Handling product returns has become a critical activity for organizations as the volume of gods flowing back through the supply chain rapidly increases. Few research studies have published specific empirical data concerning the reverse logistics practices of companies. Information technology and information support has long been recognized as a competitive weapon – capable of enhancing company performance and achieving efficient reverse logistics. Reverse logistics is very unlike the forward, as it is more reactive and also has less visibility. Unlike forward logistics, incoming products from reverse logistics are not tracked broadly because of the lack of information systems resources necessary.The investigated apparel company in this study is operating on the global market and expands their sales twenty per cent each year, resulting in increased pressure in the return flow. To meet this future demands, the return process has to be more efficient and not so time consuming. This study emerged from a case study made at the return department of this apparel company based on a research question. An improvement area was discovered through interviews, internal documents and observations. This area was investigated in existing theories through books and scientific research papers. From the theories and the case study, a hypothesis was created in order to be tested. To strengthen the hypothesis, an experiment was developed and performed at selected retailers and at the apparel company.Research Question Where in the product return process can improvements be made in order to make the information flow more efficient between retailers and an apparel company?HypothesisBy creating a web-based return form, the information flow between retailers and an apparel company will be more efficient, resulting in a more effective and structured product return process.Through the experiment, various factors that strengthen the hypothesis were discovered. For instance, the information flow becomes more effective when retailers have clear guidelines how to send back products and when inserting the information into the computer system before returning. As the apparel company knows what is coming back, the disposition of returned products can be predetermined which will speed up the return process. Shared and available information across various parties facilitate the daily work with better communication. Furthermore, activities that are existing today within the return process can be eliminated which result in more effective product return process. Refund for retailers can be made quicker which result in more satisfied retailers and creates stronger relationships. / Program: Master programme in Applied Textile Management

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo central apresentar e analisar diferentes aspectos da busca por melhores condições de vida por parte dos imigrantes bolivianos que se dedicam à costura na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. Desse modo, o cerne da discussão desenvolvida ao longo dos três capítulos que compõe esta dissertação foi que, após migrarem para o Brasil, o trabalho em confecção precário e mal remunerado tem se mostrado incapaz de, isoladamente, proporcionar uma situação de vida satisfatória a grande parte desses imigrantes e, como resposta, recentemente, imigrantes bolivianos tem assumindo uma postura mais atuante e se organizaram em cooperativas e associações, firmaram parcerias e conseguiram apoio de ONGs, sindicatos e outras entidades para reivindicar direitos e garantias. Nesse sentido, nossa hipótese é que as manifestações promovidas pelos imigrantes que tomaram as ruas de São Paulo simbolizam avanço da participação social da comunidade boliviana na cidade. Essas questões foram trabalhadas a partir de uma divisão heurística tripartite formada pela imigração, o trabalho e as reivindicações em prol de direitos, garantias e melhorias nos âmbitos social, político, legal e simbólico que corresponderia à base da busca por melhores condições de vida no interior desse grupo. / This research has as main objective present and analyze the pursuit for better conditions of life by the Bolivian immigrants who work at apparel industries in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. Thus, the central point of the discussion developed over the three chapters that compose this dissertation was that after migrating to Brazil, the work in apparel workshop precarious and poorly paid has been alone unable to provide a satisfactory life situation for the great majority of these immigrants. Recently, in response Bolivian immigrants have taken a more active stance and organized themselves into cooperatives, associations, partnerships have been signed, and support achieved from several NGOs, trade unions and others to claim rights and guarantees. In this sense, our hypothesis is that the protests promoted by immigrants that took place into São Paulos streets symbolize an advancement of social participation of the Bolivian community in the city. We addressed these questions from a heuristic tripartite division formed by immigration, work and claims in favor of rights, safeguards and improvements in, political, legal, social and symbolic spheres that correspond to the base of the pursuit for better conditions of life within that group.

<p>The study aims to through a qualitative case study describe how six Swedish high-end apparel companies attributed as part of “the Swedish fashion wonder” with online distribution have been affected by six chosen factors. The six factors presented are extracted from previous studies and consist of customer relationships, intermediary relationships, pricing, costs and revenue, competitors and impact on the brand. The results show that customer relationships is an important factor that most companies value and was also the factor they presented as determining when they made the decision to go online. Costs and revenue have an effect on the companies and was something the companies had to consider after going online. Intermediary relationships are important to some extent and demand continual communications, but nothing that worried the companies. Competitors and pricing were not regarded as important, where price setting was primarily seen as a valuable tool to control and maintain intermediary relationships. Impact on the brand was regarded as an important factor when engaging online, and the positive aspects of increased brand knowledge and brand awareness were appreciated.</p>

The study aims to through a qualitative case study describe how six Swedish high-end apparel companies attributed as part of “the Swedish fashion wonder” with online distribution have been affected by six chosen factors. The six factors presented are extracted from previous studies and consist of customer relationships, intermediary relationships, pricing, costs and revenue, competitors and impact on the brand. The results show that customer relationships is an important factor that most companies value and was also the factor they presented as determining when they made the decision to go online. Costs and revenue have an effect on the companies and was something the companies had to consider after going online. Intermediary relationships are important to some extent and demand continual communications, but nothing that worried the companies. Competitors and pricing were not regarded as important, where price setting was primarily seen as a valuable tool to control and maintain intermediary relationships. Impact on the brand was regarded as an important factor when engaging online, and the positive aspects of increased brand knowledge and brand awareness were appreciated.

Key words:         Customer value, value-adding factors, e-commerce, apparel industry, Vietnamese market, customers’ perception.  Background:      Along with the development of many applications from Internet, Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) has changed the business scene in the global economy by emerging as a new, efficient channel of doing business. The apparel industry has also been approaching this way of doing business as an attempt to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations at various extents. In the Vietnamese market, Ninomaxx being well-known as leading fashion brand for young and proactive people is in the process of launching its very first online shop. However, the lack of information and the vagueness in regard to customers preference and shopping habit in the context of e-commerce leads to many difficulties for fashion companies like Ninomaxx. These lacking can all be traced back to one universal cause that is the insufficiency in understanding customers’ perceived value. Accordingly, it raises the authors’ interests to conduct a research of customers’ perception concerning customer value in Vietnamese apparel industry within the e-commerce context. Purpose:             The purpose of this thesis is to identify elements of e-commerce that customers perceive as value-adding factors in the context of Vietnamese apparel industry. Accordingly, thesis will examine how value can be created and enhanced for customers in the case of Ninomaxx and Vietnamese apparel firms in general. Method:              In this thesis, authors chose to collect and analyze data mainly through a quantitative approach. Prospective customers of Ninomaxx, whose ages were from 17 to 30, were the surveyed group. A questionnaire was employed to collect response from the group and was distributed in two ways: an online link and offline papers. Various nonparametric statistical techniques and one extensive model were used to analyze results of the survey. Conclusion:    From the perception of Vietnamese customers from 17 to 30 years old, there are 5 elements of e-commerce that are identified as very strong value-adding factors, namely, availability of information on the website, accuracy of demonstrating products’ color on website, seller’s ensuring products’ quality, seller’s trustworthiness and safety of using products. There are additionally 11 strong value-adding factors from perception of apparel customers in Vietnam. However, there is evidence of differences in customers’ response regarding their demographic characteristics and Internet usage. Apparel companies should consider accordingly in order to form the optimal strategy for e-commerce retail channel in Vietnam.

China, as a leading apparel manufacturer and exporter in the world possesses significant market potential for growth because of its growing demand power. Given that low labor costs are increasingly no longer one of the competitive advantages held by Chinese apparel manufacturers, developing powerful and profitable globally recognized apparel brands may be the way to obtain sustainable success for firms in the Chinese apparel industry. Accordingly, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) will be applied as a theoretical framework to discuss the competitiveness of a nation’s apparel industry. Brand management, satisfying exacting domestic demands, and stimulating marketing competition will be integrated. Using Porter’s theoretical foundation for demand conditions, a proposed model of fashion sophistication is introduced and a measurement survey utilizing Gen-Y Chinese fashion consumers is assessed. Furthermore, the research on Gen-Y consumers’ fashion sophistication discovered their specialized characteristics which represent exacting domestic demand for apparel products.

How companies in the apparel industry produce their products is receiving increasingly more attention, both in the society and marketplace, as well as by consumers. Despite the increasing amount of corporate scandals and corporate irresponsibility within the apparel industry, the previous research conducted within this field has mainly focused on how positive CSR affects consumers. This thesis aims to investigate how Swedish consumers’ attitude and behaviour are affected by negative CSR in the apparel industry. In order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis, a mix of quantitative and qualitative research was used to conduct an abductive study. The data was gathered through a survey posted on social media and by performing semi-structured interviews with participants consisting of Swedish consumers. The authors of this thesis have identified that Swedish consumer’s attitude is affected by negative CSR performed by apparel companies. However, the change in consumer attitude did not necessarily transfer into a change in behaviour, which generates an attitude-behaviour gap. The key barriers identified contributing to this gap are Swedish consumers’ lack of knowledge, and that they generally value personal needs and wants such as price, quality, and style greater than social responsibility.

Background – Previous research has evaluated different distribution systems and chan-nels that companies operate through. However, research primarily has focused on the richness of online channels rather than the value of physical stores. The following report will examine the reasons and implications underlying the choice of channel strategy. Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to examine the reason why companies within the fashion and apparel industry, operating in Sweden, choose to operate through a certain market channel strategy. The thesis aims to evaluate four types of market channel strat-egies with the help of case companies. Method – A qualitative approach to the research has been chosen which consists of a case study including four companies representing different channel strategies. Data col-lection for the analysis where conducted through interviews with persons having vital positions within one of the four companies. Results and Discussion – The case companies ASOS, Bubbleroom, Cubus and Dressmann each represent one of the chosen market channels. The interviews presented in the results section implied that the companies chosen channel was more appropriate for the market they operated in as well as the target group they were aiming to reach. Conclusion – Even though research states that today’s society is moving away from the physical store market channel, this study proved that one single strategy is not appropri-ate for all businesses. A company will have to research their target market before ap-propriately selecting a channel strategy.

China, as a leading apparel manufacturer and exporter in the world possesses significant market potential for growth because of its growing demand power. Given that low labor costs are increasingly no longer one of the competitive advantages held by Chinese apparel manufacturers, developing powerful and profitable globally recognized apparel brands may be the way to obtain sustainable success for firms in the Chinese apparel industry. Accordingly, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) will be applied as a theoretical framework to discuss the competitiveness of a nation’s apparel industry. Brand management, satisfying exacting domestic demands, and stimulating marketing competition will be integrated. Using Porter’s theoretical foundation for demand conditions, a proposed model of fashion sophistication is introduced and a measurement survey utilizing Gen-Y Chinese fashion consumers is assessed. Furthermore, the research on Gen-Y consumers’ fashion sophistication discovered their specialized characteristics which represent exacting domestic demand for apparel products.

With the rapid development of the global economy, the Chinese market is the largest consumption market in the world. Chinese domestic enterprises as well as global apparel enterprises target at the Chinese market. Enterprises informatization becomes a competition weapon to earn Chinese market shares. Supply chain management (SCM) could play an important role in the supply chain competition at the apparel industry. IT is like a nerve system for supply chain management (SCM). SCM clearly depends upon integrated information systems (IS) for sharing data on the various activities along the supply chain. This thesis focuses on analyzing the application of information technology in the supply chain management in the apparel industry. In total, four cases are studied with an emphasis on their application of IT in SCM. The Gunasekaran model is used to evaluate each case regarding application of IT in SCM. Through the analysis of information technology in supply chain management, we illustrate the development of informatization in the apparel industry, and derive recommendations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Chinese market regarding appropriation of IT in SCM. / <p>excellent presentation and informative thesis</p>