Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
2012ME20765
4) Control scheduling strictly: at Zara, store managers can place order 2 times a
week, shipments are prepared and delivered within 24 hours (in Europe) and products
will be on displayed at stores the same day they arrived. Since everything runs in a
steady pace, they can reduce a waiting time at every step of the way.
5) Keep production in-house: Zara tries to stay away from low-cost country sourcing
and make an investment in the in-house manufacturing as much as possible. The
reason is that they believe the in-house production help them to increase the overall
flexibility.
6) Automate production and warehouse facilities: since Zara believes in time based
competition, automation is the key to help them to increase the speed and the accuracy
of the operations.
7) Adhere to all rules: implementing any one of these rules alone is not quite effective.
Then, they have to stick to all rules so the whole supply chain is running like the welloiled machine. Conclusion Zara's supply chain is a very good example of the strategic
alignment because people, processes and practices support time-based strategy
perfectly
the fabrics is produced by 260 other suppliers. To minimize the dependency on single
suppliers and support maximum responsiveness from them, the amount on Zaras total
production of each supplier accounts not more than 4 %. More than half of the fabrics
are purchased undyed to make faster response to midseason color changes possible.
For all sewing operations, Zara has sub suppliers (around 500) under contract. These
are workshops that are not owned by Inditex and employ informal economy workers
(mothers, grandmothers, teenage girls). They are located in Spain and Portugal and
strictly monitored by Zara. The 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Distribution center in La Corun Design by
Zara Order administration (by Zara) in headquarters -> designers, market specialists,
buyers Production 50 % by Zara -> manufacturing in 22 factories in Spain 50 % by 400
outside suppliers -> 70 % of the suppliers are in Europe (many in Spain and Portugal)
-> most of the rest in Asia 40 % of fabric supply from other Inditex owned subsidiaries
subcontractors for all sewing operations (~500 close to the Galicia region) in-house
CAD controlled piece cutting dyestuff producer Fibracolor (part owned by Inditex) to
facilitate quick changes in printing and dyeing Distribution by contractors, using trucks,
bearing Zaras name small warehouse in Brazil small warehouse in Argentina small
warehouse in Mexico Retailing Stores place their orders and receive shipments twice
per week
4) Distribution: The major distribution center of Zara is located in La Corun, where all
products pass through. The distribution center is equipped with the most sophisticated
and up-to-date automated systems. For every store, the orders are packed in separated
boxes and racks and are ready to ship within 8 hours after the order arrived. The
apparel is then transported directly to Zaras stores in Europe by contractors, which use
trucks bearing Zaras name. For deliveries over sea, the trucks drive to airports, which
are close to La Corun (mostly Santiago di Compostela). The orders arrive in the stores
in Europe normally within 24 hours, in the USA within 48 hours and Japan within 48 to
72 hours.
5) Retailing: A Zara store normally places the orders and receives its shipments twice
per week. The stores have to place orders at determined times. Stores in Spain and
Southern Europe have to place the orders on Wednesdays before 3 p.m. and on
Saturdays before 6 p.m. By keeping the production voulmes low when the season starts
and reacting fast to orders and new trends during the season, Zara tries to minimize the
risk of oversupply.
Conclusion:
Zara's supply chain is a very good example of the strategic alignment because people,
processes and practices support time-based strategy perfectly.