1. What are Croc's core competencies?

a) Highly flexible supply chain

 A vertically integrated, highly flexible and responsive supply chain which permits Crocs to be more
responsive to fluctuations in demand. They used a push-and-pull system that allows retailers to pre book
smaller orders in-season.
 The footwear was produced in-house which makes the product relatively economical.
 Low turnaround time to push product to market faster.
b) Relationship with suppliers and retailers
 Representatives were sent to specialty stores (boating, sporting goods) and trade shows to demonstrate the
use of the product and answer questions.
c) International reach
 Can divert production to a location such as Mexico to reduce lead times, tariffs associated with shipping
products from countries like China, or transportation costs
 Molds were moved to plants that needed them; easy to transport. Hence, they were able to capture
demand and keep costs low by making products that were closer to the market
d) Innovation and Intellectual property
 Crocs catered to a new market and created a competitive edge with owned Crostlite material which was
light-weight, odor-resistant, moldable, comfortable, and easy to clean.
e) Marketing
 Participation in public events like concerts, tradeshows, sports events etc where they could get face to face
time with consumer.
 Demonstration of use of product by in-house representatives to retailers as well as consumers at stores and
public events.
 Established base with small retailers first and marketed to big retailers by word of mouth.
2. How can Croc's exploit these core competencies in the future to continue their growth?

a) Vertical Integration
 Vertical integration can help crocs to have strong hold over supply chain ensuring better flow and control of
information across the chain.
 It will also ensure cost reduction through various parts of supply chain and tight control over quality of
products.
b) Mergers and Acquisition
 This can help crocs to increase the performance and decrease cost due to business synergies.
 It can also help crocs through diversification or sharpening their business focus, eliminate competition and
growth in market share leading to high capacity and high responsiveness

3. How should Crocs plan its production and inventory? How do the company's gross margins affect this
decision?

a) Production Strategy
 Dyeing of product on receiving the order
 Forecasting demands and pre-booking small orders
 Compounding in-house to have better control over production
 Excess Manufacturing capacity
b) Inventory Strategy
 Changing the home-grown database system to a more suitable ERP system
 Low cost in-bound transportation at local level

All this can lead to increase the profit margin of crocs by boosting sales worldwide while minimizing costs.