Refer to the Blue Nile and Diamond Retailing case beginning on page 103 and answer the following questions:
Refer to the chapter on strategic fit, and describe Blue Nile’s approach to supply chain management. Is their supply chain more efficient or responsive? How do you know?
Refer to the framework for supply chain decisions (p 46), and describe how Blue Nile deployed each logistical driver. Use the same terminology as Chopra presents, i.e. role, location, capacity, metrics.
Conduct a financial analysis of the three companies (Blue Nile, Zales, and Tiffany) using the financial ratios you learned in chapter 3. Relate the differences in the ratios to the key concepts relating to distribution network design from the chapter 4 reading.