Zara It Strategies for Retail
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 see Sanchez’s sight who confide in simplicity due to the success achieved in the past by the business. Although Leonardo Da Vinci as well quoted saying that “ Simplicity is the ultimate Sophistication”, and he made the most influential discoveries on earth, in this story there may be some substance to Salgado’s argument regarding the upgrade of their POS terminal. Before discussing the why of this decision, is important to understand their approach to Information Technology Management. One of the most crucial aspects to ZARA’s I.T. Management was their ‘D.I.Y.’(Do it yourself) method, pictured through the creation of their own applications by the IS Department, a software highly reliable and with low cost maintenance. The benefit of creating tailor-made applications is that all of the functions are very specific to the organization so they can easily respond to fast changing customer demand. I.T. department were likely to familiarize themselves with the processes in a rapid manner and the lack of a Chief Information Officer and no formal budget was justified by the fact that everything was created internally. Essentially this strategy, in addition to ZARA’s number one pillar of no advertising was very cost effective. The question
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 see Sanchez’s sight who confide in simplicity due to the success achieved in the past by the business. Although Leonardo Da Vinci as well quoted saying that “ Simplicity is the ultimate Sophistication”, and he made the most influential discoveries on earth, in this story there may be some substance to Salgado’s argument regarding the upgrade of their POS terminal. Before discussing the why of this decision, is important to understand their approach to Information Technology Management. One of the most crucial aspects to ZARA’s I.T. Management was their ‘D.I.Y.’(Do it yourself) method, pictured through the creation of their own applications by the IS Department, a software highly reliable and with low cost maintenance. The benefit of creating tailor-made applications is that all of the functions are very specific to the organization so they can easily respond to fast changing customer demand. I.T. department were likely to familiarize themselves with the processes in a rapid manner and the lack of a Chief Information Officer and no formal budget was justified by the fact that everything was created internally. Essentially this strategy, in addition to ZARA’s number one pillar of no advertising was very cost effective. The question
References: 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