Prada Operations Management Strategy

Abstract

The PRADA Group is an Italian luxury fashion house, founded in Milan in 1913. The Group is composed by four brands which are: Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoes.
Prada is an international large sized firm that operates in 70 different countries around the world, with 551 directly operated stores (at 30 April 2014) . The company presents a total number of 11,518 direct employees and had net revenue equal to 3,587 million Euros in the end of January 2014 .
This report identifies the overall input, transformation and output of the PRADA Group, particularly focusing on the performance of the major operation areas that are critical to the competitive advantage of the firm.
Through the evaluation of the PRADA Group, strengths and

The PRADA Group developed its prestige through an operational management system based on high quality, creativity, innovation and modernity which, as Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli said: “pushed Prada beyond the physical limitations of boutiques and showrooms, provoked an interaction with different and seemingly distant worlds, and introduced a new way to create a natural, almost fashionless fashion”.
The main goal of this report is to evaluate the different operation areas that include, the product/service design and production function, the marketing function, job design and work organization and social responsibility of the firm.
Finally in the conclusion of this report, opinions and suggestions will be provided on how to increase the current efficiency of overall operations management of the PRADA Group.

Product/Service Design and Production
1. Design and Product

All the concepts will go through a screening process from which, it will be chosen the idea that best represents the brand’s identity through the use of the latest and most fashionable styles. After that, each brands design team, in collaboration with other departments, start developing a prototype, that if needed will be exposed to some improvement on details. The final designs will then be produced by Prada’s in-house facilities: ten in Italy and one in the United Kingdom . The production of the final products is subdivided into three sectors, which are: bags and accessorizes, footwear and ready-to-wear . In order to achieve the highest quality possible on its products, the PRADA Group controls directly each phase of the production process.

2. Total quality Management
According to the Harvard business school professor David A. Garvin, the quality of a product is based on eight important dimensions which are: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality . The PRADA Group is particularly known for the outstanding quality of its manufacturing processes, and for its excellent raw materials, which are the main determinates to its successful high quality products.

The Marketing