7IM511 Examine The Effect Of Supply Chain Risk Management In The UK Fashion Industry Research

1.0 Title

Examine the effect of Supply Chain Risk Management in the UK Fashion Industry: A Case Study of H&M UK

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Research Background

Supply chain risk management is highly vital for increased safety and security for both the organisations as well as their customers. Moreover, by monitoring the supply chains, vulnerabilities can be easily identified before they become major risks and threats while enabling the organisations to act more quickly devising strategies to mitigate the supply chain risks. A study by (Dohale et al. 2022) reflected that the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted huge enterprises and businesses along with the global supply chains, which created an unprecedented havoc for large scale organisations. Moreover, this led to global supply chain management risks which interrupted the supply of raw materials within the fashion industry in the United Kingdom, which led a number of production facilities to shut down which resulted in an inconsistency between the supply and demand of the fashion products. However, H&M UK has been highly specific about its supply chain management as the organisation has highly invested in a supply chain and which is why it is one of the most vital assets for the company which adds value to the customers while providing the right product to the right customer at the right time (Rathore, Maheshwari and Jain, 2019). Therefore, it can be reflected that managing the supply chain is highly beneficial for the UK fashion industry.

2.2 Aims & Objectives

The study aims at examining the effect of supply chain risk management in the UK fashion industry with the help of H&M case study.

2.3 Research Questions

The most relevant research questions are:

1. What is the importance of supply chain risk management?
2. What are the challenges linked to supply chain risk management?
3. What is the impact of supply chain risk management in the UK fashion industry?

2.4 Rationale

The UK fashion industry is rapidly growing due to technological advancements. However, there are a number of risks associated with the fashion houses which might have a negative impact on the supply chains. However, an efficient supply chain risk management strategy can be vital to mitigate the risk while ensuring the continuity of the fashion organisations. In this regard, the previous research works such as Can Saglam, Yildiz Çankaya and Sezen (2021) did not explore the impact of supply chain risk management on organisational performance related to the UK fashion organisations. Considering this, the present research will bridge this gap by examining the case of H&M UK and its supply chain risk management strategies while providing information on the benefits of all these strategies. Therefore, the rationale is to inform the future researchers and readers to understand what areas related to supply chain risk management in the UK fashion industry are covered and what more can be added to it.

3.0 Literature Review

Importance of supply chain risk management

Market volatility and vulnerabilities has significantly swept different regulatory changes while driving fashion companies across the fashion industry in the United Kingdom to urgently re-evaluate their supply chain strategies for gaining control over significant supplier risks. Supply chain risk management strategies tend to make it easier for the fashion organisations to identify, monitor, and assess the risks while ensuring to take preventive measures in time for avoiding reputational damage. In this regard, (Forbes, 2020) reflected that supply chain, diversity and supply chain risk management is highly essential for successful business operations of the fashion industry in the United Kingdom and it is also very critical for the companies to understand and evaluate the different supplies in management risk associated with both digital as well as physical supply chains. Therefore, with respect to (CIPS, 2018) it was also observed that H&M in the UK also ensured to level up its supply chain for making it more flexible, faster, and efficient, so as to continue a more integrated online and physical stores.

Furthermore, it has also been observed that the fashion industry in the United Kingdom, tends to face dual pressure of maintaining lower cost in shorter lead times. In this regard, (McMaster et al. 2020) reflected that for addressing these pressures, it is suggested for the fashion organisations to have a successful supply chain, this management strategies for focusing on developing efficient relationships with outsourced, fashion suppliers. Moreover, from the studies of (McMaster et al. 2020) it is highly evident that an efficient supply chain management helps in positively promoting the financial performance of the organisation while mitigating all the adverse impacts on the financial and operational performance of the fashion companies in the UK. In this regard, it can be understood that the main goal and focus of supply chain risk management strategy is to enhance the overall organisational performance, customer satisfaction and brand value by enhancing the product and service delivery to the end-users.

Challenges associated to supply chain management

There have been challenges being faced by the supply chain and these challenges have stemmed out of staff shortages, Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit related issues which has already resulted in a number of fashion retailers in the United Kingdom issuing adverse profit warnings (Retail Insight Network, 2022). In this regard, it has also been observed by the UK government that a number of businesses have been experiencing a shortage of labourers which has considerably impacted the supply chain industry (UK Parliament, 2023). Therefore, this is one of the major challenges associated with the supply chain management of the fashion businesses of the UK which has resulted in losses for the organisations and dissatisfaction among the customers due to delayed or stopped deliveries of products and services. From a case study of H&M UK it has also been evident that the fashion organisation had severe supply chain issues which restricted its sales and growth in 2020. These supply chains were reported to be a result of the different disruptions in the supply chain sector due to the COVID-19 and ongoing Brexit issues and trade tensions between EU and UK (Retail Wire, 2021). This was a major challenge for H&M, UK as the September, 2020 sales of the organisation was hit by supply delays due to a shortage of labourers, which led to delays in transportation of goods for the fashion retailer. Moreover, it is evident that some of the major bottlenecks that impacted H&M UK were in its supply chain management, such as transportation, production and ports. This further resulted in a decrease in profit for the last quarter because 50 out of 5,000 stores were temporarily shut down due to the lockdown restrictions of Covid-19 pandemic and the tensions of Brexit (Reuters, 2021).

Impact of supply chain risk management in the UK fashion industry

There has been a huge role of supply chain risk management strategy in the UK fashion industry in eliminating waste and integrating some of the best practices within the supply chain management. This is because additional ways to sources can add up to the risks for an organisation and its supply chain. Therefore, with the help of an efficient supply chain, risk management system, materials can be re-proposed within the fashion organisation for avoiding any kind of additional wastes. In a study conducted by (McMaster et al. 2020) it has been observed that diversification and flexibility with the supply chain operations is one of the best ways to bridge the risks associated with supply chain. This can be done by researching early on the domino effect of all the factors which might impact supply chain resilience. Moreover, reducing risks in the supply chain management system within the UK fashion industry can focus on waste, elimination and cost minimisation which not only adds value to the operations of the organisation and mitigates climate changes but also leads to the organisation’s enhancement towards zero carbon emissions (McKinsey, 2020). In regards to H&M, UK, the organisation also faced a number of challenges with respect to supply chain operations, such as cost levels. However, the organisation ensured to manage these challenges by still delivering the products without compromising on the quality of the products. Additionally, the organisation has also laid much importance on having an efficient race mitigation plan in terms of supply chain so as to accentuate during crises (H&M Group, 2023).

Literature Gap

The present research highlighted the effect of supply chain risk management within the UK fashion industry. By taking a case study of H&M UK. However, the literature gap within this research has major competence as the study highlights the current statistics of the fashion sector in the UK. Apart from the statistical approach, the research also configured the importance of supply chain, risk management and the different challenges associated with it in the UK fashion sector, which bridged the literature gap as the challenges were not provided in majority of the previous studies.

4.0 Research Methodology

A saunder’s research onion will be used in the data collection process of the present study and the different elements related to it are provided below.

4.1 Research Philosophy

Research philosophy is connected with knowledge, assumptions and nature of a particular study phenomenon and tends to deal with a particular way of knowledge development. There are a number of research philosophies such as interpretivism, pragmatism, realism and positivism. In the present study, the researcher will utilise an interpretivism research philosophy as it will ensure a higher level of validity in the findings of the researcher (Alaharahsheh & Pius, 2020). Moreover, the utilisation of this particular approach will also help the researcher in proposing the most close and validated truth while providing an accurate picture of the study phenomenon. Complying with this, a study by (Curry, 2020) provides that usage of an interpretivism research tends to embrace intersubjective beliefs while ensuring to provide the best possible results related to the study. Further, the utilisation of an interpretivism research philosophy will also support the researcher in seeking all that information that might have been missed out in previous studies. Moreover, with an interpretivism research philosophy the researcher tends to concentrate on different behaviours and situations while interpreting the findings. Besides, with this philosophy, the researcher will significantly aim to understand the study phenomenon by providing rigid explanations related to the study area.

4.2 Research Approach

Research approach is the process that is generally selected by the researcher to collect, analyse and interpret data. There are a number of approaches that are used in a research work such as inductive, deductive and abductive. In this regard, the researcher will use an inductive research approach where the researcher moves from analysing data to theory while moving from specific observations to generalised patterns. A study by (Walter and Ophir, 2019) asserted that an inductive research approach does not tend to assume theories and is based on relationships between the different trends, patterns and teams occurring within a provided corpus. Consequently it has also been reflected that an inductive research approach allows flexibility while helping the researcher to attend closely to the context of the study by also ensuring to support the new theory. Furthermore, the researcher will first begin with data that is relevant to the study topic and as soon as a substantial amount of data information has been gathered, the researcher will then move towards data collection by observing the information gathered thoroughly. This will further help the researcher to devise themes that have continuously been occuring (Chandra et al. 2019). In this regard, it can be stated that the time research approach will be highly beneficial in the present study.

4.3 Research Method

Research method is the process, strategy and technique utilised in the accumulation of data and information in order to analyse and uncover new details for creating a better understanding of the study topic. There are a number of research methods such as quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods (Le and Schmid, 2022). In the present study, the researcher will use a quntiative research method which will be helpful in understanding the different number of beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and interactions. In addition, the quantitative research method also helps the researcher in conducting an in-depth analysis while understanding the different mindsets of the research participants. Moreover, the utilisation of a what is the date of research method helps in gaining an increased understanding of a research question or hypotheses (Pathak, Jena and Kalra, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated that a quantitative research method is an idealistic approach and data in the present research work. The most vital advantage of using a quantitative research method is that this method is not found by limitations and allows the researcher to ask questions that cannot be put into concert of numbers in order to understand human experiences. The usage of a quantoative research method helps in extending knowledge and understanding of the study area while ensuring to provide the most comprehensive and accurate results.

4.4 Research Strategy

A research strategy generally tends to evaluate the manner in which the research will be conducted and managed through different planning guidelines. In this consideration, Research strategy in the present study will be taken from a case study analysis which will help the researcher in identifying and analysing the research problem efficiently. In addition, the research strategy will involve numerous steps where the first time will be to analyse the different concepts related to the topic and the second step will be where the researcher will make efforts to determine the most relevant keywords associated with the topic. A study by (Pathiranage, Jayatilake and Abeysekera, 2020) also depicted that a case study analysis is a widely used research strategy which helps the researcher in examining a phenomenal in detail while ensuring the appropriateness of selecting a social constructivist exploratory study.

4.5 Data Collection Method

Data collection is an overall process of accumulating and measuring information and details related to different variables associated with the research phenomenon. Furthermore, in the present research, the researcher will collect the data from different kinds of secondary sources, such as journal articles, company and government reports which will provide the most relevant information related to the research topic. The most important rationale for selecting the primary quantitative data collection method is that it will help in efficiently managing the information while understanding different statistical analyses with the help of different data collection tools and techniques such as surveys. In order to conduct the survey, a number of employees working in the UK fashion industry would be selected via a random sampling method. For getting information, a close-ended survey questionnaire will be prepared which will have questions that will be associated with the research phenomenon. Further, the usage of this particular data collection method will help the researcher in saving a lot of time in efforts because the primary data collection is much more rapid and quick as compared to the secodnary data collection process.

Additionally, this data collection method will reduce the overall risk and possibilities of bias in conclusions and will provide a cost-effective and structured data set. Lastly, the utilisation of a primary data collection method will also permit the researcher not to devote any additional resources and energy for freezing conclusions, beforehand related to the research topic.

4.6 Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are highly important in a research work and their role cannot be undermined or overlooked. In this regard, for maintaining the dignity of the research work, the researcher will ensure to maintain all the ethical considerations by improving the standardisation of the study by collecting data only from legitimate sources. Moreover, and ensure to avoid any kind of misconduct such as plagiarism by citing the names of the authors for the information cited in the present work. Additionally, the researcher will also ensure to use information only from those sources that can be accessed by the readers as well as the future researchers. Moreover, in order to abide by the ethical considerations, the researcher will also protect morality while conducting the research work. In this regard, (Arifin, 2018) also stressed on the fact that ethical considerations, in a quantiative study have an important resonance due to the in-depth characteristics of the study process and not abiding by the ethical considerations might lead to ethical issues which might hamper the results of the study.

5.0 Project Plan

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