TMA03
A. Explain the factors which might affect a grocery retailer’s selection of suppliers. 300 words.
The supply chain needs to deliver the grocery retailer the competitive advantage to create value for the customer at an acceptable cost (1). It has been noted the reduction of time not only reduces costs but also gives a competitive edge to the business, therefore the time it takes for stock to arrive is important. ‘The supplier needs to be lean (efficient) and agile (innovative).’ (1) To do this there are three points which must be completed if they are going to be responsive to market changes.(1)
Time to Market is the speed an opportunity is bought to the market. A grocery retailer wants to ensure stock arrives on time. They
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Internet shopping has become increasingly common and supply chains have had to adapt to keep optimum sales. For non-food items an order is placed online and is sent to a central distribution centre through ‘hub and spoke’ networks. (2)Each order is individually packed and sent. However logistics becomes more complicated with returns as the process has to be reversed. It has to be received at the distribution centre, checked, repackaged and redistributed to the manufacturer or stored for resale. For online grocery shopping an order is placed online and then sent to the nearest supermarket, which then has to hand pick the selected items, keeping them correctly stored, and deliver them to the customer. For grocery items it became an issue that the stores did not have all the items the customer needed and as the customer was not there they had to rely on the retailer to decide on the substitute. Technology has now been enhanced to allowing the customer to see if the product is in stock and therefore allowing them to make their own alternate decision.
(2)Retail logistics in the UK: past, present and future John Fernie School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Leigh Sparks Institute for Retail Studies, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK, and Alan C. McKinnon
School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University,
Businesses especially those that operate in the same industry always try to emerge the best in the market by adopting different strategies so as to become more competitive. In the retail industry where goods move in volumes, proper management of the inventory can make a big difference by making a company to be more competitive as compared to the others. In most retail business, manipulation of the supply chain functions is one of the strategies that are used to give a retailer a competitive edge over its competitors. This research paper will compare how TJ Maxx and Ross manipulate their supply chain functions to gain a competitive edge over each other. Based on the available facts, the paper will make a determination on which of the companies
It is becoming apparent that the ever changing environment in the global marketplace requires a swifter response time from businesses and their supply chains. The era when production was moved overseas, so businesses can take advantage of low-cost labor is coming to an end, because businesses are not only competing on price but also on time. The owner of Zara, a Spanish clothing store knows this first hand, and has turned supply chain management on its ear, making his company the “envy of the industry” (Ferdows, Lewis, & Machuca, 2004).
The supply chain management is considered as a management concept from past two decades as the customers are concerned about timely and safe delivery. The competitiveness has been increasing among the companies to deliver the products as quickly as possible to the customers all around the world. This has made the supply chain management as a vital tool for the management. This is also measured as a competitive parameter for the companies.
Supply chain innovations should ensure on-shelf availability at retail outlets, improving collaboration between vendors and retailers, translating supply chain costs to product pricing, lean inventory and real time replenishment. Wal-Mart should ensure that process differentiation to determine the right method of moving products with varying demand characteristics (Akehurst, C., & Alexander, N. (1995)
A supply chain is a net work of firms. Thus, each firm in the chain should build its own supply chains to support the competitive priorities of its services or products. Two distinct designs used to competitive advantage are efficient supply chains and responsive supply chains. Efficient supply chains work best in environments where demand is highly predictable. The focus of the supply chain is on efficient flows of services and materials keeping inventories to a minimum. The firm’s competitive priorities are low-cost operations, consistent quality, and on-time delivery. Responsive supply chains designed to react quickly in order to hedge against uncertainties in demand. Work best when firms offer a great variety of services or products and demand predictability is low. Typical competitive priorities are development speed, fast delivery times, customization, variety, volume flexibility, and top quality. Tables below show the environments and design features that best suit each design.
A supply chain is very important to an organization. It can and should show the relationship between suppliers, distributors, managers and consumers. This paper would detail how important suppliers and distributions are to an organization’s success. And how important a supply chain is within an organization and how managers can utilize the supply chain. It is important that companies such as Target Corporations utilize the supply chain and gain competitive advantages. Target is one of the world’s largest retail stores; the first Target was opened in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota (Target.com). By the end of 1962 there were only four Target and they were all operated in Minnesota.
A Customized Textbook, Supply Chain Management SCHM2301, ISBN9781308037400 Copies are on reserve in the library
Consumer today have a different expectation than a decade ago. Consequently, I believed if a Retailer want to be survive and thrive in the hostility of the today’s market, they must focus on all four of competitive priorities such as cost, quality, time, flexibility.
A review of Costco Wholesale Corporation key parameters in supply chain operations with a view to suggesting improvements and operational predictions for better economic impact.
Retail industry depends on their supplier which thus indicated that supplier within the industry have a high bargaining power. The supply chain agility of chain stores has improved over the past several years, as evidenced by their ability to increase inventory turnover by 2.6% per year between 2002 and 2008. The largest discrepancies between chain and non-chain stores regarding inventory turnover growth occurred in the home electronics and appliance stores, computer and software stores, specialized building materials
The profit margins in the grocery business are extremely thin, so the Kroger Company’s supply change management continually works on improving its supply chain to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Kroger utilizes a program of lean process engineering to constantly improve its supply chain. This process involves examining each individual step of the supply chain from its suppliers to product delivery at its stores and furthermore, this process has been proven to drive down waste and reduce cost (Kroger, 2008). Kroger’s supply chain management is located near the top of the organization structure since the company as a whole has a strong emphasis on improving the supply chain to reduce cost and increase profit margins. Therefore the further up the organizational structure the supply chain management team is located the more optimally it will function and the greater the influence it will have on the decision making process (Burt, Petcavage, and Pinkerton, 2010).
Walmart is equally ranked among the highly valuable companies, in terms of market value, as well as the biggest grocery retailer where it generates more than 51% of its sales from the grocery business. This paper explores Walmart’s operation management with regard to supply chain characteristics, global business operations, production processes, the company commitment to quality and excellence, inventory methodologies, operational planning and movement towards lean processes (Massengill, 2013).
“Considering present market conditions and the way in which industry demand fluctuates nowadays, firms willing to remain operationally efficient will become more reliant on supply-chain management, This is one of the main reasons for which Wal-Mart has been capable of growing at an annual rate of 15.4%.”(Aleksandrov)
Consumers have many choices when deciding where to purchase their goods. While retailer managers are deciding how to win the consumer’s business and increase revenue, they are also constantly trying to figure out ways to reduce costs. Technology helps retail managers improve areas of inventory and supply chain management as well as customer satisfaction and loss prevention (Green, 2002). This paper explains how technology