1. The operations objectives of Zara are speed and quick responsiveness to the dynamic fashion trends and its customer’s wants. And to achieve this, Zara reinforced three principles (closing the communication loop, sticking to a rhythm, and leveraging their assets).
2. Zara can ramp up or down production of specific garments quickly and conveniently because it normally operates many of its factories for only a single shift. These highly automated factories can operate extra hours if need be to meet seasonal or unforeseen demands. With shorter lead times, Zara can ship fewer pieces, in a greater variety of styles, more often and they can more easily cancel lines that don’t sell as well, avoiding inventory backlogs.
3. Zara can design, produce, and deliver a new garment and put it on display in its stores worldwide in a mere 15 days while industry average is 6 months. Zara keeps almost half of its production in-house. Far from pushing its factories to maximize their output. Zara intentionally leaves extra capacity. Rather than chase economies of scale. Zara manufactures and distributions products in small batches. Instead of relying on outside partners, the company manages all designs, warehousing, distribution, and logistics functions itself.
4. The constant flow of updated data mitigates the so-called bullwhip effect-the tendency of supply chains (and all open-loop information systems) to amplify small disturbances. In an industry that traditionally allows retailers to change a maximum of 20% of their orders once the season has started, Zara lets them adjust 40% to