uick Response Logistics is one of the most debated topics in logistics

studies over the years because of its increasing role in reducing

operational expenses. It is a supply chain management strategy that has
been used by manufacturers, soft lines retailers, and general merchandise
to minimize operating expenses, forced markdowns, and retail out-of-
stocks all achieved by reduced response time (Felipe, 2007). Most of the
retailers and suppliers work together to respond quickly to the consumers
needs as they are able to share point-of-scale scan data thus in a potential
point to forecast the needs of their consumers now and in the future and
more rapidly. Quick Response Logistics has proven advantageous in most
of the industries across the globe for instance, in the apparel industries
because they are able to achieve efficient consumer response. The
concept of quick response logistics integrates inventory deployment,
production scheduling, and demand management thus helping firms to
make better use of the available information, inventory, and production
resources for competitive advantage (Cachon, 2010).

Quick Response Logistics is, therefore, a management concept that has

been used by several firms including the fast food companies so as to
enhance customer satisfaction while at the same time remain competitive
in the market. The main argument of quick response logistics is that it
shortens the lead time (from the time an order has been received to the
time when the product is delivered to the consumer) thus increasing the
cash flow. The concept of quick response logistics is similar to the concept
of Efficient Customer Response System (ECR) as they work to respond
more rapidly to consumer demands for competitive advantage (McKinnon,
2011).

The changes in technology and the globalization process have altered

consumer’s needs and beliefs thus transforming the whole logistic system.
Consumers across the globe expect instant product availability in the
market with much of the supply or logistics system changing from physical
distribution to logistics management. The logistics transformation has
been linked with retail and consumer changes, service requirements, and
cost of the service in the market. Quick response on products is, therefore,
highly appreciated because holding stock or inventory at one time is one
of the costly activities in a firm and it can result into a competitive
disadvantage for the firm. Holding stock is expensive and in many cases it
becomes obsolete (Cachon, 2010).

Quick Response Logistics and Demand

Quick Response Logistics requires high levels of demand information and

transparency in the market. For instance, when goods are sold in the
market, information concerning the sale of that product is easily
communicated to both suppliers and retailers so that they can plan for
more production in the market. However, one of the main challenges with
quick response logistics is that in many times, once demand is known, it
becomes static. The demand of that particular product in the market is in
itself dynamic information with the location and volume of demand
changing between the time of delivery and the point of estimate (Cachon,
2010).

The fashion industry is one of the firms that have taken advantage of the
quick response logistics so as to enhance customer satisfaction and
competition in the market. The fashion industry has volatile demand as
the fashion chain comes with new seasons. Most of these firms deal with
short-season items and they rely on other partners thus the need for the
quick response logistics so as to match the volatile demands in the market
(Felipe, 2007). That said, most of the retailers and suppliers have
implemented the quick response logistics in different segments. For
instance, the retailers and vendors use the quick response whereby the
retailers use electronic data interchange to transmit their purchase thus
enhancing customer satisfaction (Cachon, 2010). The frozen food market
is another supply chain that has used quick response logistics because of
the limited cold storage capacity and also to cut inventory levels
(McKinnon, 2011).

However, as suppliers strive to enhance customer satisfaction in the

market, they make common mistakes in achieving quick response in
logistics, and this acts as a weakness in quick response logistics. One of
these weaknesses is order processing as suppliers want to do everything
quickly to meet the demand of the consumer. Most of the suppliers focus
on improved order processing believing that all customer orders must be
processed quickly. Unfortunately, the process will have minimum benefit
because advance notice of what the customer is about to order is needed
(Felipe, 2007). A quicker response or transfer of the order to the customer
still leaves operations with the need to fill the order a flexible
manufacturing operation. In such a situation, inventory is built on
anticipation of future orders and in many cases, the accuracy on these
forecasts fails and the quick response is not achieved. Therefore, until the
manufacturing operations are flexible to meet the changes in customer
demand, quick response cannot be achieved in the market. The other
weakness of quick response logistics is forecasting. It is argued that most
of the sales forecast approaches do not support quick response. Most of
the suppliers use aggregate forecast but in many cases, customers
purchase what they want and not necessary what has been aggregately
forecasted by the supplier (Cachon, 2010).

Quick response logistics has some advantages and disadvantages which

cannot be overlooked in this report. The implementation of the quick
response logistics has economic benefits both to the retailers and
suppliers. Regarding suppliers, they get economic benefits by reducing
buying mistakes, reducing stock holding, getting higher stock returns,
quick tracking of merchandise, enhancing cash flow, enhanced
competitive advantage, higher profits than competitors, and improved
customer service (Cachon, 2010). Regarding retailers, some of their
economic benefits include enhanced communication systems, ease in
tracking of products, enhanced planning systems, security of getting more
orders, quick access to sales information, higher levels of sales returns,
reduced stock holding, higher profit margins, enhanced customer loyalty
and satisfaction, quarantined competitive advantage, and production
volume is increased. Alongside these benefits, there are some
disadvantages attributed with the implementation of the quick response
logistics such as enhanced retailer demands which in many cases erodes
the margin and increased operational costs as installing the IT systems
comes with additional costs in the whole supply chain system (Felipe,
2007).

Despite these disadvantages, the quick response logistics has become a

culture and strategy for most of the operations. The suppliers have been
able to build their strong brands in the market while retailers are able to
reduce their inventory through collaborations, replenishment, forecasting,
and planning. That said, quick response logistics has played a key role in
value chain management because it has helped in linking both the
demand and supply side effectively. In any distribution and purchasing
system, the buyer-seller relationship is very crucial, and this is when the
quick response logistics comes in as it provides quality in inventory
management, proper distribution, efficient packaging, and higher
production (Felipe, 2007).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the concept of quick response logistics was invented

following the advancement in technology and increase in competition in
logistics to help firms achieve a competitive advantage by responding
quickly to the customer demands across the globe. The quick response
logistics culture reflects an enterprise with high networks for strong
relationships with consumers, retailers, and suppliers thus making the
enterprise remarkably flexible to meet the changing demands of
customers as quickly as possible. The firms are focused on making
networks and partnerships in line with consumer demands. The main
argument with quick response logistics is that it focuses on the beneficial
effect of reducing both external and internal lead times. Short lead times
in any supply chain are advantageous because it reduces non-value-added
waste, cost, and improves quality in the firm while increasing the
competitiveness of the firm in the global market. Most of the firms
especially the fashion industries have implemented the quick response
logistics so as to cut inventory and also increase the stock-turn rate.
These firms deal with volatile demands thus the need to ensure that their
orders are delivered to their customers as quickly as possible thus
reducing the average of stockholding of these products. The frozen food
market is another supply chain that has used quick response logistics
because of the limited cold storage capacity and also to cut inventory
levels. That said, quick response logistics has been used by many firms so
as to reduce their operational costs while at the same time enhance their
competitiveness in the market.