The influence of the interactions between Craft and their merchandise offices on the sampling process – A Case study of Craft

Abstract: : Craft, a Swedish sport textile company, uses synergies of its parent company New Wave Group through common merchandise offices in Vietnam and China. As the relationship to the merchandise office creates a complex situation, the two research questions were elaborated of how the interactions in terms of information flow and collaboration influence the flow of the sampling process and how the situation could be improved. A qualitative case study design gives a deep insight in the specific situation of Craft. Information is gathered through company visits, a survey, internal documents and open interviews. The information flow influences the sampling process, in terms of late information, word-by-word translations and mismatches in terms of educations. This causes not-proper decision-making. The collaboration is mainly evaluated as satisfying. Adapting Christopher’s (2000) agility concept to Craft’s situation, issues as supplier relations, information sharing and the de-coupling point can be addressed. Practically joint product development, free information flow is important. Further collaboration within the supplier choice, more frequent and longer visits from both sides could improve the situation, as well as long-term-employments.