Business logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business logistics - Essay Example Zara’s contribution to the European fashion market sales account for a staggering two-thirds of Inditex’ total 9002 Million Euro, of which net profit was 1002 Million Euro.   1.1 THE EXISTING PROCESS AND LOGISTICS OF ZARA A team of designers in Zara is charged with the responsibility of spotting emerging trends in response to consumer demands. Valuable feedback from consumers is received from Store Managers also. The information collected by them on design, outlook and demand is transmitted through a wireless network. These inputs are used by the design Management team to develop the latest products for Zara,  (Sull, and  Turconi, 2008). ... The whole process of design and cutting takes about 10 days. After the prototypes are produced, they undergo a decision process wherein the management decides which of them will go into commercial production. This decision is made on the basis of a special algorithm and the conditions and demands in the market. Generally only about 40% of the prototypes become commercial products for customers. They are then returned to the manufacturing centers to enter the production chain, checked for quality control, and packaging,  (Sullivan, 2005). The ready material is moved to the automated distribution centre in  Arteixo, which is the main Distribution Centre with no storage facility. Logistics models assist the management in assessing the number of batches that should be delivered to the stores twice a week through shipments, which makes sure that the stores are not overloaded and are delivered as per their demands. A fleet of trucks reach out to places with overnight distances and char tered cargo flights are used for larger distances. The company squeezed its shipping models and decided to go with air cargo, so that flights can organize outbound consignment of all company products with return journey loaded with raw materials and half-finished products, (Burt, Dawson, and  Larke, 2003). Fig1: Complete Operations chain of Zara Fashions    Fig2: Outline of operations at Zara SECTION 2   This section presents the  advantages  /  disadvantages, SWOT, PEST analysis of Zara and evaluation of current operations and logistics at Zara.   2.1 Strategic Advantages Being different from traditional retails, its does not outsources its  operations  or products