Dissertation: Evaluating Supply Chain Impact on NEXT's Profitability

This dissertation evaluates the impact of supply chain management practices on NEXT PLC, a prominent UK-based fashion retailer. The research begins with an introduction outlining the background, organizational context, and significance of the problem, emphasizing the crucial role of supply chain management in the fashion industry, particularly in terms of converting raw materials into finished goods and meeting consumer demands efficiently. The study's purpose is to assess the impact of supply chain practices on NEXT's profitability and identify associated challenges, with aims and objectives focused on understanding supply chain management concepts, its impacts on NEXT, and its role in enhancing the retailer's effectiveness. The dissertation's structure includes chapters on literature review, research methodology, data analysis and findings, and conclusions with recommendations. The introduction highlights the importance of supply chain management in creating competitive advantages and improving profit margins in the competitive fashion market, setting the stage for an in-depth analysis of NEXT's supply chain strategies and their implications.

Dissertation
(Evaluate the impact of supply chain
management, practices on NEXT)

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background of the research.....................................................................................................................3
Organizational background......................................................................................................................4
Significance of the problem:....................................................................................................................4
Statement of purpose:..............................................................................................................................5
Statement of the problem:........................................................................................................................5
Aims and objectives:...............................................................................................................................6
Structure of Dissertation:.........................................................................................................................6
Chapter 2: Literature Review.......................................................................................................................7
Chapter 3: Research methodology...............................................................................................................7
Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings.........................................................................................................7
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations-............................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8

Chapter 1: Introduction
Background of the research
Supply chain management is an efficient management tool to manage the flow of goods,
data, finances and other related products or services. It includes various activities from
procurement of raw material to conversion in finish goods and delivered it at final destination.
The main aim of supply chain management activities is to fulfill the needs & requirements of
buyers effectively by offering them timely supply of finish goods. In other words, supply chain
management is all managing and maintaining flow of goods within the company. It is an
important practice with intend to handle then entire production system in an efficient manner
(Zekhnini and et. al., 2020). In Fashion industry of UK, supply chain plays an imperative role in
terms of converting the raw material into final products so that the needs & requirements of the
buyers can be fulfilled. Through supply chain, the fashion brands of UK are likely to manage the
movement of resources from one person to the other, one department to the other, one section to
the other section with an aim to fulfill the final needs of the buyers. In addition to this, supply
chain also put a major impact on the overall profitability by offering timely supply of the finish
goods to the final customers. It is found that business entities of fashion industry with efficient
supply chain tend to generate high revenue and higher profits. To enhance the overall profit from
supply chain, there is requirement to consider ample of areas like inventory management, and
more (Langley and et. al., 2020). In the present era of competition, supply chain has become one
of the crucial ways to create the differentiation between two different fashion brands. By
maintaining appropriate supply chain, the entity can easily get the raw material on timely basis
which will further make them enable to address the needs & requirements of buyers in timely
manner. Besides this, exceptional supply chain not only creates efficiency but also contributes in
sustainable competitive advantage that is really important to ensure long-term survival in the
present competitive environment.
The present project is based on NEXT PLC is a British multinational retailer of clothing,
footwear and home products. The company grow over the period of time and presently it has
presence at different locations worldwide. The present study is based on analyzing the impact of
supply chain management on the profitability of the respective company. This will cover how the

supply chain management is important for the companies working in the fashion industry.
Further, the study will also help in terms of analyzing the challenges that are being faced by the
respective company while managing and maintaining effective supply chain management
system.
Organizational background
The present report is based on NEXT PLC that is a well-known retailer based on UK. It
offers variety of fashion products including clothing for men, women, kids and more. It has
nearly 700 stores with UK. The company was started in the year of 1864 by J Hepworth & Son
and Gentlemen’s tailors whereas the first store of next plc was open in the year of 1982. The
company has grown over the period of time and presently it has presence at different locations
worldwide. In 2008 , the respective fashion brand acquired NEXT younger women’s clothing
fashion bran, Lipsy. Also, the entity got award of British high street retailer of the year. In 2021,
they acquired 25% share of Reiss and agreed for a joint venture so that e-commerce business of
Gap can be operated successfully (NEXT, 2021). In the financial year 2021-22, the UK based
fashion brand earned a profit of nearly 823 million Euros which was nearly 140% up relatively to
2020-21. Therefore, the brand is growing constantly that is really important to sustain in the
current competitive environment (Next registers 140% increase in profit before tax for 2021-22.
Significance of the problem:
The present study is based on supply chain management system that is related to
conversion of raw material into finish goods so that the end users can also receive necessary
supply of finish goods in timely manner. Here, supply chain management is a crucial activity so
that the raw material can be profoundly converted into finish goods with an intention to fulfill the
existing level of demand of the buyers. In context of the present study, the problem will be
studies in special reference to the fashion industry of UK (Rajeev and et. al., 2017). It will help
in term of assessing the impact of supply chain on the profit margin of the entity. In addition to
this, supply chain also put a major impact on the overall profitability by offering timely supply of
the finish goods to the final customers. It is found that business entities of fashion industry with
efficient supply chain tend to generate high revenue and higher profits. Therefore, the present
study will prove highly significant so that the overall profit margin of the fashion brands can be
improved in significant manner.

Statement of purpose:
Supply chain management is an important activity of transforming raw material into
finish goods. This is helpful in addressing the needs & requirements of buyers in timely manner.
Additionally, supply chain management is also help in increasing effectiveness of the firm and it
also develops competitive edge so that the organization can sustain in longer period of time
(Pettit, Croxton and Fiksel, 2019). The main purpose of conducting present study is to analyze
the impact of supply chain management system on the profitability of the fashion brands. After
conducting the present study, the researcher can easily assess how supply chain affects the
efficiency of a brand. Further, the respective report also aims in terms of identifying the
significance of supply chain management in terms of improving the overall profit margin
significantly. Additionally, this will also allow the investigator in terms of assessing necessary
challenges that are faced by the fashion brand while maintaining effective supply chain
management practices.
Statement of the problem:
Nowadays, supply chain management is important for every organization as it helps in
converting the raw material into finish products so that the needs and requirements of buyers can
be fulfilled easily. Maintaining appropriate supply chain management system is also crucial so
that the company can survive in the competitive environment. . In Fashion industry of UK,
supply chain plays an imperative role in terms of converting the raw material into final products
so that the needs & requirements of the buyers can be fulfilled. Through supply chain, the
fashion brands of UK are likely to manage the movement of resources from one person to the
other, one department to the other, one section to the other section with an aim to fulfill the final
needs of the buyers (Sodhi and Tang, 2021). The present study is based on the role of supply
chain management in enhancement of the overall profit. However, maintaining effective supply
chain is important to ensure future profit but it is quite complex to maintain appropriate, effective
and systematic supply chain management system. Through the study, it is possible to evaluate
the significance o supply chain along with the challenges faced by the company during effective
supply chain management system.

Aims and objectives:
Research Aim: “To evaluate the impact of supply chain management practices in mid-sized UK
fashion retail industry”. A case study on NEXT.
Research Objectives:
 To acknowledge the concept of supply chain management practices in context of fashion
industry of UK
 To ascertain the impacts of supply chain management practices on NEXT
 To identify the significance of appropriate supply chain management practices in
improving the overall effectiveness of NEXT as a fashion retailer.
Research questions
 What is the concept of supply chain management practices in context of fashion industry
of UK?
 What are the impacts of supply chain management practices on NEXT?
 What is the significance of appropriate supply chain management practices in improving
the overall effectiveness of NEXT as a fashion retailer?
Structure of Dissertation:
Chapter 1: Introduction- This is the first and the most significant chapter of the overall study
that covers background information of research topic and organization along with suitable aims
and objectives to conduct the research project effectively. In present scenario, the project is
based on supply chain management practices to improve the profitability of fashion brands
significantly.
Chapter 2: Literature Review- Under this, the view point of another authors and writers on the
chosen topic are covered in order to develop detailed understanding on the specific topic.
Chapter 3: Research methodology- This chapter of the research project will include suitable
methods of data collection and analysis along with the research onion framework. In present
context, secondary method of data collection and analysis will be taken into consideration.

Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings –Under this, the entire information is analyzed through
appropriate methods. In present context, qualitative or thematic analysis will be conducted to
analyze the data properly
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations- Here, it is the final chapter including
summarized information along with necessary recommendations to make further improvements
to get better outcomes in future period of time.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 3: Research methodology
Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations-

References
Books and journals
Langley and et. al., 2020. Supply chain management: a logistics perspective. Cengage Learning.
Pettit, T.J., Croxton, K.L. and Fiksel, J., 2019. The evolution of resilience in supply chain
management: a retrospective on ensuring supply chain resilience. Journal of Business
Logistics, 40(1), pp.56-65.
Rajeev and et. al., 2017. Evolution of sustainability in supply chain management: A literature
review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, pp.299-314.
Sodhi, M.S. and Tang, C.S., 2021. Supply chain management for extreme conditions: research
opportunities. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 57(1), pp.7-16.
Zekhnini and et. al., 2020. Supply chain management 4.0: a literature review and research
framework. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Online
Next registers 140% increase in profit before tax for 2021-22. [Online]. Available through :<
https://www.retail-insight-network.com/>