The Journey of our products
DISTRIBUTION
Comparing the methods of distruting boohoo products and evaluting the system we use in delivering goods and services
Boohoo uses many different methods of products depending on the country of where the product is made, boohoo manufactures products here in the UK in manchester and in China. The methods used, range from trucks, trains to cargo ships and airfreight which all have many different benefits and negatives depending on different factors. Boats or cargo ships can travel across any distance which can be thousands of miles. Ships have huge amounts of storage space for goods compared to other modes of transport such as lorries, airplanes can also travel large distances however they have less storage space than ships. Even though lorries have low amounts of storage they are the quickest and most in-expensive way of delivering the product to the consumer once ready in the UK. Shipping containers can easily be moved saving time when placing onto lorries to travel smaller distances. Planes are the quickest mode of transport however they are much more expensive than boats, making boats more cost effective for long distances. Due to the length of time in takes cargo ships to sail from china to the UK, this will create longer response times to trends for boohoo. Goods which are produced in UK can be designed quickly and sent out quickly to customers using lorries and rail creating a faster response time or the use of airplanes from China. Trains and lorries are the most cost effective for short distances however would take too long and would be difficult for longer distances. Ships are not as reliable as airplanes and can be less secure due to having to dock into ports where there is a threat of robbery. Planes are the most reliable however very environmentally unfriendly compared trains and ships Also planes are the most secure with high levels of security and are very reliableFor short jounerys trains are cost effective, reliable as they don't face congestion like lorries
However trains are best in one country and cannot be used to deliver to the consumer by themselves as a lorry would be needed to take the item to the consumer’s house. Train’s have large amounts of storage with one train that equals 50 lorries. Overall all modes of transports have good and bad points however all help to distribute boohoo’s products well. The system used be boohoo has positive and negatives for each part of distribution. One system is where the products are manufactured in China, then shipped to the UK then transported to a distribution centre in Manchester. Then from here the products will go to the consumer. In china more products can be made cheaply compared to the UK. The wages are cheaper and even when shipping costs are included it is still slightly cheaper. However with this method the time which it takes for the products to reach England and be in the distribution centre is significantly longer than the products which are manufactured in the UK. For the products with are produced aboard in china there will be a slower response time to trends for boohoo which is a negative element as products which are produced in Uk can be designed and be produced ready for the consumer in a week.
However it is cost effective to manufacture in china and there is also infrastructure already available in china such as roads and ports which makes it a more attractive option to manufacture in compared to other developing countries. The benefits of manufacturing in China is not just that it is cheaper. More products can be produced faster in china which can be easily shipped. The benefits of manufacturing the UK include the positive consumer attitude towards made in the UK labels as they associated this with high quality and good well made productszone as it is easily to communicate and there is much lower shipping costs meaning all areas of boohoo can easily contact each other and the factories