of their feet. The buyers are the ones that have to face a lot of risks because even if Finish Line takes three months as its lead time, the other shoe-making companies mentioned in the case study take at least six months.

This means that customers have to wait for a long to see what would be the changes in fashion in the offing. A new fashion is most likely to show up in six months. Question 3 If the customer rates store A high in style-by-style ranking, store B lesser than that, and store C the least in ranking then Finish Line would have to make decisions in keeping the inventory of store A available at all times. The reason is very evident; if the customers have ranked according to style, then this means that they are fashion-conscious and want to look up-to-date in shoe styling.

This gives rise to the fact that the customers that ranked store A high in style would, most of the time like to buy from store A. Straightforwardly, Finish Line would have to take special care of inventory management at store A. Considering this scenario based on the comfort level of Finish Line shoes at stores A, B, and C, if the customers ranked store C highest in comfortability then such customers are most likely to buy from store C only. Thus, Finish Line would have to take exceptional care regarding inventory management here.

Question 4Along with the already used performance measures for the logistics system, Finish Line can use some other forms of performance metrics like “percent of demand met”. It is calculated by orders fulfilled divided by total demand. It helps to determine the operational capabilities of the firm and Finish Line can benefit from it a lot because it would keep a track of inventory even before it is required. In this way, stock-outs can be avoided. If there is a low percentage, it would mean that the company has either forecasted poorly, has insufficient capacity, has low inventory levels, or has unreliable production and distribution system. 

Also, Allais (2010) gives an overview of some of the widely used metrics for logistics performance from which Finish Line can gain greater profits and smooth out the value supply chain of the company. Miller (2011) states some of the reasons that can prove KPI to be quite a suitable indicator for logistics systems performance in the supply chain. Finish Line can vigorously make use of it, as well.