7BUSS010W Managing Operations, Information and Knowledge

University of Westminster
Assessment 2 – Individual Report
Managing Operations Information and Knowledge
Module Code: 7BUSS010W
Mariya Hristova
Student ID: W1813886
Word count – 2,994 (excl. headings, intext referencing and bibliography)
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Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................2
2. Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
3. Supply Chain Management..........................................................................................................3
3.1. Design Process........................................................................................................................3
3.2. Production Process................................................................................................................3
3.3. Distribution Process...............................................................................................................4
3.4. Retail Process..........................................................................................................................4
4. Benefit of Supply Chain Management in Inditex.......................................................................4
5. Just-In-Time Production................................................................................................................5
6. Information Systems......................................................................................................................6
7. Stock Management........................................................................................................................6
8. Statistics and Communication in Real Time...............................................................................7
9. Conclusion......................................................................................................................................7
10. Recommendations.........................................................................................................................8
11. Bibliography....................................................................................................................................9
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Executive Summary
This report of Inditex Group looks into the operation and information managements of the company
and will selectively focus on one of their brands, Zara. A brief description of the company is provided
in the introduction followed by analysis of their supply chain. The design methods, manufacturing
procedures, circulation and retail processes are sectioned off and described due to the fact that they
are all part of the latter. The report goes on to define why the strategies of Inditex Group are so
successful within the retail industry by examining their unique and fast production and distribution
processes. The company uses Just-In-Time management for efficiency and quality purposes to stay
atop its competitors. The next part of report analyses the information management and more
specifically information systems utilised by Zara followed by the stock management methods of the
company. Before concluding the report and suggesting 3 recommendations that could potentially
help Inditex Group’s management operations in the long run, a discussion of why communication
between the corporation, its merchandise management team and shop managers is a key
component in the retail industry.
Introduction
Inditex Group, or as stated on FTSE 100 - Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A., is a global retail company
found in 1963. Its headquarters are located in Arteijo, Spain. The umbrella corporation owns many
companies that are all focused on designing, manufacturing and distributing textile. Inditex is the
biggest international clothes retail organisation which has more than 6,600 shops in the world.
Inditex produces its own lines internally and is able to deliver to its Zara stores, in 2 weeks’ time,
new clothing. Manufacturing takes place in countries such as China, India, Bangladesh, etc. The
corporation is famous for inventing fast fashion with its Zara brand’s foundation by speedily creating
fresh designs taken straight from the catwalk in order to produce trendy pieces of clothing (Hines
and Bruce, 2011). According to Lamson-Hall (2013), fast fashion is considered as expendable due to
its quick delivery to the masses at considerably inexpensive prices. The brand Zara is a vertically
integrated company and it is in charge of most of its supply chain which comprises of design,
production and circulation of its clothing lines. This ensures that the firm takes less risk and has
better receptivity. In the fashion industry, the competition is really tough, and companies need to
depend on differentiation in order to solidify their brand’s name. A lot of high street fashion retailers
count on offering low prices to the consumer by outsourcing their production for minimum cost in
order to gain competitive advantage but as a lot of companies do this, there is no certainty and
other ways to overcome competition must be considered. As Zara has its own production
subsidiaries, they are able to deliver quickly which puts them ahead of their competitors.
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