Crocs: Revolutionizing An Industry’s Supply Chain Model For Competitive Advantage
Executive Summary
Crocs is a footwear manufacturing company founded in 2002 by Michael Hagos, Lyndon Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr. The company specializes in shoes featuring its proprietary Croslite™ material, a revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight and odor-resistant qualities. Crocs pride itself in its highly flexible supply chain which consist of manufacturing facilities all around the world. With this model, Crocs is able to revolutionize supply in footwear retail industry by producing shoes throughout the season. In this paper, we would look at Croc’s business model, strategies the company could adopt and look at its production and inventory planning.
Crocs core competencies
Crocs core competencies lies in several factors. Frist, Crocs adopted a radical retail model that differs from the industry. Current practices in the industry requires buyers to book orders for the season which results in overstocking or foregone sales if demand is estimated wrongly. Crocs had a manufacturing advantage due to the simplicity in their original footwear. This allowed them to produce shoes and ship them out in a relatively short time. By taking ownership of part of their manufacturing process and having a global presence, Crocs is able to move machines/ molds to adjust to demand of different models at various locations around the world. The current model gives Crocs the ability to ship a produce a new shoe in two weeks and this is key in reducing their risk of foregone sales by being able to build more footwear during the season to respond to changes in demand.
Second, Croc’s positioned itself with a unique product that is comfortable, slip resistant and odor resistant. The company able to coordinate a global launch relatively rapidly and that helped minimized the risk of competition and allowed them to establish strong branding across the globe.
Lastly, Crocs maintains good relationship with both small and
Crocs is a footwear manufacturing company founded in 2002 by Michael Hagos, Lyndon Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr. The company specializes in shoes featuring its proprietary Croslite™ material, a revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight and odor-resistant qualities. Crocs pride itself in its highly flexible supply chain which consist of manufacturing facilities all around the world. With this model, Crocs is able to revolutionize supply in footwear retail industry by producing shoes throughout the season. In this paper, we would look at Croc’s business model, strategies the company could adopt and look at its production and inventory planning.
Crocs core competencies
Crocs core competencies lies in several factors. Frist, Crocs adopted a radical retail model that differs from the industry. Current practices in the industry requires buyers to book orders for the season which results in overstocking or foregone sales if demand is estimated wrongly. Crocs had a manufacturing advantage due to the simplicity in their original footwear. This allowed them to produce shoes and ship them out in a relatively short time. By taking ownership of part of their manufacturing process and having a global presence, Crocs is able to move machines/ molds to adjust to demand of different models at various locations around the world. The current model gives Crocs the ability to ship a produce a new shoe in two weeks and this is key in reducing their risk of foregone sales by being able to build more footwear during the season to respond to changes in demand.
Second, Croc’s positioned itself with a unique product that is comfortable, slip resistant and odor resistant. The company able to coordinate a global launch relatively rapidly and that helped minimized the risk of competition and allowed them to establish strong branding across the globe.
Lastly, Crocs maintains good relationship with both small and