Journal Production Economics International -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Journal Production Economics International? Answer: Introduction Supply chain management is a vital area of any business to make a balance between the production and the demand of the market. Operation and manufacturing strategy is a crucial part of the supply chain management in any business (Zhang et al. 2017). In order to enhance the profitability in a business it is crucial for the organization to incorporate advance manufacturing process in the supply chain management. In the recent years it is important for a business to be competitive in the global market (Caniato et al. 2015). For this reason a good manufacturing and operation strategy is required. This study deals with the manufacturing and operation strategy in the context of Zara, Benetton and HM. Operation strategy of an organization involves in designing and controlling of the production process. Zara, Benetton and HM are the popular fast fashion retailers and operate in the international market. Benetton focuses on the quality of the product in terms if high durability and quality in comparison to Zara and HM. In the fast fashion supply chain there are four stages. At the first stage the garments are designed, next the second stage focuses on the manufacturing process. Third stage is the distribution of the product and final stage includes sell of the product. However, the operation and manufacturing strategy in the context of above three will be discussed and a comparison will be made in this section. Operation and Manufacturing strategy in the context of Zara, Benetton and HM Zara focuses on the catwalk fashion. This fashion retailer adopts the manufacturing strategy, which involves in designing of individuals pieces and manufactures the products in low quantity. Hence, their manufacturing strategy is to design the different pieces and to produce low amount of product (Zara.com 2018). On the other hand, Zara follows low inventory strategy as one of the operation strategies. In order to manage the low inventory strategy Zara develops unique design as a result their products are sold quickly and they maintain the low inventory. According to the given scenario, Zara organized their design function through different ways. The design splits into three segments that are men, women and children. They introduce a small workshop to execute the prototype. Benetton focuses on the lower labor cost as the manufacturing and operation strategy. However, for this reason they have adopted expensive technology. Incorporation of the advance technology helps this organization to reduce the workforce as well as the labor force. As for example, automation technology in the manufacturing process is an effective approach of such organization to decrease the labor cost (Caro and Martnez-de-Albniz 2015). As per the given scenario, Benetton starts to lower the labor cost outside the Italy by utilizing the technology in the manufacturing process. Benetton has a good relationship with supplier to take good raw materials for their manufacturing process. However, a better manufacturing depends on the quality of the raw materials (Benetton.com 2018). Benetton focuses on the dying garments rather than the died thread. HM focuses on the reduction of the average lead time through the continuous development of their purchasing process. However, short lead time is helpful for an organization to minimize the risk regarding the selection of the wrong item for manufacturing (Caniato et al. 2015). Hence, such short-lead time enables HM to restock their product quickly and offer them to the customers at affordable rate. Their another operation strategy is the integration of the technology in the manufacturing process to increase the productivity (Hm.com 2018). As per the given scenario, HM maintains a relationship between the suppliers and the production officers, which is beneficial to buy correct raw materials for the manufacturing process. According to the above findings it has been observed that Zara follows low inventory management as their operation strategy. On the other hand, in order to make unique design they design separate pieces of the clothes in their manufacturing process. However, this organization mainly focuses on the creativity rather than the quality. Such operation strategy is beneficial for Zara but this organization always follows low inventory hence, availability of the low amount of products may create customers dissatisfaction (Zara.com 2018). On the other hand, creating design in the different pieces of cloths is a big strength of Zara as it helps them to manufacture unique product in the market. Therefore, Benetton focuses on the reduction of labor cost thus have adopted automation technology in their supply chain operation and manufacturing process. Reduction of the labor cost by utilizing the technology is a great approach for this organization to make their business faster in the global worl d. Technology helps this organization to finish the entire process from production to the delivery of the product quickly. However, there is a loopholes in the automation process as technological damage may hamper the operation and manufacturing process (Choi and Shen 2017). HM focuses on short lead time strategy in their operation and manufacturing process as it helps the organization to reduce the probability of the selection of wrong items in their manufacturing process. They also focus on the integration of the technology in their manufacturing and operation process as like as Benetton. Recommendations Zara has followed their supply chain management to make the unique product to meet the changing demand of the customers. Besides that, they manage the low stock, which is one of their operation strategies. However, Zara mainly focuses on the product feature rather than the product quality. This is a major loophole of their operation process. They need to purchase quality raw materials to improve the durability and the quality of the product. However, due to the low inventory the customers may be dissatisfied. If the one item is present in Zaras store and it is on hold then it informs other stores about the availability of the product, which may cause miscommunication. This organization manages low inventory thus they need to keep a good track of the inventory by sending their staffs in stock observation. HM and Benetton focus on the incorporation of the technology in the manufacturing and operation process. Thus, for these two fashion retailers recruitment of more technical experts in the operation process will be helpful to improve the use of technology in the operation process. However, data theft and damage of data are the common problem of using technology in the operation process. Thus, keeping the security of the data and proper tracking and accessing the data will be beneficial for these organizations to improve their operation process as well as the manufacturing process. On the other hand, HM can improve their short lead time strategy by increasing the order frequency. Use of automating process such as inventory management software will be helpful for this organization to reduce the lead time in their supply chain operation process. Therefore, by providing forecast to the suppliers this organization will be able to improve their short lead time strategy as it will resist the m to purchase wrong materials for their manufacturing process. Conclusion This above study reveals a comparative analysis of the operation and manufacturing strategy in the context Zara, HM and Benetton. However, such three organizations focus on the design and quality of the product. However, it is important for Zara to give more concern towards quality besides the design of the products. HM also needs to give their concern towards quality besides financial stability in their operation process. However, Zara aims to manage the low inventory as their major operation strategy besides that that they create design in the each piece of the clothe to make an unique product. Benetton focuses on the minimization of the labor cost by using the technology. On the other hand, HM adopts short lead time strategy to make their operation process better. However, it is crucial for these there fast fashion retailers to increase the efficiency of their operation and manufacturing strategy by implementing and monitoring it in a proper way. References Benetton.com. 2018.Benetton. [online] Available at: https://us.benetton.com/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2018]. Caniato, F., Crippa, L., Pero, M., Sianesi, A. and Spina, G., 2015. Internationalisation and outsourcing of operations and product development in the fashion industry.Production Planning Control,26(9), pp.706-722. Caro, F. and Martnez-de-Albniz, V., 2015. Fast fashion: business model overview and research opportunities. InRetail Supply Chain Management(pp. 237-264). Springer US. Choi, T.M. and Shen, B., 2017. Luxury Fashion Retail Management: An Introduction. InLuxury Fashion Retail Management(pp. 3-9). Springer Singapore. Hm.com. 2018.HM. [online] Available at: https://www.hm.com/in [Accessed 24 Jan. 2018]. Jin, H., Yih, Y. and Sutherland, J.W., 2018. 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