Information technology has not only transformed the organizations
into virtual business platforms but has also made customers
more sophisticated. Today, they are demanding quality products
and services at the lowest price possible. With the widespread
use of technology such as the Internet, consumers are more
knowledgeable and are smarter in their choice. Consumers
are more selective, quality conscious and attach due value
to all the attributes of products and services at the time
of shopping. To survive and thrive under highly competitive
market conditions, organizations must discover the most
efficient means of enhancing their market responsiveness
and customer reach.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the integration of operations
relating to procurement, distribution and delivery. SCM
synchronizes the production flows, processes and chain of
distribution for providing better value for the price paid
by the customer. A supply chain is a business process that
links manufacturers, suppliers' retailer and customers in
the form of a chain to develop and deliver products as a
single virtual organization of pooled skills and resources.
Effective SCM leads to significant reduction at both cost
and time in the procurement apart from lower inventory levels.
SCM enables to reengineer to two price-spread leading to
competitive pricing at the retail outlets. IT-enabled SCM
brings a high degree of integration between various systems
and business partners across the departments in the organization
as well as across different organizations. Further, IT-enabled
SCM provides capabilities for Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), data warehousing,
Data Mining and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP).
Technology-enabled organized retailing brought tremendous
changes in the Indian Market. India may have 12 times as
much space dedicated to modern format retail than what it
had in 2002. Hyper markets, super markets and shopping convenience
stores account for the $200 bn industry in India recording
nearly 35% annual growth. India is one of the prime growth
engines for retail in the world today. But the flip side
of this growth is that it will put tremendous pressure on
physical requirements (land/rentable space) and skilled
manpower. As the connectivity increases, facility costs
and inventory costs will increase, while transportation
costs will decrease. One should strike a balance between
these two. Retailing firms should build up competence for
the efficient Sales and Operation Planning (S&OP) process
in ways that would meet the objectives of both sales and
the robustness of its demand. In today's highly competitive
market, retaining companies are under intense pressure to
reduce prices, expand into foreign markets and develop new
products.
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