SuperFiber Strategic Change Dissertation Report
SuperFiber LTD Haifa, Cyprus
SuperFiber make garments from fabric – primarily cotton and mixed fibres. Their main business is high volume subcontract garment manufacture to patterns, quality and delivery standards specified by contractors.
They have one main client, LondonFabric, currently providing about 80% of business with a clause in the contract which means they have plant exclusivity for the period during which the LondonFabric production runs are made. LondonFabric was founded in the 19th C, is large and subcontracts production for brands in Mens, Womens, Childrens and Sportswear from high volume/low price brands like George to lower volume/higher price brands like Levi–Strauss and Gucci.
The problem
LondonFabric outsources manufacture to suppliers like SuperFiber who compete for the business of major market players like LondonFabric who use their purchasing power to drive down prices, drive up quality while imposing increasing demands on their supplier production standards and processes. Like many garment manufacturers SuperFiber are under increasing pressure from their powerful client.
- Contracts are placed annually in an annual tendering process that lasts just three weeks and requires certain suppliers are used for key fabrics and other materials of a particular specification.
- After years of annual tightening of margins, costs per piece have risen much faster than price/piece. Contract placement delays and inflexible delivery windows are leading to more intense production runs with less time for problem solving. There are increasingly stringent requirements for process waste, emissions and environmental impacts and Human Resources terms, conditions and welfare.
- There are delays in payments (often of a month, sometimes more) exchange rate uncertainties have increased costs, there is less flexibility and higher costs of workforce and of health and safety.
- There are more competitors undercutting prices and more volatility in orders generally.
Turnover and profits have fallen sharply, and the owner has threatened to sell the business to a rival, so the CEO and Board feel under extreme pressure. The Finance Director wants to cut costs, the HR Director believes HR costs will increase, the Purchasing Director is struggling to reduce variability and rising costs in the supply chain, the Operations Director insists production cannot make any further productivity savings and the Marketing Director wants to target new markets broadening the client base – but wants investment to do this. The CEO wonders what else SuperFiber might outsource other than shipping (which is to worldwide destinations) and how Superfiber might diversify. All agree something needs to be done, but what? how?The Task – for all students not on a marketing or innovation/new venture creation path
The CEO has asked you to investigate strategic change options for Superfiber to improve competitiveness by reducing costs and increasing productivity.
For students on the Marketing Pathway:
You must focus the report on strategic change from a marketing perspective, setting out options to attract and gain new or retain existing customers in response to market changes and product or service developments.
For students on the Innovation and New Venture Creation Pathway:
You must focus the report on strategic change from an innovation or new venture perspective, setting out strategic options for innovation in the existing business or an alternative new venture for the business owner, if the current business is disposed of.
Please Remember
The individual assignment must be submitted electronically on Canvas by the stipulated deadline. Wordcount: 10000 words (10% above or below is allowed). This excludes cover page, table of contents, appendices, references list and tables/figures.
You are required to keep copies of all developmental drafts. You may be asked to produce evidence of date-stamped source material used in the preparation of assessments in order to establish your authorship of work submitted. Failure to produce evidence of sustained development of assessed work will be taken into account if there is doubt as to the provenance of your assessed work.
Reports should be A4 including cover page, table of contents, tables/figures/graphs, references list, etc. Please use 12pt font size Times New Roman, with 2.5cm margins all around and double-spaced. Tables/figures/graphs may be single-spaced with a 10pt font size. Word limit is non-negotiable and reports that exceed the set limit will be penalised in marking. Deviations from the set formatting guidelines will affect your grade, regardless of the content. This is to ensure optimal length consistency and fairness for all submitted reports. The coursework will be anonymous, so you should ensure that only your student number is included on the cover page.
Referencing:
Your report should be fully cited and referenced following Stirling Harvard referencing style (https://libguides.stir.ac.uk/referencing#s-lib-ctab-14774080-3).
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