Orders must be on time,” emphasized Mr. Diaz. Most items stay in the stores less than two weeks and Zara seek to minimize the risk of oversupply by keeping production volumes low at the beginning of the season and reacting quickly to orders and new trends during the season. The industry average “pre-season inventory commitment” - the level of production and procurement in the supply chain in, say, late July for the fall/winter season – ranges from 45% to 60% of anticipated sales. At Zara it is only 15% to 20%. The “in-season commitments” at Zara are 40% to 50% whereas the industry average ranges from almost nothing to a maximum of 20%. The Zara supply chain reacts faster by working with more precise forecasts and more reliable market information.