Zara Case Study

Zara Analysis

1. Zara’s stores are all about fast fashion so the main information they need are clothing preferences for each store. Since each store will have a different set of customers for that area, they need to report the demand for fashion in that area. They also change their styles every couple of weeks in the store so they need to know the amount of clothes to ship to that store.
2. The most important approach to information technology for Zara’s is their use of DOS-POS to keep up with the demands for each store. This system allows them to keep up with everything of how much to produce and how much to send to each store which is extremely crucial for profits.
3. Their current weakness is how outdated their system is. Their system is running a DOS system that is not even supported by Microsoft anymore so any defects in the software will not be fixed which could create huge problems. Also new hardware will not be produced for the systems and therefore will make it difficult to replace the systems.
4. I would advise to start planning for the future with their POS systems. Trying to hold a company together with an outdated system is an IT disaster waiting to happen. Planning ahead to prepare your systems for upgrades make new IT integration easier and is cost saving.
5. The concept that I took away from the book is how they do not take advantage of e-commerce. If they were to tap into the e-commerce market they could define their demand from the customers and they could increase their sales and profits.