Matteo Fioravanti
Abbey Road - MIB 2013 2355 words

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In This case we see the typical problem which affect big Companies : the conflict between old style and new school of thought. We analyze Zara’s information Technology strategies and the diatribe between Salgado, The Head of the Department and Sanchez , his assistant,s concern upgrading the operating system and the implementation of a new IT system to fulfill the needs of a fast growing retail chain. Despite the fact that Zara is over performing in their core business and that they are not showing big problems inside their structure, this shouldn’t be seen as a pretense to dodge updating the Software. Here we
THE CHALLENGE
After Salgado’s inquiry, Zara IT department was facing new stages for its development. We know from the case that the IT department worked according to Zara principles was decentralized, easy access and operated from the inside. This means that Zara could get their solution fit for their necessities. Let’s have a look to some models to explain Zara’s potential success of implementing a new operating system

Matteo Fioravanti

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THE VALUE CHAIN AND IS STRUCTURE
The Head office was the center of the system and everyday information was transmitted there. The efficiency of the structure was the main asset for the business model in order to communicate turnover levels, targets and product information to the commercials based in La Coruna (HQ).

Connection between the firm, IT infrastructure anvd Business Capabilities (Laudon & Laudon, 2012)

Zara process is established by three mains steps: Ordering, Fulfillment and Design & Manufacturing. The stores were ordering to La Coruña twice a week for the items they want. There is no Inventory in Store Computer so the managers have to check directly the stock. Handled computer allow them to check in the IS system what is newly available. The fulfillment is to ship the clothes to the store according to the demand of the stores but also to the supply that the distribution centers can afford and it often happens that the demand does not match the supply. This