Operations

Gap Inc.’s Rotational Management Program (RMP) is the premier destination for top entry-level talent seeking to jumpstart their business careers. The inter-disciplinary leadership training program provides future employees the opportunity to learn the retail business, hone your analytical skills, and be exposed to the inner workings of a global company. RMP has been grooming future leaders at Gap Inc. for over two decades, and many of our graduates are now serving as senior executives.

The supply chain at Gap Inc. starts at the design and merchandising phase where designers and merchants develop product assortments and patternmakers create samples. The next phase is of planning and sourcing where specialists determine quantities to order, and factories are selected to manufacture garments. The 3rd stage in the cycle is of production and marketing where factories produce samples and the company approves the fit after which production begins. The marketing teams review samples to develop marketing strategies. Thereafter, distribution takes place where the merchandise is sent to Gap Inc.’s distribution centers where audits are performed, the products are inventories and designated for particular stores, then shipped to the stores. The final stage in the cycle is of sales and analysis where the visual merchandising team determines the floor set-up for the products.

Company planners and distribution analysts review stores’ sales data for replenishment and assessment purposes. The whole cycle lasts about a year at Gap Inc. however, after seeing sales decline for a while in recent years, Gap realized that it had to do something to minimize it in order to remain competitive. Each link on the supply chain is manned with effective leaders and managers so as to maintain smooth flows within the system and report if there are any problems that require addressing by the top leadership. The solutions can range from capital expenditures to divestitures, depending on the nature of solutions required. With this report, we have tried to longitudinally and lattitudinally dissects the supply chain of Gap Inc. and tried to conclude the different turns it took at each point where its corporate strategy took a new turn. This helped us appreciate the importance of sound supply chain management that can determine the soundness with which corporate and business level strategies can be set and further shapes.

https://corporate.gapinc.com/en-us/articles/2017/09/gap-inc-outlines-strategy-for-long-term,-balanced