Coming from all directions

The supply chain is one area of any retailer’s business that has had to rise to the challenge of improving its efficiency during the recession.

And most supply chain professionals have reacted to this challenge admirably. But being able to consistently do more for less is not the only pressure they face. As their supply chains become more global, so the range of issues that retailers must tackle widens.

In this supplement we highlight how the fluctuations in the costs of shipping are causing headaches for those who need to bring in large quantities of stock to tight timelines. Equilibrium between supply and demand for space on ships is expected to be restored within the year, but in the mean time retailers are seeing wafer-thin margins eroded further until the reductions in shipping capacity that took place during the recession are restored.

At the same time those within retail who decide and monitor overseas suppliers must not think only of pricing and product quality, but also the ethics of their decisions and labour standards. Retail Week explores how retailers are trying to work with factories in the developing world to improve the treatment of their staff, rather than making the situation worse by simply policing them.

And the environment is another concern for those working in retailers’ supply chains. We have two examples of ways retailers are improving their carbon footprint. John Lewis shows us its environmentally aware distribution centre at Magna Park, demonstrating how green and efficiency can go hand in hand. Similarly transport optimisation systems are being used to cut carbon and costs.

Finally, the march of multichannel means that retailers must invest in the reconfiguration of their distribution networks. Both the articles on John Lewis and Marks & Spencer show how vital this work is to their future plans.

Joanna Perry, Supplement Editor