The research started with the gathering of secondary data through internet magazines Journals and visiting libraries. Initially it was very difficult to get hold of adequate information as very little is known and written about theoretical industry of the country. Let was observed that even though India has the highest number of retail outlets in the whole world The industry as on date is highly fragmented, unrecognized and unprofessional. The distribution networks are extremely well developed but the concept of internal logistics is literally unknown.
Along with this, visiting various retail chain outlets belonging to the selected retail chain stores in Delhi was done where interaction with managers and sales staff was done to know more about the current retail scenario here in terms of operations and functioning of the supply chain in the respective retail chain. The primary research involved the use of structured questionnaire to find out about the consubstantiation and perceptions about the availability, quality, variety of goods and services in the selected retail outlet of Delhi.
The research was also aimed at bringing out the latent needs of the consumers visiting retail outlets. Retail outlets are the final stage of the supply chain where customers visit for purchasing the item of their daily needs (grocery items). Elf the customers are satisfied from the availability,variety and freshness of the products available at retail outlet, this indicates the efficient integration of the supply chain. Stratified random sampling was used for this purpose. Care was taken to the maximum possible extent to distribute the forms among all the selected retail Introduction to Supply Chain A supply chain is dynamic and involves the constant flow of information, product and funds between different stages A supply chain consists of all parties involved directly or indirectly in fulfilling a customer request. The supply chain not only includes the manufacturer and suppliers but also transporters, warehouse, retailers, and customers themselves. Within each organization the supply chain includes all functions involved in receiving and filling a customer’s request. These functions include but are not limited to new product development marketing, operation, distribution, finance, and customer service.
For example a retail store provides the product as well as pricing and availability information to the customer. The customer transfers funds to the retail store. Retail store conveys point of sale data as well as replenishment order to the warehouse or distributor who transfers the replenishment order via trucks back to the store. The detail store transfers funds to the distributor after the replenishment. The distributor also provides pricing information and sends delivery schedules to the retail store. Similar information material and fund flows take place across the entire supply chain.
A customer is the integral part of the supply chain. The primary purpose for the existence of any supply chain is to satisfy customer need in the process generating profits for itself. Supply chain activities begin with a customer order and end when a satisfied customer has paid for his or her purchase. The term supply chain conjures p images of product or supply moving from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to retailers to customers along a chain. It is important to visualize information, funds and product flows along both directions of this chain.
A typical supply chain involves a variety of stages. These stages include: 1. Customers 2. Retailers 3. Wholesalers / distributors 4. Manufacturers 5. Raw material suppliers. Organizing and maintaining a competent and flexible supply chain is a major challenge to manufacturers in today’s increasingly competitive and uncertain environments. Supply chains can be the single most important competitive advantage in certain industries such as retail and manufacturing. Retailers look to offer their customers broader choice, scouring the globe for new products from remote suppliers.
Manufacturers look to drive down inventory levels through real- time delivery from their supplier. Distributor Manufacturer Suppliers Supplier 1 Retailer Customer Fig: 1 Supplier-Manufacturer-Distributor-Retailer-Customer Suppliers 1. 1. 2:The Objective of a Supply Chain Objective of every supply chain is to maximize the overall value generated. The value a supply chain generates is the difference between what the final product is worth to he customer and the effort the supply chain expends in filling the customer request.
This value is strongly correlated with the supply chain profitability. It is very true that the ultimate source of revenue to a supply chain is touchstones. Supply chain profitability is the total profit to be shared across all supply chain stages. Higher the supply chain profitability the more successful is the supply chain. Possible supply chain objectives are: * Reduce costs, improve quality * Reduce time to market * Increase sales * Improve demand data/ forecasting 1. 1. 3: Supply Chain Management
According to Global Supply Chain Forum, Supply Chain Management is “the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provide products, services, and information that add value for customer and other stakeholders’ supply chain management is a proactive relationship between a buyer and supplier and the integration is across the whole supply chain, not Just first-tier supplier. Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning,implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible.
Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of row material process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. Conclusion: The Retail industry is growing very fast and giving opportunity of the employment to many of the candidate. The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point where the growth of organized retail and growth in the consumption by Indians is going to adopt a higher growth trajectory. This industry is now at its childhood stage in India. We can assume that the coming or on-going era is of era of Retailing.
