Abstract

ASOS, a British online retailer launched in 2000, sold clothes and other fashion accessories. Its clientele were primarily in the age group of 20 – 30. In July 2019, ASOS issued a profit warning, stating that the profits would be a third lower than what was expected in the year. This was the third profit warning in seven months, the first coming right before Christmas in 2018, after which the company lost 60% of its value. These profit warnings were issued after problems erupted during ASOS’s migration to an automated warehouse system in its Berlin warehouse. The other issue ASOS faced at the same time was at its Atlanta warehouse where the company said it had failed to effectively plan the expansion of its global presence.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the challenges of warehouse automation.
• Understand the risks in global supply chains.

Keywords

Warehouse Automation; Global Supply Chain; Supply Chain Risks