Analysis

Website: http://vantageapparel.com/Default.aspx 

Vantage Apparel Business Strategy

In this section our group will be discussing Vantage Apparels Business Strategy.  As a group, we want to focus on what type of information systems the company uses in order to fulfill orders between all departments.  Also, we want to give more attention to assessing how the factory uses information systems to maintain and process orders. 

In order to evaluate Vantage Apparels Business Strategy we will be using Porter’s Five Forces Model.  Porter’s Five Forces Model addresses a company’s industry structure, competitive advantage, value chains used, business processes, and information systems.  From this model, we will be able to provide the company’s industry structure analysis, business process analysis, and the information systems needed to establish maximum profitability. 

Industry Structure Analysis

Vantage Apparel’s mission is to deliver a comprehensive apparel solution to their customers by providing the Complete Source for their apparel needs.  Vantage Apparel provides full decoration options such as screen and digital printing and embroidery services to an expansive range of clients and markets. 

The bargaining power of Vantage Apparel’s customers is low.  With a vast amount of options, Vantage provides low prices while maintaining and improving on high quality products. Since Vantage is a one-stop-shop for decorated embroidery, the bargaining power of their customers is low because more services are provided.

The threat of substitutions is medium.  Since Vantage belongs to a specialized industry, sales representatives emphasize on the one-stop-shop for purchasing and decorating apparel.  Many competitors only provide services of purchasing blank apparel; then customers must find a third party to do decorating functions.  Vantage Apparel eliminates that hassle by providing all of those services in house for a reasonable cost.

The bargaining power of suppliers is high.  In order to provide the best quality products at low prices, the search for the best prices is a priority.  Once that search is underway the ability to build and maintain relationships with their suppliers is vital.  Vantage Apparel has established an ample relationship with some of the nations top apparel suppliers such as Boundless Networks, Zorch, and Proforma.

The threat of new entrants is low due to Vantage’s superior products and services.  Although there are hundreds of printing shops around the area, Vantage’s one-stop-shop services provide customers with more options than their competitors. 

The threat of rivalry is medium because of all of the surrounding small screen and digital printing shops.  Although Vantage Apparel has been recognized as the nations top-ranked brand identity provider in apparel in the country, there is still room for rivalry.  Customers may hire two entities supplier and decorator, for smaller jobs.  Vantage Apparel expresses high quality products in a one-stop-shop to their customers.

*  Table references Porter’s Five Forces

In 1997, current president Ira Neaman started his business out of his New York City apartment.  From his small decorating apparel business to what is now the top-ranked decorative apparel company in the nation, Vantage Apparel has been successfully in business for over 35 years.  This is all due to the competitive strategy approach taken. 

The competitive strategy that Vantage Apparel is associated with is focus with differentiation.  Vantage Apparel belongs to the apparel industry but only focus in certain styles.  The only products sold are upper body materials such as t-shirts, jackets, sweaters, polo’s, and hoodies.  Since only upper body products are dealt with, Vantage can focus solely on producing a higher quality product.

Vantage Apparel is a one-stop-shop factory.  With two satellite embroidery factory and main head quarters having the ability to produce everything, Vantage can fulfill their order in a faster and more reliable manner.  This creates a competitive advantage for Vantage over their competitors because this process eliminates third part entities.  Customers can process an order and have it decorated all in one location making it cheaper and faster.  This process generates more revenue for Vantage because their customers experience a simpler process with higher quality products. 

*  Porter’s Competitive Strategy Model

Business Process

The term business process simply means a network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs into outputs.  Vantage Apparel became one of the nations top-ranked brand of identity apparel decorators because of how efficient their business process is. The simplest example is how a customer orders apparel.  The end user contacts a distributor and then the distributor contacts a sales representative to fulfill that order. 

Vantage Apparel has entire business process eternally within its company.  A sales representative will take the order and process it.  Once both parties have decided on the order, all of the data is stored into management information systems.  The manager of the factory uses the database to fulfilling the order and decorating the apparel.  Once the order is completed the apparel is shipped and the accounting department is notified.  The accounting department uses the same database to bill the customer accordingly.  This is a typical business process at Vantage Apparel. 

This business process has become highly efficient due to how each step slows directly to the next.  Each department has a specific activity to take the inputs and transform them to outputs.  The database that Vantage uses allows each department to view the order when needed to process and fulfill it accordingly. 

Information Systems 

Vantage Apparel uses several different information systems to fulfill daily functions.  There is one information system that is heavily depended on and that is the A.C.T database.  This database allows all departments to view job and purchasing order numbers, customer information, credits, and inventory.  Vantage also uses company

e-mails so that employees can communicate with each other.

 Vantage also participates in collaborative information systems to utilize virtual meetings with customers around the world.  In order to maintain organization, Vantage uses an information system called Intradoc.  This is where completed orders are scanned and validated into a database so that any department can reference the order if errors occur.