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ZARA:ITFORFASTFASHIONTeam 2 |UWT1.Although the current POS system is working smoothly for Zara, upgrading will help to safeguard the system from vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. Also, most of the IT experts who used older versions of the Operating System (OS) have retired and Microsoft has officially discontinued supporting it. There are many other possible ramifications continuing with the older version of the OS such as operation failure caused by unreliable hardware, limited processing power, obsolete device drivers, and inadequate feature sets in the system which impede system efficiency. For recording transactions, Zara uses outdated technology where employees copy …show more content…
Instead, the store manager can do this job by looking at the inventory balances of the other stores which improves the overall inventory transfer efficiency.2.Zara’s business model focuses on manufacturing clothes that have fairly short spans instead of “classics” as its target customers are young fashion-conscious city dwellers who frequently upgrade their wardrobe. Zara is different from large retailers as it is able to product 11,000 new items in a year in contrast their competitors average of 2,000-4000 new items a year. Another difference is that Zara chooses not to sell on internet as there are complications handling merchandise bought online, with return rates as high as 50 – 60 %. Also, Zara’s distribution centers are not configured for picking small orders and shipping them to customers. Employees at Zara stores exercise autonomy to make important decisions instead of simply accepting the decisions made by the headquarters. Instead of Zara’s designs being conceptualized and designed by a small, elite team, it is designed by teams called “commercials” which are each dedicated to a section of store (Men, Women and Children) and within that, to a specific collection (Basic or sport – both within Women’s’ section). Unlike its competitors, Zara does little to no advertising. The company places ads only to promote its twice-yearly sales and to announce the opening …show more content…
Zara’s clothes were not designed nor manufactured to be highly durable, but to be worn 10 times. One of the potential weakness of the company is its ability to support the growth of the company with its current infrastructure. To support the growth within its current market (i.e. Italy) and expansion to western Europe may not be sustainable given its track record of tripling earnings between 1996-2000.3. Zara needs to be responsive to the demands of their target customers, who are young, and fashion-conscious whose tastes in clothing fluctuate so intensely, that it is next to impossible for Zara to influence their choice beforehand. In turn, Zara needs to have have data that provides insight on understanding their customer’s preferences i.e. what residents are wearing, what has been selling, understanding garment availability and have data predicting what will sell in each location. Critical to the process of collecting customer preference data are store product managers traveling to different Zara stores around the world who collect the necessary data to keep up with the fast-changing trends to operate its business model. 4. The most important aspect of Zara’s approach to information technology is decentralized decision making to manage the speed required to respond to the demands of
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ZARA:ITFORFASTFASHIONTeam 2 |UWT1.Although the current POS system is working smoothly for Zara, upgrading will help to safeguard the system from vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. Also, most of the IT experts who used older versions of the Operating System (OS) have retired and Microsoft has officially discontinued supporting it. There are many other possible ramifications continuing with the older version of the OS such as operation failure caused by unreliable hardware, limited processing power, obsolete device drivers, and inadequate feature sets in the system which impede system efficiency. For recording transactions, Zara uses outdated technology where employees copy …show more content…
Instead, the store manager can do this job by looking at the inventory balances of the other stores which improves the overall inventory transfer efficiency.2.Zara’s business model focuses on manufacturing clothes that have fairly short spans instead of “classics” as its target customers are young fashion-conscious city dwellers who frequently upgrade their wardrobe. Zara is different from large retailers as it is able to product 11,000 new items in a year in contrast their competitors average of 2,000-4000 new items a year. Another difference is that Zara chooses not to sell on internet as there are complications handling merchandise bought online, with return rates as high as 50 – 60 %. Also, Zara’s distribution centers are not configured for picking small orders and shipping them to customers. Employees at Zara stores exercise autonomy to make important decisions instead of simply accepting the decisions made by the headquarters. Instead of Zara’s designs being conceptualized and designed by a small, elite team, it is designed by teams called “commercials” which are each dedicated to a section of store (Men, Women and Children) and within that, to a specific collection (Basic or sport – both within Women’s’ section). Unlike its competitors, Zara does little to no advertising. The company places ads only to promote its twice-yearly sales and to announce the opening …show more content…
Zara’s clothes were not designed nor manufactured to be highly durable, but to be worn 10 times. One of the potential weakness of the company is its ability to support the growth of the company with its current infrastructure. To support the growth within its current market (i.e. Italy) and expansion to western Europe may not be sustainable given its track record of tripling earnings between 1996-2000.3. Zara needs to be responsive to the demands of their target customers, who are young, and fashion-conscious whose tastes in clothing fluctuate so intensely, that it is next to impossible for Zara to influence their choice beforehand. In turn, Zara needs to have have data that provides insight on understanding their customer’s preferences i.e. what residents are wearing, what has been selling, understanding garment availability and have data predicting what will sell in each location. Critical to the process of collecting customer preference data are store product managers traveling to different Zara stores around the world who collect the necessary data to keep up with the fast-changing trends to operate its business model. 4. The most important aspect of Zara’s approach to information technology is decentralized decision making to manage the speed required to respond to the demands of