Replenishment Project

JAIPURIA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (LUCKNOW)

Project Report On

“Study of Replenishment Procedure in Big Bazaar” Submitted By :

Ravi Pratap Singh Of

Management Trainee, Jaipuria Institute Management, Lucknow

Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It gives me great privilege and honour to offer thanks to all those who helped me in my project. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to my project guide Mr. Gaurav Narang for acting as a mentor and as a catalyst during entire duration of my project. I also thank him for providing continuous cooperation support and expert guidance throughout my project, whenever needed. I also thank all the Department Managers for showing keen interest in the study and for giving their valuable suggestions from time to time, as and when required and also for rendering all possible help during the time when the study was conducted. I express my cordial thanks and acknowledgements to all front hand employees for taking out time from their busy schedule and providing me with relevant information, which contributed significantly in my project analysis and increased my knowledge in a totally new sphere. It was great interacting with the customers of various frequencies and learning from their experiences.

Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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PREFACE

In spite of the theoretical knowledge gained through classroom study, a person is Incomplete if not subject to practical exposure of real corporate world and may have to face hurdles, which will be difficult to overcome without any first hand experience of business.

In this context two months summer training has been design to make the person aware of happening of the real business world .The report, entitled “Study of replenishment Procedure in Big Bazaar” has been done by me at Big Bazaar Shahdara, New delhi.

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INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY India is the 4th largest economy in the world in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms after USA, China and Japan. In 2003, India became the second fastest growing economy in the world with a growth rate of 8.2%.The economy is expected to grow at 7-8% per annum for the next 5 years. However the average income of an Indian evaluated on the basis of GDP per capita is $620 (Rs27900). On this measure India figures a lowly 127 in a committee of 177 nations in the Human Development Report (HDR) 2005 produced by United Nations Development Program (UNDP). On the other extreme, India has one of the highest savings rate in the world with Rs 29 of every Rs 100 of its national income being saved. These extremities leaves a lot of opportunity for marketers, both Indian and international. One of the key growth factors has been the shift to service sector which accounts for 50% of the total GDP. Led by services such as IT, telecommunication, healthcare and retailing, the services sector is likely to play an even more important role in the Indian economy. Retailing in India is one of the significant contributors to the India economy and accounts for 35% of the GDP. India has a large number of retail enterprises. With close to 12 million retail outlets India has one of the highest retail densities in the world, but only 4% being larger than 500 sq ft in size. In terms of the Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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structure, the industry is fragmented and predominantly consists of independent, owner-managed shops. The retail businesses include a variety of traditional retail formats, such as "kirana" stores which stock basic household necessities (including food products), street markets-regular markets held at fixed centre retailing food and general merchandise items, street vendors-mobile retailers essentially selling perishable food items-fruits, vegetables etc and small non specialized retailers. India has a large number of retail enterprises. With close to 12 million retail outlets India has one of the highest retail densities in the world. In terms of the structure, the industry is fragmented and predominantly consists of independent, ownermanaged shops.

Fragmented nature of Indian retail

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Migration from unorganized to organized retail has been visible with economic development, in most economies.

FOREIGN BRANDS / RETAILERS PRESENT IN INDIA Consumerism and brand proliferation has been another enabler for organized retailing in India. Most of the world’s leading brands are now present in India. Some of the well-known names that have set-up their operations in the country are:-

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Future Group Future Group is India’s leading business group that caters to the entire Indian consumption space. Led by Mr. Kishore Biyani, the Future Group operates through six verticals: Retail, Capital, Brands, Space, Media and Logistics : Future Retail (encompassing all lines of retail business), Future Capital (financial products and services), Future Brands (all brands owned or managed by group companies), Future Space (management of retail real estate), Future Logistics (management of supply chain and distribution) and Future Media (development and management of retail media. Apart from Pantaloon Retail, the group’s presence in the retail space is complemented by group companies, Indus League Clothing, which owns leading apparel brands like Indigo Nation, Scullers and Urban Yoga, and Galaxy Entertainment Limited that operates Bowling Co, Sports Bar, F123 and Brew Bar. The group’s joint venture partners include French retailer ETAM group, US-based stationary products retailer, Staples and UK-based Lee Cooper. Group company, Planet Retail, owns and operates the franchisee of international brands like Marks & Spencer, Next, Debenhams and Guess in India. The group’s Indian joint venture partners include, Manipal Healthcare, Talwalkar’s, Blue Foods and Liberty Shoes. Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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Future Capital Holdings, the group’s financial arm, focusses on asset management and consumer credit. It manages assets worth over $1 billion that are being invested in developing retail real estate and consumer-related brands and hotels. The group has launched a consumer credit and financial supermarket format, Future Money and soon plans to offer insurance products through a joint venture with Italian insurance major, Generali. The group is currently developing over 50 malls and consumption centers across the country and has formed a joint venture company focusing on mall management with Singapore-based CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest property companies. The group’s flagship company, Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited operates over 5 million square feet through 400 stores in 40 cities. Some of its leading retail formats include, Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central, Food Bazaar, Home Town, EZone, Depot, Health & Beauty Malls and online retail format, futurebazaar.com. Future Group companies include, Indus League Clothing, that owns and retails brands like Indigo Nation and Scullers and Galaxy Entertainment that manages Sports Bar, Brew Bar and Bowling Co. Future Capital Holdings, the group’s financial arm, focusses on asset management and consumer credit. It manages assets worth over $1 billion that are being invested in developing retail real estate and consumer-related brands and hotels. The group’s joint venture partners include Italian insurance major, Generali, French retailer ETAM group, US-based stationary products retailer, Staples and UK-based Lee Cooper and India-based Talwalkar’s, Blue Foods and Liberty Shoes. Future Group’s vision is to, “deliver Everything, Everywhere, Everytime to Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner.” The group considers ‘Indian-ness’ as a core value and its corporate credo is - Rewrite rules, Retain values. Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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“Future” – the word which signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength, beauty, rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet unexplored, write rules yet unwritten; create new opportunities and new successes. To strive for a glorious future brings to us our strength, our ability to learn, unlearn and re-learn, our ability to evolve. We, in Future Group, will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create future scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because consumption is development. Thereby, we will effect socio-economic development for our customers, employees, shareholders, associates and partners. •

• • •

Our customers will not just get what they need, but also get them where, how and when they need. We will not just post satisfactory results, we will write success stories. We will not just operate efficiently in the Indian economy, we will evolve it. We will not just spot trends, we will set trends by marrying our understanding of the Indian consumer to their needs of tomorrow.

It is this understanding that has helped us succeed. And it is this that will help us succeed in the Future. We shall keep relearning. And in this process, do just one thing. “ Rewrite Rules. Retain Values.”

Group Vision Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Everytime for Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner.

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Group Mission • We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development. • We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats, creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments – for classes and for masses. • We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. • We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do. • We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful.

Core Values • Indianness: confidence in ourselves. • Leadership: to be a leader, both in thought and business. • Respect & Humility: to respect every individual and be humble in our conduct. • Introspection: leading to purposeful thinking. • Openness: to be open and receptive to new ideas, knowledge and information. • Valuing and Nurturing Relationships: to build long term relationships. • Simplicity & Positivity: Simplicity and positivity in our thought, business and action. • Adaptability: to be flexible and adaptable, to meet challenges. •

Flow: to respect and understand the universal laws of nature.

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Major Milestones 1 987

Company incorporated as Manz Wear Private Limited. Launch of Pantaloons trouser, India’s first formal trouser brand.

1991

Launch of BARE, the Indian jeans brand.

1 992

Initial public offer (IPO) was made in the month of May.

1994

The Pantaloon Shoppe – exclusive menswear store in franchisee format launched across the nation. The company starts the distribution of branded garments through multi-brand retail outlets across the nation.

1 995

John Miller – Formal shirt brand launched.

1997

Pantaloons – India’s family store launched in Kolkata.

2 001

Big Bazaar, ‘Is se sasta aur accha kahi nahin’ - India’s first hypermarket chain launched.

2002

Food Bazaar, the supermarket chain is launched.

2 004

Central – ‘Shop, Eat, Celebrate In The Heart Of Our City’ - India’s first seamless mall is launched in Bangalore.

2005

Fashion Station - the popular fashion chain is launched aLL – ‘a little larger’ - exclusive stores for plus-size individuals is launched

2 006

Future Capital Holdings, the company’s financial arm launches real estate funds Kshitij and Horizon and private equity fund Indivision. Plans forays into insurance and consumer credit. Multiple retail formats including Collection i, Furniture Bazaar, Shoe Factory, EZone, Depot and

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futurebazaar.com are launched across the nation. Group enters into joint venture agreements with ETAM Group and Generali.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mr. Kishore Biyani, Managing Director Kishore Biyani is the Managing Director of Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Future Group. Mr. Gopikishan Biyani, Wholetime Director Gopikishan Biyani, is a commerce graduate and has more than twenty years of experience in the textile business. Mr. Rakesh Biyani, Wholetime Director Rakesh Biyani, is a commerce graduate and has been actively involved in category management; retail stores operations, IT and exports. He has been instrumental in the implementation of the various new retail formats. 1. Mr. Sanjeev Agarwal, Operation and Chief Operating Officer. 2. Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Independent Director. 3. Mr. S Doreswamy, Independent Director. 4. Dr. D O Koshy, Independent Director. 5. Ms. Anju Poddar, Independent Director. 6. Mr. Bala Deshpande, Independent Director. Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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7. Mr. Anil Harish, Independent Directior.

PANTALOON RETAIL (INDIA) LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of India with limited liability under the Companies Act, 1956) One of India’s leading organized multi format retailers and are pioneers in Indian hyper market business, promoted by Kishore Biyani. Part of the Future Group. From our beginning in 1987, we have today evolved as one of the leading retailer and are among the pioneers in setting up a nation-wide chain of large format stores in India. We believe that the various initiatives taken by us have played a key role in enhancing the standards of retail in the country. We are an entrepreneur driven, professionally managed retailer focused on meeting the customer requirements for a large component of their spend across fashion, food, general merchandise, home in both value and lifestyle segments. We have also entered into partnerships/joint ventures to expand our offerings from home to apparel to household products to durables etc. We believe our focus on customers supported by systems and processes and a committed work force are the key factors that have contributed to our success and will help us scale up as we embark on our strategic growth plan. We started our operations with one store in Kolkata in 1996, occupying an area of 8000 sq ft. Presently we operate 125 stores, (including franchisee stores and factory outlets) in over 25 cities spread across the country occupying an aggregate area of 3,165,498 sq ft (as on October 15, 2006). We started our operations with a trouser brand, Pantaloon. In our initial stages we had small format outlets branded Pantaloon Shoppe, which were franchise operations. Realizing Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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the problems associated with franchise model, we decided to have our own retail outlets. Pantaloons is our first organized departmental store format targeting the Indian middle class and upper class customers across age and gender. The focus is largely on apparels and accessories and covers the entire family. We offer a wide variety of product range including trousers, shirts, casual wear, western and ethnic wear for women, children’s clothes, accessories and jewellery. We provide a combination of private label and third Party Label. We have introduced a unique concept of ‘cellular zones’ within our stores that provides the consumer with all the brands pertaining to a category, showcased together.

For e.g., a consumer while shopping for ladies ethnic wear would find all possible brands clustered together, making her shopping experience easy and convenient. Our business is identifiable under two major segments: (i) Value retailing (ii) Life Style retailing

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We believe that managing customer expectation by offering them all the requirements for their entire family under one roof is the key to being a successful retailer, and hence have built our business model around ‘family focus’ rather than ‘individual focus’. We believe addressing the family attracts more customers into the store. Promotions and events are an integral part of our service offering to our customer, which helps us create a unique shopping experience.

ETHICAL VALUES Indianness : Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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The core value of company is INDIAN-NESS. The company is developing an Indian model of retailing because India is a unique country and Indian customers have a unique culture and value system. That’s why the company is targeting the family as the customer rather then the individual. It offers products of Indian taste, a combination of own and shop-in-shop categories and a mix of big retailer partnering with the small-time shopkeepers.

Leadership: The company aims to be a leader and not a follower. The company has taken initiatives to achieve this leadership position by launching multiple retail formats that target all segments of society.

Respect: The company respects the individual. For instance, employees are considered as internal customers, suppliers/vendors are treated as partners in progress. The company believes in longterm value-driven customer relationship rather than one-off deals.

Dedication: The company is dedicated to customer satisfaction. This is why it has a no-questions-asked exchange policy and offering products which customers need. The company follows an Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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inverse pyramid structure of organization where the Board of Directors are at the bottom and the customer service executive is on the top.

Self-Development: The company is in the continuous process of self-development through

sincere

and

hard

work

towards

understanding

customers, markets and products. The company has moved over time from apparel manufacturing to distribution to franchisee retailing to the departmental format retailing and to the hypermarket format of retailing. As a result, the company is always in a state of learning.

Introspection: Introspection is the key corporate value. The company has passed through a number of inflection points in its short life span and emerged successful. The company’s ability to introspect has helped it grow over time from the small to large and multiple formats of retailing that target all the sections of society.

Affliated Companies Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited (HSRIL) offers complete retailing solutions for all products and services related to home building and home improvement. The key product categories are Consumer Durable & Electronics (CDE), Furniture, Home furnishing & decor, Home improvement and Home services. HSRIL operates retail format Collection-i, Furniture Bazaar, Electronics Bazaar, Home Town and e-zone.

Future Brands Limited Future Brands Limited (FBL) has been incorporated on November, 2006 and is involved in the business of creating, developing, managing, acquiring and dealing in consumerrelated brands and IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights).

Future Media (India) Limited Future Media (India) Limited (FMIL) was incorporated as the Group’s media venture, aimed at creation of media properties in the ambience of consumption and thus offers active engagement to brands and consumers. FMIL offers relevant engagement through its media properties like Visual Spaces, Print, Radio, Television and Activation.

Future Logistic Solutions Limited Future Logistic Solutions Limited (FLSL) has been incorporated as a separate entity and is involved in the business of providing logistics, transportation and warehousing services for all group companies and third-parties.

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Future Axiom Telecom Limited Future Axiom Telecom Limited is a Joint Venture with Axiom Telecom LLC, UAE. The Company has a 50% stake in Future Axiom Telecom Limited (FATL) which is a joint venture Company with Axiom Telecom LLC, UAE. The Company would be engaged in sourcing and wholesale distribution of mobile handsets, accessories and in setting up service centres for mobile handsets in India.

Pantaloon Food Product (India) Limited Pantaloon Food Product (India) Limited (PFPIL) was incorporated with the object of sourcing and backward integration of food business of the Company. PFPIL has sourcing and distribution bases at all key cities across the country.

Future Knowledge Services Limited Future Knowledge Services Limited (FKSL) was incorporated on January, 2007 and is engaged in the business of business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing.

Future Capital Holdings Limited Future Capital Holdings Limited (FCH) was formed to manage the financial services business of Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and other group entities. FCH is one of the fastest growing financial services company in India, with presence in Asset Advisory, Retail Financial Services and Proprietary Research. The company operates a consumer finance retail format, Future Money and manages assets worth over US$ 1 Billion through Indivision, Kshitij, Horizon and Future Hospitality Funds. FCH subsidiary companies include Kshitij Investment Advisory Company Ltd., Ambit Investment Advisory Company Ltd., and Indivision Investment Advisors Ltd.

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Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGIICL) was incorporated on October 30, 2006 to undertake and carry on the business of general insurance. The approval for carrying on General Insurance Business has been received from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) on September 4, 2007.

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited (FGILICL) was incorporated on October 30, 2006 to establish and conduct the business of life insurance in India, which comprises of whole life insurance, endowment insurance, double benefit and multiple benefits insurance etc. The approval for carrying on Life Insurance Business has been received from the IRDA in September, 2007.

Futurebazaar India Limited Futurebazaar India Limited (FBIL) is set up as the e-Retailing arm of the Future Group for providing on-line shopping experience. Futurebazaar.com was launched on January 2, 2007, and has emerged as one of the most popular online shopping portals in India. It was awarded with the “Best Indian Website” award, in the shopping category, by the PC World Indian Website Awards.

Staples Future Office Products Private Limited Staples Future Office Products Private Limited (SFOPPL) was incorporated on January, 2007 and is involved in the business Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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of dealing in all kinds of office supplies, office equipments and products. SFOPPL is a joint venture between the Company and Staples Asia Investment Limited (a subsidiary of Staples Inc USA). The company’s first retail outlet opened in Bangalore in December, 2007.

MODERN RETAIL FORMATS FORMAT

DEFINITION

VALUE POSITION

Departmental Stores

Multiple product categories, Service usually lifestyle driven with choice apparel/accessories dominating

Supermarket/conve nience stores

Food and products

and

household Convenience

Hypermarkets/disco Large stores in big box Price unt stores format,with volume based choice discounted prices Speciality stores/category killer

Extensive range of products Service under a single category

Seamless mall

Apparel, lifestyle entertainment

and

accessories, Convenience, products, service and choice

About Big Bazaar Shahdara : Big bazaar, shahdara is a biggest Big Bazaar in the north zone.It established on 22 june,2008.

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Food Bazaar : All food items, pulses, grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, Dry Fruits. . Depot : Book shop offering novels, cassettes & CDs, stationeries, books. One Mobile : A mobile shop offering latest and affordable handsets. Apparel : For Ladies, Mens, Kids for all season. Western, ethnic, casuals & formals GM-Home : Entire range Plasticswear, Home-linen

of

kitchen

need,

Utensils,

GM-Fashion : Accessories, Luggage, Gift items Furniture Bazaar: Offers an entire range of Home Furniture at affordable pricing. Electronic Bazaar : Offers the best deals in branded electronic goods.

Replenishment procedure in Big Bazaar Overview Inventory Replenishment Planning uses historical demand data to determine inventory replenishment policies for single location or twoechelon distribution systems. In addition to the demand data, it uses the cost of replenishment, the cost of Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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holding inventory, the cost of backordering (stockouts), and target service levels to drive the policy identification. These inventory replenishment policies perform better than the standard EOQ (economic order quantity) policies that do not account for variation in customer demand and replenishment order lead times.

Impact of Inventory In most industries, inventory is the foundation of conducting business. Consider the manufacturing industry, where it is necessary to coordinate both inventory-producing and inventory-consuming activities. There are inventories for multiple processing stages at multiple locations in the course of turning raw materials into components, producing spare parts, and ultimately creating finished goods. In the retail industry, companies maintain large volumes of different items at various locations. They must monitor quantities, estimate usage, and place orders for replenishment. Slow-moving items are discontinued, while new items are introduced.

Function of Inventory Supply • economies of scale (production and delivery) • capacity limits (production and delivery) • delays in replenishment (order lead time)

Demand • steady or intermittent demand • variations in demand over time (trend, seasonality) • unpredictable demand variations (random) Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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Each of these factors can contribute to uncertainty. When dealing with uncertainty, the traditional objective of inventory control models is to minimize expected costs. Consider some of the costs associated with most inventory control systems.

Inventory-Related Costs • • • • • • • • • • •

replenishment cost (or fixed ordering cost) cost of processing orders cost is independent of replenishment quantity inventory holding cost opportunity cost of capital invested in inventory warehousing cost handling and counting costs other costs such as insurance and taxes stockout cost cost of backordering penalty cost for lost sales

Now Big Bazaar is going to adopt Auto Replenishment System (ARS) Several technological developments were necessary to enable the implementation of such sophisticated replenishment systems: • • • • • •

Electronic inventory systems Identification technologies (barcodes, scanners) Data warehousing capacities (for historical sales data) Electronic data interchange (EDI) IT computation power (for forecasts at SKU level) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems

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Automatic Replenishment Programmes (ARP) are a practical implementation of the idea of pull-supply chains. In these programmes, the vendor is responsible for the replenishing of the retailer's stock. To be able to do this, the vendor receives data such as inventory level information and POS data from the retailer. Replenishment is then pulled by the actual sales; thus no orders have to be actively placed by the retailer. The first successful implementation of such a system was between WalMart and Procter & Gamble in the late 1980's ARP systems will depend on three factors: Transaction-specific factors (factors influencing transaction costs, such as the standardization level of the ARP) • Strategic factors (the market and profit orientation of the firm) • Organizational factors (characteristic factors of the firm, such as the firm size) •

The replenishment of the shelves is one of the most timeconsuming store operations found. A study on grocery retailer has calculated that 47% of its internal logistics costs are caused by in-store shelf replenishment. In comparison, the costs for the transport of the goods to the store (and back in the case of returns) represents only 14% of total costs. The replenishment effort is influenced by the size of the shelf, the available space in the backroom, the case pack size (CU/TU) and the store replenishment frequency.

A Descriptive Model of Replenishment Systems The store is herein viewed as a material sink, i.e. the place where the products are consumed.42 As stated before, material

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for the store can be either sourced from the retailer's DC or directly from a supplier. Obviously, supplier and retailer are only a small part of the entire distribution network. The initial source would be the raw material producer (e.g. a wheat supplier), the final sink would be the consumer (in contrast to the shopper43). In terms of information flows, stores and suppliers can be sinks and sources at the same time. In some systems, for example, the store sends an order to the supplier, the latter sends a dispatch advice back with the expected delivery time and quantity. The basic function of a replenishment system is to decide, when to order which amount . Characteristics of replenishment systems with maketo-stock policy (i.e. the product is already built when the order comes in) can therefore be captured with four elements . To be able to decide which quantity to order, it is obviously necessary to know how many items are on stock. This is called inventory visibility.

Forecasts in Automatic Replenishment Systems An example of a multidimensional forecast formula used in an replenishment system is provided . The model is as follows: Sales = Baseline sales * Seasonal effects * Merchandising effects

Shelf Life Retailers are constantly aiming to offer products with longer remaining shelf life, as consumers demand fresh products . Therefore, for products with a very short shelf life (e.g. fresh pasta), store managers seek to reduce the amount of store inventory. It is clear that the smaller the average inventory of any SKU (compared relatively to its mean sales) the fresher the product will be due to a higher Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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turnover. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect low inventory levels for short-shelf-life products. This finding is supported by physical audits such as that carried out.

Inventory Performance of ASR Systems Two possible perspectives on how to measure inventory performance used in this thesis are: •

•

Cost side: to reduce inventory costs, there should be as low stock in the stores as possible, therefore, the aim is to minimize the absolute inventory mean. Marketing side: there should be little variance between the stock levels each day, as the customer expects full shelves at any time. Consequently, the ordered quantity should be equal to the demand. The result of such a strategy is a constant inventory level. Effective replenishment systems should minimize inventory variance.

Cost-Benefit Analyses The four retailers studied into detail have drawn a positive conclusion of their ASR implementation. For the interviewees the advantages of higher ASR systems exceed the possible drawbacks. The reported benefits are: • • • • • • •

higher availability on the shelves, higher turnover, time savings due to automatic ordering, lower stock levels in the stores, smaller stores require lower delivery frequency, more stable demand at the distribution centres, and inventory and cost transparency along the retailer's supply chain.

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Suggestions: • Employee should have knowledge of IT and the system. • All the managers need to train their subordinates. • ARS is beneficial for any store any business so it is necessary that stock management, shelf management and warehouse management should be better. • Logistic and supply chain which is major issue in Big Bazaar should be improved . • Forecasting should be done on the basis of past experience and also with latest soft wares according to season and festivals etc.

Bibliography: www.google.com Harvard Business Review www.retailing.com Jaipuria Institute Of Management, Lucknow

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www.futuregroup.com

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