Logistics Management in the Footwear Industry: The Case of Bata

This thesis analyses logistics management in the footwear industry with a specific focus on the case study of Bata. After introducing the fundamental principles of logistics and supply chain management and the peculiarities of footwear supply chains such as seasonality, SKU complexity and pair-based inventory, the work examines strategies and operations including outsourcing, transportation network design, warehouse management and reverse logistics. Building on this framework, an exploratory case study was conducted during an internship in Bata’s logistics department, aimed at developing a decision-support dataset that integrates quantitative and qualitative evidence on footwear flows: warehouse to store, store to warehouse and store to store. The results highlight the strong interconnection of these flows, the relevance of store-level constraints and the direct impact of product characteristics on costs and service levels. Beyond contributing to managerial practice, the research also fills a gap in academic literature, providing granular empirical insights into retail footwear logistics and offering a structured dataset to support both operational decisions and future scenario analyses.