Snabbast vinner? : en studie om hur e-handelsföretag inom modebranschen arbetar med korta ledtider

Sammanfattning: Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of how e-commerce companies within the fashion industry are working with lead times and illustrate and analyse differences and similarities between companies. Research question - In which ways are e-commerce companies within the fashion industry working with short lead times? Methodology This thesis is based on a qualitative research method in order to achieve a greater understanding of the chosen topic, of how the chosen companies are operating and to provide room to our own interpretations and reflections. Interviews through telephone were used to gather the empirical data from six different e-commerce companies within the fashion industry. Conclusions After completing the theoretical and empirical analysis it can be concluded that lead times are considered essential for all of the participating companies but there is a difference in which way they look at, and how they work with lead times. Some companies stressed that short lead times are an important aspect of competition and claimed that this is something they are constantly working with. For others the balance and matching of supply and demand was the most important factor rather than to achieve short lead times. These differences can be due to different groups of customers with different sensitivity to trends, whether e-commerce is a primary or secondary sales channel as well as the companies ability and willingness to influence their lead times. The key elements in working with lead times is making preparations for activities, to have a good relationship with the suppliers, to conduct analysis of the supply chain processes and to keep a certain stock level in the distribution.