MIS 301 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Contract Manufacturer, Fast Fashion, Sweatshop

• School: UT-Austin
• Department: Management Information Systems
• Course: MIS 301
• Professor: Rock Joshua

Document Summary

Chapter 3: zara: fast fashion from savvy systems. Contract manufacturing: outsourcing production to third-party firms. Firms that use contract manufacturers don"t own the plants or directly employ the workers who produce the requested goods. Contract manufacturing can offer firms several advantages, including lower costs and increased profits. But firms have also struggled with the downside of cost-centric contract manufacturing when partners have engaged in sweatshop labor, poor working conditions, and environmental abuse. Firms with products manufactured under acceptable labor conditions face multiple risks, including legal action, brand damage, reduced sales, lower employee morale, and decreased appeal among prospective employees. Zara avoids excess inventory by designing clothes based on customer feedback rather than by requiring executives to guess far in advance what customers will want. Personal digital assistants (pdas): handheld computing devices meant largely for mobile use outside an office setting.