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Zara: Simplicity and FrequencyZara is the largest and profitable fashion brand of Inditex, a multi-national clothing retailer and manufacturer. Zara opened its first store in La Coruna in 1975. The company revolutionized the world of fashion by bringing many collections out each season. They accomplished this by connecting customer demand to manufacturing and linking manufacturing to distribution. Zara set the standard for the fashion industry with its ability to design, produce, distribute and sell its collections within four weeks while competitors took several months.Their business model follows two fundamental strategies: stocking less merchandise and updating its collections frequently. This philosophy provided them with …show more content…
By building an in-store network some redundancies and inefficiencies in their daily operations can be eliminated, such as having employees physically collect data from each POS terminal to obtain daily sales totals. A new system would give employees the ability to look up inventory balances for items in their own store, as well as other stores, which would enable an efficient inventory and ordering process. Additionally, an upgraded IT system would eliminate personal digital assistants (PDA), lower operational costs and increase productivity.BUSINESS OPERATIONCURRENT STATEFUTURE STATEORDERINGManual process to check inventory for ordering using handheld devices.Automatic process that sends order based on current inventory. Ability to forecast future demand and trends. Leverage inventory optimization models.FULFILMENTManual process conducted by commercials to match supply and demand. Lacked ability to access store needs.Automatic process that leverage optimized supply-demand algorithm.DESIGNHigh level of autonomy by commercials to decide on design.Ability to use sales data to support design decision.MANUFACTURINGFlexible and highly vertically integrated manufacturing process. Computerized process-controlled equipment that cut clothing pattern. Internally developed application.Ability to share optimal plans and schedules. Leverage of optimized commercial off-the-shelf software.DISTRIBUTION CENTERSRelies on automation and computerization. SKUs tracked by information system. Distribution automation supported by a network of conveyor equipment controlled by internally developed applications.Leverage of optimized commercial off-the-shelf software.STORESOutdated DOS-based POS and PDAs with small screen. Manual process to Leverage networking for information
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Zara: Simplicity and FrequencyZara is the largest and profitable fashion brand of Inditex, a multi-national clothing retailer and manufacturer. Zara opened its first store in La Coruna in 1975. The company revolutionized the world of fashion by bringing many collections out each season. They accomplished this by connecting customer demand to manufacturing and linking manufacturing to distribution. Zara set the standard for the fashion industry with its ability to design, produce, distribute and sell its collections within four weeks while competitors took several months.Their business model follows two fundamental strategies: stocking less merchandise and updating its collections frequently. This philosophy provided them with …show more content…
By building an in-store network some redundancies and inefficiencies in their daily operations can be eliminated, such as having employees physically collect data from each POS terminal to obtain daily sales totals. A new system would give employees the ability to look up inventory balances for items in their own store, as well as other stores, which would enable an efficient inventory and ordering process. Additionally, an upgraded IT system would eliminate personal digital assistants (PDA), lower operational costs and increase productivity.BUSINESS OPERATIONCURRENT STATEFUTURE STATEORDERINGManual process to check inventory for ordering using handheld devices.Automatic process that sends order based on current inventory. Ability to forecast future demand and trends. Leverage inventory optimization models.FULFILMENTManual process conducted by commercials to match supply and demand. Lacked ability to access store needs.Automatic process that leverage optimized supply-demand algorithm.DESIGNHigh level of autonomy by commercials to decide on design.Ability to use sales data to support design decision.MANUFACTURINGFlexible and highly vertically integrated manufacturing process. Computerized process-controlled equipment that cut clothing pattern. Internally developed application.Ability to share optimal plans and schedules. Leverage of optimized commercial off-the-shelf software.DISTRIBUTION CENTERSRelies on automation and computerization. SKUs tracked by information system. Distribution automation supported by a network of conveyor equipment controlled by internally developed applications.Leverage of optimized commercial off-the-shelf software.STORESOutdated DOS-based POS and PDAs with small screen. Manual process to Leverage networking for information