Analyzing Consumers Buying Behaviour
The core function of the marketing department is to understand and satisfy consumer need, wants and desire. Consumer behaviour captures all the aspect of purchase, utility and disposal of products and services. In groups and organization are considered within the framework of consumer. Failing to understand consumer behaviour is the recipe for disaster as some […]
Techniques of Survey Method
There are mainly 4 methods by which we can collect data through the Survey Method Telephonic Interview Personal Interview Mail Interview Electronic Interview Telephonic Interview Telephone Interviewing stands out as the best method for gathering quickly needed information. Responses are collected from the respondents by the researcher on telephone. Advantages of Telephonic Interview It is […]
Classification of Retail Formats, Key Features, Advantages and Disadvantages
Retail Formats can be classified into the following categories: Store Based: Store based formats can be further classified into two formats based on the basis of Ownership or Merchandise offered. Non Store Based Classification: Non Store retail organizations focus on establishing direct contact with the consumer. This may be both personal (direct personal selling) and […]
Should Asian Firms Adopt American Corporate Governance Frameworks ?
Need for Global Governance Frameworks The key aspect to note about how global corporate governance has evolved to the point of uniformity is the fact that in addition to global capital demanding global rules, there has been a concomitant movement towards converging corporate governance around the world on the US-led model of governance. This has […]
Customers Response and its Advantages
Customer response is the reaction by the organization to the queries and activities of the customer. Dealing with these queries intelligently is very important as small misunderstandings could convey unalike perceptions. Success totally depends on understanding and interpreting these queries and then working out to provide the best solution. During this situation if the supplier […]
International Retail Industry’s evolution can be traced to the period around 1990s with the ECR - Efficient Consumer Response initiatives that led to the evolution of new supply chain trends and gave the industry a new dimension.
Europe is said to have spearheaded the evolution closely followed by US. The implementation of new supply chain solutions and change of trends of retailing was successful and augmented in Europe while in the US it took a while for the changes to take place.
Prior to 1990s, the retail industry was heavily dependent upon the suppliers and manufacturers who exercised control over the transactions.
The introduction of ECR initiatives saw a change in the power dynamics wherein the logistics and purchase decisions shifted from Suppliers to Retailers. These changes came about mainly due to the new ECR concepts that were brought about in the Retail segment. The entire supply chain focus shifted to being process driven.
The concept of product replenishment and category management were the concepts that changed the entire process flow, replacing the earlier concepts of inventory management and dependence upon the consignment supplies. Further implementation of the pull system gave way to emergence of JIT.
Thus changes in the processes called for major changes to supply chain models to support the new processes.
Retailers began to invest heavily into building infrastructure to own and manage logistics functions. They invested into creating Regional Distribution Centres to stock inventories and centralise the delivery system as well as implement ‘On Call Delivery’ system to the stores.
These initiatives brought about a lot of benefits and advantages in terms of inventory control, control over wastage and spillage as well as reduced inventories. Thereafter we see the development of Warehousing and Logistics growing as specialized areas of operation that yielded major advantages to the entire supply chain.
Developing specialised Distribution and Warehousing as well as Logistics solutions called for huge investments as well as management focus. Thus began the trend of Third Part Logistics Services or the LSP services.
Being independant as well as highly specialised in inventory and distribution operations, the LSPs could focus on providing innovative and efficient services besides taking off the investments from the Retail Company’s balance sheets.
In the beginning the LSPs were setting up distribution services and temperature controlled warehouses for specific retail clients. Few years down the line, the industry matured enough to be able to provide consolidated Regional Distribution Centres for all Retailers where the inventory or the space could be charged based on occupancy and services provided.
All of the above mentioned major changes in the evolution of supply chain solutions for the International Retail industry were enabled mainly by the development and availability of technology. EDI and Electronic Funds Transfer ushered major changes in the supply chain providing major cost benefits to the retailers.
Availability of warehousing softwares to drive warehouse operations and the ability to interface the same with the Retailers inventory systems coupled with the ability to exchange real time data on transactions and documents brought about increased efficiency and reduced costs of operations.
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International Retail Store Design Principles – The Principle of Totality
February 12, 2025
