West Marine Essay

West Marine was the largest boating supply retailer in the United States in 2003 and was planning on acquiring its biggest competitor, Boat U.S. However, West Marine had gone through a similar acquisition a few years earlier that was a struggle for the company to manage. West Marine acquired E&B Marine, a company similar in size. During the acquisition, West Marine immediately almost doubled its number of stores. Its systems, processes and management team struggled to keep up with the sudden growth. The most dramatic hit was upon West Marine’s supply chain. Together, there were 135 stores between West Marine and E&B Marine. It was an extreme challenge to keep the stores stocked during the peak season. Acquiring a company that almost doubles the supply chain revealed problems with the current systems in …show more content…
The area that needed the most attention was the supply chain. Focus was placed around fixing the supply chain to help combat low inventory in stores, stop incomplete or late shipments from West Marine’s suppliers, resolve issues in the distribution centers and overall lowering costs of the supply chain. In order to see these initiatives through, West Marine implemented a collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment program, CPFR. West Marine’s goal with this program was to change the supply chain from being a liability to a competitive advantage.
CPFR achieved impressive success. 90% of West Marine’s spend from suppliers came from 150 of its largest vendors and had more than 350 EDI partners. Levels of in stock goods were 96% in every store and forecast accuracy was almost 85%. The distribution centers were in the top 10% for efficiency and effectiveness. As West Marine continued to improve and grow to prepare for another acquisition, worries surfaced regarding the stability of the newly implemented programs and