Uniqlo: Transportation and Distribution Management Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uniqlo's transportation and distribution management strategies. It begins with an introduction to Uniqlo as a global fashion retailer and its approach to sustainable development. The report then delves into the selection of incoterms, specifically highlighting Uniqlo's use of 'Delivered at Place' and comparing it to competitors like H&M and Zara. The impact of social and economic factors in Singapore on Uniqlo's supply chain is also examined. The report further explores Uniqlo's carrier selection criteria, including transaction, communication, and distribution channels. The role of the transportation manager in ensuring timely delivery and managing payments is discussed. The report concludes with an analysis of carrier relationship management, outlining different types of relationships and their importance in maintaining a smooth supply chain. The paper also highlights the importance of communication and good relationships with suppliers for efficient raw material delivery. The report provides a detailed understanding of Uniqlo's approach to transportation and distribution, offering insights into its supply chain management practices and its strategies for competing in the fashion retail market.

Running head: TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT
Transportation and Distribution Management
Name of the Student:
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Incoterms Selection Consideration............................................................................................2
Carrier Selection Criteria...........................................................................................................4
Carrier Relationship Management.............................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Reference List............................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to ensure that the reader is made aware of the
transportation facilities or capabilities that are being established by famous apparel
organisations. According to Abdullah & Hua (2017), the paper must meet every need that
will help to understand the transportation of Uniqlo effectively. With paper effective
transportation capabilities of Uniqlo, the transportation goals and the ways of transportation
management will be explained in detail with a comparison with other famous organisations.
The paper will be based on transportation and the ways Uniqlo is improving its supply chain.
Uniqlo is a famous organisation that is well known for designing and manufacturing
of fashionable goods. It is based on the fashion and retail industry. It has been established in
Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan in the year 1949 (uniqlo.com, 2020). Tadashi Yanai is the founder of
the brand. It is being headquartered in Tokyo. It has various stores around the world with an
employee number of 44,424 by the year 2018. It has a goal to the sustainable development of
the products ensuring better and natural products to be used while manufacturing the
clothing. It is not only insurance development of the quality of the product but also ensures to
look after the environmental development.in the past few years, it has obtained a great
development in the market is one of the famous brands around the world. However, it has to
ensure that it meets the needs of the customer as well as the society as there are numerous
competitors around the market such as H &M and Zara (zara.com, 2020). Its goal is to
develop sustainable clothing and strategies to spread its business around the world making it
one of the most famous leading clothing brands.
Incoterms Selection Consideration
Uniqlo is one of the leading clothing industries. With the changes in the time as well
as the demand of the customers, it is necessary to meet them within a particular time, which

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will help in maintaining the number of customers as well as sales of the organisation. With
the changing trends in it is difficult to predict the market and forecast the raw materials of the
supplies (Yaakub, Szu, Arbak & Ab Halim, 2018). Hence, to ensure to meet the latest trends
the organisation must push the business model and the retail outlet style with the introduction
of new outfits to the market. It is necessary to identify the trends as well as recognise the
consumers' necessity to satisfy them. This will help in keeping the demand of the customers
in the existing market
It is necessary that the needs of the customers must be prioritized the most. Hence, it is
necessary that the demands of the customers as early as possible. This will help in retaining
the number of customers as well as keeping the customers motivated towards obtaining the
product (Brown & Yadav, 2019). It is the of the transport manager to ensure the development
of the supply chain of Uniqlo compared to other brands present in the market like H & M
who lacks the quality to effectively deliver the product to its customers. The supply chain has
been greatly affecting the economy of the organisation as depending on the supplies that are
being received from the supplier will help in manufacturing goods and deliver product within
time.
The intercom ensures to guide both the importers and exporters. It keeps a check on the
exporters guiding them with the necessary needs as well as the products required to be
brought into the warehouses of Singapore (Keeling et al. 2018). Moreover, the transportation
manager has to ensure that the exporters and importers are being arranged with the
international freight that will give a clear understanding of the importer or exporters' customs.
The intercom will also keep a check on the payment made by exporter and importers in the
time of international freight. The incoterm that is being mostly used by Uniqlo to beat its
rivalries like H&M and Zara is delivered at place. Uniqlo ensures to provide its customers

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best services by ensuring the products are being delivered to the customers’ doorstep making
it convenient for the customers to buy its products.
Other incoterms like Delivery Duty paid is a condition wherein the delivery agrees to sign
an agreement assuming all the responsibilities of the product along with its cost and risk.
Other organisations such as Zara and H&M does not rely in its transportation partners to
provide the customers with the best services signing the Delivery duty paid agreement
(www.hm.com, 2020). Both the incoterms have been making it easier for Uniqlo to deliver its
products in the best condition to its customers far away making it easier for customers to
purchase their products.
The supply chain of Uniqlo is being impacted by various factors like social and economic
change in Singapore. Following the rules of the intellectual property and taxation policies of
Singapore, the supply chain is being impacted by Uniqlo (Keeling et al. 2018). Depending on
the social factors like an emergency of the products by the customer, ensure that the products
reach the customers as early as possible.
In order to understand the taste of the customer, the organisation distributes the small
batch to view of the central stores in the country wherein there is a huge number of customers
(Fahmy, 2019). Provide a clear understanding of the taste of the customer as well as increase
customer demand. This also helps the organisation to understand the demand based on which
the organisation can increase or decrease the pricing of the product. Brands like Zara ensures
that the products are being distributed to central stores, however, it will not be changing its
pricing based on the sales. Zara has been following some of the pricing strategies that may
impact the economic development of the organisation.
Hence, the best way that the intercoms can communicate is to find effective ways in
which they can reach the customers with the help of exports or importer in the case of

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delivery of the product as well as a supply of raw materials (Fahmy, 2018). The transport
manager will ensure that the products are being supplied with the use of ships, airplanes, and
railways (within the country) to meet the demand of the customers.
Carrier Selection Criteria
In order to ensure that there is effective delivery and the customers are being provided
with the products within the time limit, the organisation must develop transportation goals. In
order to develop, the logistic of the organisation there are three channels that will help up to
improve transportation:
 Transaction channel: The Transaction channel is the channel that involves the
purchasing, paying and preparing of the products. The on-time delivery not only
depends on the delivery of the product to the customers but also the delivery of the
raw materials to the manufacturing departments (Kilipiris, Lamperis, Kargidis &
Papaioannou, 2017). When there will be the right time delivery of the raw materials
they will be written in the production and delivery of the product to the customers.
Hence the organisation must find various strategies that will help in the development
of the relationship with the transportation organisation.
 Communication channel: In the development of the transportation goals
communication is an important factor (Davis‐SramekB., Thomas & Fugate, 2018).
While discussing about carrier relationship management, the supply chain of the raw
materials also plays an important factor in delivering the products to the customer
within the right time. As discussed above it is also necessary that clarity must be there
while receiving or delivering any damaged products before receiving or delivering the
product (Huderek-Glapska & Nowak, 2016). Hence, the organisation must develop
policies and explain them to his customers and suppliers prior to the exchange of
products or materials. Development with the communication with the customers or

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transportation organisation will help in the improvement of the delivery of the
product.
 Distribution channel: The distribution channels that have been used for the delivery
of Uniqlo are air and water mostly as most of the time goods are being transported
from other countries (Solakivi & Ojala, 2017). The transportation manager will come
across that to provide the customers within the time it is necessary to deliver products
with the help of air or other fastest means of transportation.
Based on the criteria that is delivery of the product within right time pickup and delivery
of the product Uniqlo considers to use airways as the fastest means of transportation and
ships that help to deliver the product at right time. Other organisations like ZARA ensures to
set up its warehouses to places nearby the store or in the same region wherein supply of raw
materials is available that will reduce the cost price of the product, whereas Uniqlo considers
to provide the customers with the best quality and manufactured by the best workers.
In the words of (Tseng, Chou, Chen & Cheng, 2019), these channels will help in the
development of the global economy of the organisation bringing in changes in the delivery
process of the organisation. The transportation manager ensures that there are no issues faced
by the delivery people while delivering the products to the right customers as well as in the
management of payments as Uniqlo also runs its business based on cash on delivery. Hence,
it the duty of the manager to report the finance team about the number of deliveries.
Depending on the changes in the global economy, there will be changes in the service that
will be provided as well as development on the growth of the economy of Uniqlo. This may
have an impact on the pricing of the product or changes in the service of the organisation.

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Carrier Relationship Management
In the development of the transportation goals communication is an important factor.
While discussing about carrier relationship management, the supply chain of the raw
materials also plays an important factor in delivering the products to the customer within the
right time. As the organisation is spread all across the world, it ensures that there are
warehouses to the nearest location of the stores. The transportation manager ensures that
there is a good relationship with the suppliers of Singapore ensuring the right time delivery of
the raw materials. Various raw materials are drawn from various parts of the country. In
sending the stocks to the warehouses, it is necessary that the organisation developed a good
communication with the suppliers as well as the transportation management (Maloni, Gligor
& Lagoudis, 2016). The most commonly sold product of Uniqlo is bottom wears and shirts or
tops. As the organisation ensures sustainable products, it ensures that the products are being
made with cotton and natural fibers.
In order to ensure the carrier relationship management, the organisation must ensure a
few of the factors that will develop a career relationship with the suppliers as well as delivery
persons. Three types of carrier relationship management is being explained below:
 Type I: Short-term contractual relationship
It is a type of delivery in which there is a short-term relationship being developed between
two firms in order to ensure better sharing of information or reward of relationship. This will
not only help in bringing clarity within the organisation and the transportation management
but also help in relationship development. The on time delivery not only depends on the
delivery of the product to the customers but also the delivery of the raw materials to the
manufacturing departments (Kilipiris, Lamperis, Kargidis & Papaioannou, 2017).
 Type II: Partnership

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This is the type of business wherein partnership can be of short contractual or based on
long terms. The relation is mostly developed with supplies wherein there can be a very less
risk of failure. This will not only help in building relationship with the suppliers and the
customers but also help in developing loyalty towards the brand (Ma, Zhang & Xiao, 2019).
The organisation must ensure its suppliers with adequate facilities that will improve the
supply chain of the organisation.
 Type III: Partnership
This is a type of relationship is being the most common type of partnership wherein
Uniqlo can join its business with other brands like Zara or H & M and will be witness profits
or failure equally or according to the contracts. This can be an evergreen partnership of may
discontinue (Huderek-Glapska & Nowak, 2016). However, in this type of partnership there
will be control over the relationship as there will be economic significance in the partnership.
Conclusion
The organisation has been effectively brining changes in the supply as well as deliver
of the product ensuring development in the number of production or sales. Compared to other
brands Uniqlo has been ensuring to provide the customers with the best service possible. It
has developed it sales with door-to-door delivery of the products and improving its customer
service over phone or through mails. It has ensured that in case of any issues that are being
faced by the customer regarding quality, delivery or billing issues, solution is being provided
with a particular business days. Compared to other countries, Singapore is mostly visited
country around the world. Hence, it becomes easier for the organisation to understand the
upcoming trends and taste of the customers. The organisation has also ensured that the
products are being easily available to the manufacturing departments building relationship
and increasing communication with the suppliers. Hence, to conclude the organisation has

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been effectively meeting the needs of the customers with strategizing goals of transportation
and keeping a check on the working process of the transportation organisation in delivering
their products.

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