Zara changes its clothing designs every two weeks on average, while competitors change their designs every two or three months. It carries about 11,000 distinct items per year in thousands of stores worldwide compared to competitors that carry 2,000 to 4,000 items per year in their stores. Zara’s highly responsive supply chain is central to its business success. The heart of the company and its supply chain is a huge, highly automated distribution center (DC) called “The Cube”. The screenshot below shows a closeup satellite view of this facility.

In Spain customers visit Zara stores 17 times per year on average compared to 3 times per year for competitors. Because their clothing designs change often, it is harder for people to see them clearly on the Internet and thus they are encouraged to come into the stores instead and try on the unique fashions that Zara offers.

Suzy Hanzel, production technician associate, Zara Clothing Company

Agents for the company are always scouting out new fashion trends at clubs and social gatherings. When they see inspiring examples they quickly send design sketches to the garment designers at the Cube. New items can be designed and out to the stores in 4 – 6 weeks, and existing items can be modified in 2 weeks. Clothing items are priced based on market demand, not on cost of manufacture. The short lead times for delivery of unique fashion items combined with short production runs enable Zara to offer customers more styles and choices, and yet still create a sense of urgency to buy because items often sell out quickly.

This case study illustrates the value generated by collaborative supply chain operations. It demonstrates the value that can be had when two different companies in the same industry combine their supply chain operations. If these companies are selling to many of the same customers, and if both of them compete against much larger companies then they can mutually benefit from creating a single supply chain to support both of their businesses – even if they still compete against each other to some degree.