From the supply chain management to the demand chain management in fast fashion: Zara's winning model

Abstract

The following work demonstrates how the strategy adopted by Zara can represent a possible model which can be applied as well as an example to follow making network organizations stronger. Paradoxally, to a gain larger external flexibility, Zara has internally developed a more rigid organizational structure which provides direct control of critical processes along the supply chain, demonstrating that the advantages obtained, concerning the adjustment to the actual demand and rapid response to the market, compensate the risk of heavy investments. The postmodern consumer, characterized by tendencies which are definitely hard to predict, has made the transition from the supply chain management to the demand chain management essential, that is a management of the activities of the value chain driven by the actual demand in the reference sector.Such claim is fully confirmed above all in the fashion industry, especially for companies which operate in fast fashion, as they are characterized by the speed with which they change their collections, following the rapid changes in the world of fashion, in an attempt to seize the various market opportunities, encouraging the consumer to often renew their purchases.