The successful implementation of an integrated supply chain strategy enhances total control over the operations and thus enhances speed and flexibility. The objective of this study is two-fold: first to identify the constituents that mold the fast fashion retailing business model, and second to discuss how global leader of fast fashion retailing Inditex-Zara's product offering is strongly supported by integration of various supply chain operations. The findings suggest that vertical integration through ownership of various operational stages including product design and development, production operation, logistics and distribution channel; appropriate sourcing strategy to meet product needs; application of process/product modularity practices in product design, material procurement and manufacturing to ensure manufacturing flexibility; flexible logistics capability; and all of these seamlessly integrated and coordinated by a centralized IT infrastructure can significantly raise overall supply chain flexibility and responsiveness. Inditex-Zara's super-responsive supply chain reduces 'bullwhip effect', order-to-delivery lead time to stores, ensures lean inventory and high level of responsiveness to adapt and deliver products to stores with latest fashion trends and customer feedbacks at a rapid speed. Thus Inditex-Zara is able to successfully counter the negative effects of short product life cycles, high product variety, demand uncertainty and thus able to closely match product supply to the stores with market demand. This contributes to lower inventory backlogs; avoid mark-down losses and/or inventory stock out.

The successful implementation of push-pull supply chain management strategy has an important role in improving the competitiveness of an organization. The objective of a push-pull strategy is to minimize the holding of inventory level in finished form and rather produce finished goods from semi-finished inventory only upon receiving final order. One of the vital building blocks of push-pull supply chain strategy is postponement. The main objective of this review paper is to discuss the concept of postponement and its sub-categories such as product postponement and process postponement and their benefits. Then it is investigated how two prominent fast fashion retailers who are also categorized as original brand manufacturers in the apparel value chain apply the two variants of process postponement e.g. process standardization and process re-sequencing in their manufacturing operations to activate push pull supply chain strategy. The push-pull supply chain strategy in turn helps to reduce their order-to-delivery lead time to stores, reduce inventory holding level and minimize both physical costs and market mediation costs. The paper ends with concluding remarks. A framework is developed to illustrate the push-pull supply mechanism. This paper is a useful resource for practitioners in apparel supply chain willing to remove inefficiencies, costs and risks in their operations.