Inditex’s major logistics and clothing units put on hold!

In order to keep the factories operational amidst lockdown, Inditex is using some of its clothing factories in Spain to produce medical supplies. Further, in response to the Government’s orders, its logistics hubs have been put on hold which has led to halting the nerve centre of its business, that were used to supply the stock to the stores located around the world.

The global fashion giant had temporarily closed 3,785 stores worldwide, as of 18 March. This means that around half of its shops are still open, suggesting its global footprint might help it to cope better in the crisis than others.

Spain has entered third week of lockdown and their Government has issued further strict terms which includes that non-essential factory workers will stay at home. This means that the 13 factories of Inditex located in Spain have halted their clothing production. Similarly, 10 of their logistic centres too have been put on hold.

So, in order to remain open and help combating the Coronavirus, Inditex’s factories in Spain have switched to producing medical supplies such as scrubs and masks.

It sources 57 per cent of fashions made from factories near its Spanish headquarters, mostly in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Morocco so that it can quickly refresh its stores around the world.

In Inditex’s highly-centralised system, the logistics centres in Spain make two deliveries per week to stores to ensure they are kept up to date with the latest fashions.

However, global fashion giant’s logistics centres are permitted to stay open to process online orders, as e-commerce is considered one of the essential sectors of the economy class by the Spanish Government; these too are operating with a reduced shift timings.

Unloading trucks that arrive from suppliers in countries like Turkey and Morocco has been prioritised for workers, so as not to leave them unattended at loading bays.

Amancio Ortega, Founder and Owner, Inditex mentioned that his team had bought medical materials worth US $ 68 million that consists of ventilators, masks and testing kits.