Memo - Essay Example

Marketing Memo Contract Technology Technology Alert # Zare: Fast Fashion from Savvy System (Chapter 3)
Date: 29/6/2013
Rohweeder, C. (2009, March 26), ‘’Zara Grows as Retail Rivals’’ Wall Street Journal
In response to our discussion concerning selecting the best manufacturing contract partner, I thought you could be interested in the above cited article. Contract manufacturing is the ‘’outsourcing of design and production to a third party’’ (Troy, 14). This article outlines the eight criteria to use during the selection of the right contract manufacturing partner.
Contract manufacturing stands out to be much more important in saving significant costs when good service providers are chosen and the process is made efficient.
The following are some of the steps to follow to make the process efficient as discussed in the article:
Protecting the project against worker injuries and worker turnover to reduce overall costs, increase quality and timely completion of the project.
Look for a contract manufacturer who not only respects and meets deadlines, but also maintains a record of on-time delivery to do away with project delays.
Partner with contract manufacturers with lean manufacturing inventories and materials management systems and steps for marketing forecast to eliminate costs for OEMs and startups
Apply lean manufacturing principles that have built-in processes and mechanisms for shutting down equipment the moment the problem occurs
To avoid costs and delays, choose a manufacturer who stresses quality as part of their culture
Simplify project oversight, increase time efficiency and reduce costs by having a standardized, across-the board production process.
Use a contract manufacturer with a rigorous production system to eliminate NPI missteps.
Get in-house experts with multiple years of supply chain management, market and demand forecasting, sophisticated reporting and industry knowledge.
The author states that the major aim of contract manufacturing is to save costs, but goes ahead to illustrate that this is only achieved when certain principles of maintaining good partnership are followed.
Many of the points expressed in this article were also found consistent with those made in the text and by reading both of them, one gets to realize the similarities that arise from two different perspectives and how contract manufacturing can be used by Zara Fashions to cut on costs and improve on profits.
However, this article does not indicate to the reader how contract manufacturing applies specifically to fashion design and production, which is the major area of concern to Zara: Fast Fashion. Read More