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DEMAND PLANNING

Inventory

Inventory Management of a Fast-Fashion Retail Network

Published Online:

Operations Research

    Abstract
    Working in collaboration with Spain-based retailer Zara, we address the problem of distributing, over time, a limited amount of inventory across all the stores in a fast-fashion retail network. Challenges specific to that environment include very short ...
Case Study: Additive Manufacturing at Etnia Barcelona

Eduard Calvo, Alejandro Lago, Fede Sabrià

Published: October 21, 2016
IESE Publishing

Case Study: Pompeii Brand

Alejandro Serrano, Victor Martínez de Albéniz

Published: April 12, 2021
IESE Publishing

Case Study: Sport Obermeyer Ltd.

Janice H. Hammond, Ananth Raman

Published: October 13, 1994
Harvard Business Publishing

Shipping and Distribution

Initial Shipment Decisions for New Products at Zara

Published Online:

Operations Research

    Abstract
    Given uncertain popularity of new products by location, fast fashion retailer Zara faces a trade-off. Large initial shipments to stores reduce lost sales in the critical first days of the product life cycle, but maintaining stock at the warehouse allows ...
Zara Uses Operations Research to Reengineer Its Global Distribution Process

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Overcoming significant technical and human difficulties, Zara recently deployed a new process that relies extensively on sophisticated operations research models to determine each inventory shipment it sends from its two central warehouses to its 1,500 ...

Shelf Space Management

Estimating and Optimizing the Impact of Inventory on Consumer Choices in a Fashion Retail Setting

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: In fashion retailing, the display of product inventory at the store is important to capture consumers’ attention. Higher inventory levels might allow more attractive displays and thus, increase sales in addition to avoiding stockouts. ...
Using Analytics to Enhance a Food Retailer’s Shelf-Space Management

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    This paper describes the results of our collaboration with the leading Portuguese food retailer to address the shelf-space planning problem of allocating products to shop-floor shelves. Our challenge was to introduce analytical methods into the shelf-...

Assortment Planning

A Model for Integrated Inventory and Assortment Planning

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Integrating inventory and assortment planning decisions is a challenging task that requires comparing the value of demand expansion through broader choice for consumers with the value of higher in-stock availability. We develop a stockout-based ...
Dynamic Assortment with Demand Learning for Seasonal Consumer Goods

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Companies such as Zara and World Co. have recently implemented novel product development processes and supply chain architectures enabling them to make more product design and assortment decisions during the selling season, when actual demand information ...
Offline Assortment Optimization in the Presence of an Online Channel

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Firms are increasingly selling through both offline and online channels, allowing customers to experience the touch and feel of product attributes before purchasing those products. Consequently, the selection of products offered offline affects the demand ...
Assortment Planning: Review of Literature and Industry Practice

A. Gürhan Kök, Marshall L. Fisher & Ramnath Vaidyanathan

Published: 2015
Springer

Case Study: Zara Staying Fast and Fresh

Felipe Caro

Published Online: October 19, 2011
UCLA Anderson School of Management

Consumer Search

Assortment Optimization Under Consider-Then-Choose Choice Models

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Consider-then-choose models, borne out by empirical literature in marketing and psychology, explain that customers choose among alternatives in two phases, by first screening products to decide which alternatives to consider and then ranking them. In this ...
The Impact of Consumer Search Cost on Assortment Planning and Pricing

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Consumers search for product information to resolve valuation uncertainties before purchase. We incorporate search cost into consumer choice models and study the two-stage consider-then-choose policy. In the first stage, a consumer forms her consideration ...
How The IKEA Maze Makes Us Spend

Channel 5 UK

Published Online: December 1, 2022

Personalization

Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through Rates

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    A new class of online services allows Internet media sites to direct users from articles they are currently reading to other content they may be interested in. This process creates a “browsing path” along which there is potential for repeated interaction ...
Real-Time Optimization of Personalized Assortments

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Motivated by the availability of real-time data on customer characteristics, we consider the problem of personalizing the assortment of products for each arriving customer. Using actual sales data from an online retailer, we demonstrate that ...

Pricing and Promotions

Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-...
Competition-Based Dynamic Pricing in Online Retailing: A Methodology Validated with Field Experiments

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    A retailer following a competition-based dynamic-pricing strategy tracks competitors’ price changes and then must answer the following questions: (i) Should we respond? (ii) If so, to whom? (iii) How much of a response? (iv) And on which products? The ...
The Long-term and Spillover Effects of Price Promotions on Retailing Platforms: Evidence from a Large Randomized Experiment on Alibaba

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Dynamic pricing through price promotions has been widely used by online retailers. We study how a promotion strategy, one that offers customers a discount for products in their shopping cart, affects customer behavior in the short and long term on a ...

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