This article is a personal endeavor to prevail the benefits and knowledge from one of the best books which I had, this books title is: Global Supply Chain and Operations Management_ A Decision-Oriented Introduction to the Creation of Value; by: Dmitry Ivanov ,Alexander Tsipoulanidis and Jörn Schönberger.
In the following paragraphs you'll find good knowledge about one of the most successful companies in retail of fashion and clothing business: Zara
Zara is a global fashion retailer which sells its goods around the world. The retailer’s international footprint proves that national borders are no hindrance to a shared fashion culture. Founded in 1975, the Spanish retailer Zara has stores strategically located in leading cities across the continents (https://www.inditex.com/brands/zara), launches more than 10,000 new designs each year, and is recognized as one of the world’s principal fashion retailers. It belongs to the INDITEX Group, which also holds common brand names like Pull&Bear, Bershka, and Stradivarius.
Zara is well known for its up-to-the minute styles and products. The main key to their corporate strategy is their SC strategy. The following statement by INDITEX gives the first hint of this exclusive strategy: “Our approach to fashion—creativity, quality design and rapid turnaround to adjust to changing market demands—has allowed us to expand internationally at a fast pace and has generated an excellent public response to our retailers’ collections” (Inditex 2014).
While many retailers design and produce around 80% of their season’s inventory, Zara keeps back 50% to be produced in the middle of the season. This way they can react if, for example, the hot trend of the current season is skinny instead of boot-cut jeans. A full team of fashion experts keeps an eye on upcoming trends in each country on university campuses, night clubs, and fashion shows. All research and design activities are steered from Zara’s headquarters in La Coruña in Spain. For production, Zara has its own high tech factories and a number of subcontractors. However, Zara keeps outsourcing to a minimum and produces primarily in developed countries to provide better quality control. To keep responsiveness at the highest level, many garments are kept in a generic unprinted stage. This approach is called postponement strategy, since products can be modified from generic to finished according to customer demand.
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