Inditex, S.A. (Zara)

Who says operations can’t be fashionable? Inditex, S.A. (Zara) is the largest fashion group in the world and operates over 7,000 stores in over 80 markets. Unlike other fashion labels that design for an entire season at a time, Zara is continuously responding to market demand and rolling out new garments. It can take as little as two weeks for a garment to go from design to the rack. Inditex has been a partner company since 2007 and has hosted 14 internships at its headquarters in A Coruña on the Spanish Atlantic coast.

Zara sees their key LGO investment result from the internship projects and the opportunity to work with word-class MIT faculty including David Hardt and Georgia Perakis. LGOs have completely transformed its in-store replenishment strategy, operations, and business practices.


Michael Macmillan (LGO ’16)

Location: A Coruña, Spain
Research topic: Systems Optimization
Zara’s distribution department is critical for moving fast-made garments into stores. Michael’s project focused on improving programs the company uses to move clothing through the supply chain. He proposed three methods to improve the current process, focusing on inventory capacity constraints, store-to-store movements, and inventory redistribution.

Evelyne Kong (LGO ’15)

Location: A Coruña, Spain
Research topic: Data Analysis & Analytics
Consumer preferences can be difficult to predict because they’re always changing. One challenge retailers face is cannibalization within the store, where a large product offering could help or hurt sales. Evelyne’s project focused on optimizing the product assortment in stores by improving the demand forecast model.

Rachel Kelley (LGO ’15)

Location: A Coruña, Spain
Research topic: Data Analysis & Analytics

After graduation, Rachel joined Boeing, where she is a Boeing Executive and serves as Director of an Air Vehicle Integrated Product team