Group 3 | Section B

Group 3 (Batch - B)

Roll # 50 Aditya Rajain

Roll # 62 Jahid Ahmed

Roll # 70 Pawan Kumar Verma

Roll # 79 Ravish Sehgal

Roll # 81 Shital Desai

Roll # EM01 Akhilendra Tiwari

Operational Strategy at Reliance Fresh

Submitted to:

Prof Vijay Agarwal

Operation Management (term III) project on

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgement..............................................................................................................

2. Executive Summary.............................................................................................................

3. Reliance Fresh: The Scenario..............................................................................................

a. Overview.........................................................................................................................

b. Location...........................................................................................................................

c. Service-Process Matrix................................................................................................... .

d. Service Life Cycle.............................................................................................................

e. Service Triangle...............................................................................................................

4. Overview of Operations......................................................................................................

a. Organizational Structure.................................................................................................

b. Turn-Around Time...........................................................................................................

c. Procurement and Inventory Management......................................................................

d. Waiting-line Analysis.......................................................................................................

5. Facility Design.....................................................................................................................

a. Floor Plan at Reliance Fresh............................................................................................

b. Floor Plan at more. Retail............................................................................................... .

c. Reliance’s Facility Layout Vs. More’s Facility Layout.......................................................

6. Recommendations..............................................................................................................

a. Service Blue-print and Poka Yoke....................................................................................

b. Job design and Employee motivation..............................................................................

c. Managing customer-induced variability..........................................................................

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1. Acknowledgement

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped make this project

possible. A lot of hard work has gone into this project right from the research to the analysis

of the operation processes in Reliance Fresh.

First and foremost, we would like to thank Prof. Vijay Agarwal for encouraging us to take up

this journey and explore the various processes followed by different retail organizations to

help us understand the course better. He helped boost our enthusiasm and inspired us to

probe further.

Secondly, we would like to thank the management and staff of Reliance Fresh for being

extremely patient with us and helping us with our queries. We would not have been able to

conduct our time study in their store without their cooperation.

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2. Executive Summary

Reliance Retail is the retail chain division of Reliance Industries that forayed into this space by launching Reliance Fresh, based on farm-to-fork strategy. The chain has expanded to almost every metropolitan and tier A, B cities of India. We had chosen Reliance Fresh, Gurgaon store, as the organization to study Operation Management II, as it provides an ideal opportunity to learn how retail stores manage their supply chain network with respect to variability in demand. This project will help us in understanding the procurement, handling and stocking of the items of food and non-food category, especially the perishable items which impose a great challenge for the store to supply it in the limited constraint time to customer. It will also cover in detail the analysis of various operational challenges in procurement and inventory management. We will also try to analyze the efficiency of the processes involved with the help of control charts. The objective of this project is to try and apply the Operations Management concepts to a live scenario and come up with practical recommendations on how to improve their operations flow.

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3. Reliance Fresh: The Scenario

a. Overview

This project was undertaken in order to observe the operations involved in the running of the Reliance Fresh superstore in Gurgaon. A study was conducted to observe the turnaround time and waiting-time experienced by customers at different times of the day so as to ascertain the operational parameters by which the store operates.

We have also attempted to analyze any possible shortcoming or room for improvement in the processes being practiced so far.

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b. FARM TO FORK

The Reliance retail company sources say it is setting aside Rs 50,000 crore to build its farm-to-fork linkage. Reliance has drawn up plans for a presence in 784 towns and 6,000 mandi (wholesale market) towns with 1,600 rural business hubs to service these. It has already rolled out 177 Reliance Fresh stores across major towns in 11 states. According to a company report, RIL is targeting a turnover of Rs 40,000 crore in the next few years.

TRADITIONAL MODEL OF RETAIL RELIANCE “FARM TO FORK”

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c. SUPPLY CHAIN MODELS of Reliance Retail

Reliance started its retail operations of Reliance Fresh stores with following supply chain model. Procuring directly from the farmers and operating with moderate margin but mass selling was key to Reliance fresh operation for first few months. The following figure depicts the first Reliance fresh model

RELIANCE FRESH

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RELIANCE OWN

LOGISTICS

RELIANCE FRESH

OUTLETS

RELIANCE FRESH

OUTLETS

RELIANCE FRESH

OUTLETS

PROCESSING

UNIT/POINT

COLLECTION

POINT/UNIT

Farmers Own Transportation

Reliance own Logistics Reliance own Logistics

Farmers Own Transportation

RFRF

FARMERS

CATEGORY 1

FARMERS

CATEGORY 2

FARMERS

CATEGORY 3

d. WHOLESALE TRADING (WST):

Reliance formalized its second supply chain model to shift itself from grocery retailer to grocery supplier by focusing and establishing itself in Mandi’s.

STEPS IN WTS MODEL:

1) Reliance has owned farms on contract basis for production of specific crop which is decided after extensive research depending on

SOIL CONDITIONS, CLIMATE CONDITIONS, RETURN OVER COSTS INCURRED.

So as to yield best possible results.

2) Different vegetables and fruits from such farms are collected through reliance own

Logistics and brought to collection Processing centres where quality check and other required processing is done.

In processing centres workers wearing balaclavas, woollen trousers and bulky jackets work inside a room kept at a constant 3oC, peeling and chopping vegetables, spinning them dry and then heaping them in small plastic packets before placing them in plastic transport crates. At the other end of the 5,000-sq-m warehouse, men unload crates of fruits from a truck pulled up to a spotless loading dock. A quality-control expert samples every tenth crate; if the fruits are good a team will ready them for delivery within hours to Reliance fresh stores around different places like U.P and as far away as Hyderabad and even Mumbai (formerly Bombay). If they are not, workers will inspect the entire shipment and discard anything below standard.

3) Merchandise from these collection processing centers are collected and loaded for Wholesale mandi’s. As this merchandise is to be made available by 4 A.M in morning thus deliveries in trucks are sent at time depending upon:

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TRANSIT TIME. – Time required reaching destination i.e. mandi’s.

MARGIN TIME. – Time period between a truck reaching mandi and then Unloads. Can be 2 to 3 hours.

LOADING AND UNLOADING TIME.

4) From mandi’s where the trucks have been unloaded, roadside vendors and pull carters Buy fruits and vegetables to supply in households.

5) In case still some vegetables and fruits are not sold reliance logistics own

Transportation sends them to reliance fresh stores.

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e. Location

The Reliance Fresh Supermarket is located in Gurgaon in the busy market area. The location is secluded and, hence, has ample parking space for people who come in their two-wheelers or by auto rickshaw. Very few customers can be expected to bring cars and, hence, the space available currently is sufficient to accommodate the customers.

The location can be deemed marginally disadvantageous because a person who does not know of its existence is very unlikely to discover the store while walking down the main road. In this respect, the numerous kirana stores present on the main road will benefit. Reliance Fresh can afford to advertise by putting sign-posts in and around the area so that potential customers are reminded or become aware of its existence.

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4. Overview of Operations

a. Organizational Structure

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b. Turn-Around Time

The store operates from 8.30 am to 9.30 pm. The salespersons work in two shifts, the number in the second shift being greater than that in the first shift. This imbalance in shift-strength is due to the visible difference in customer-traffic as seen later in this section. The staff is well-aware of where different kinds of products are located. This is achieved by making sure that all the salespeople are involved in the stocking of items in the morning.

In order to get a clear picture of the traffic in the shop, we visited Reliance Fresh twice during off-peak hours (between 2pm to 4pm) and twice at peak hours (between 6pm to 8pm). Clear distinctions were observed in the rush and the operations during the two slots.

While surveying the shop, the following information was acquired or inferred:

Off-Peak Time:

Table 1 Sample Readings taken for turn-around time (off-peak hours)

S.No. In Time(h:m:s)

Out Time(h:m:s)

Time Taken(m:s)

Number of Items

1 14:08:14 14:22:10 13:56 6

2 14:25:19 14:38:29 13:10 10

3 14:40:01 14:55:29 15:28 7

4 15:07:23 15:17:19 9:56 5

5 15:10:40 15:21:53 11:13 9

6 15:20:31 15:35:32 15:01 12

7 15:41:24 15:54:39 13:15 8

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A customer spends an average of 13 minutes to complete his or her shopping. The number of items purchased by customers during this period average around 7-8

items. It was observed that none of the shoppers required more than one basket to make

their purchases required. Owing to the small size of our sample, it can be concluded that the probability of

customers making sizable purchases is significantly low during non-peak hours Hence, it is sufficient to have one person serve at the cash counter while another

person can serve as a general salesperson who doubles at the cash counter in case there is an unexpected load.

The store has around 5-6 sales persons. This number seems sufficient owing to the low traffic in the morning and afternoon hours

Peak Time:

The turnaround time increased to an average of 22 minutes during peak hours. This indicates that customers who visit in the afternoon come for smaller and more specific purchases whereas customers who come in the evening make bigger and more general purchases.

Owing to the queues (which have been analyzed later), it is imperative to have minimum 2 sales persons handling the cash register.

Table 2 Sample Readings taken for turn-around time (peak hours)

S.No. In Time(h:m:s)

Out Time(h:m:s)

Time Taken(m:s)

Number of Items

1 18:25:13 18:45:25 20:12 2 baskets (>15)

2 18:29:56 19:10:39 40:43 2 baskets (>15)

3 18:37:26 19:03:18 26:52 2 baskets (>15)

4 18:40:34 18:58:22 17:48 12

5 18:54:21 19:18:06 23:45 2 baskets (>15)

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The peak hour shift employs 8 sales persons. So far, in our visits, we have not seen the 3 rd cash counter in use. This space might

be redundant. This space can be utilized for promotions or stowing trolleys.

c. Procurement

Reliance fresh procures different products from different vendors depending upon two main factors: Quality and price. The products are not procured by individual stores, but are procured at district or state level depending on the type of product. Perishable items such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products, bakery items etc are procured at a district level. This ensures that each district has the authority to procure the products quickly at the cheapest rates possible. Other products which are non-perishable with long shelf life are procured by the Reliance Fresh merchandising department which work at the state level. The state level placement of the merchandising departments although are not as quick as the district level procurers, it ensures that bulk purchases for the entire state give the merchandising department price negotiation powers. The merchandising department placed at the state level is helpful in providing lower prices for the products to the consumers.

I. Procuring fruits and vegetables (agricultural perishables)Reliance is the largest single big retail buyer of fresh vegetables and fruits in Kerala. Reliance fresh has an aim to procure vegetables and other farm products directly from farmers. By cutting out middlemen, their [10 per cent] commission, loading, unloading and transportation charges are reduced. Thus they follow a philosophy to “pay farmers more” and “sell fresh vegetables at ever lower prices” to urban customers. They also implement contract farming to ensure stable supplies of fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

II. Supply chain for fruits and vegetables The produce from farmers is collected at the Collection Centers (CC). The

CC for the Gurgaon Store is at a place called Gurgaon Village 1. A preliminary Quality Check is done here.

From the CC, the goods are sent to Distribution Centers (DC), where they are sorted and graded. Here, all data is entered into the SAP system for easy tracking.

Every day, the store manager of each store raises a purchase order for the next day’s requirements based on estimated demand. The total order for all the stores in an area is collected by the Area/Cluster Manager.

Based on the availability of goods, the ordered items are delivered to each store by the Area Manager daily.

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III. Procuring non-foods and vegetables

Items directly collected from Manufacturer or National level Distributor and delivered to the local DC.

Each store has a Minimum Base Quantity (reorder level) for all items Whenever the stock goes lesser than the MBQ, the SAP system

automatically reorders

IV. Supply Relations

Perishable Items: Fruits & Vegetables

Perishable Items: Dairy ProductsPartner supplier relationship

Perishable Items: Bakery ItemsMultiple Suppliers

Non-Perishable: FMCG Goods

HUL & P&G, Durable arms length

Arms length supplier relationship

Milk is directly procured from MILMADairy products from AMUL and MILMA

Arms Length supplier relationship

d. Inventory management

Storage Area

A small storage area is available per store depending upon the forecast provided by the manager of the store. The forecast needs to be accurate as:

Large inventory can add to the storage cost Way too much of inventory can also add to wastage if

perishable items are high in quantity Less inventory may add to disadvantage as sales

figures would go downThe forecast has to be given two days prior by the store manager to the

supervisor, and then supplies of goods take place.

Thus, time lag between demand and supply of goods = 2 days

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Distribution Area

Fruit and vegetables – Perishable Items○ Distributor : Gurgaon Village 1○ Entry at store : 9:00AM○ Unloading time: 15-20 minutes○ Inventory prediction from sales and decided by Head Office

Other products- Non Perishable○ Distributor : Gurgaon Village 2○ Entry at store : between 10 AM to 4PM,○ Unloading time : 30 Minutes

Cycle of replenishment

The cycle of replenishment of stores with the products from the warehouses happens on a daily basis. Fruits etc are thrown away 2 days after they are brought (provided they perish), while other FMCG are kept till the expiry date has come. This is called the ‘Fresh model’ and leads to faster turnover of the inventory since the expected customer visit to stores for replenishment of items is twice a week and twice in a month in case of students of IIM K.Thus, the store should maintain inventory requirement of one day. The small storage area is replenished in the morning. The shelves are stocked during working hours as and when required. The entire staff at Reliance Fresh works as a cohesive team working for customer satisfaction. The perishable items such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products and bakery items are stocked fresh daily into the shelves. Other FMCG goods with longer shelf life are replenished as and when required. The rate of replenishment varies for each product.

Expired goods and items

Many a times, the perishable and non-perishable items expire without being

sold. Reliance Fresh always strives to maintain good quality fresh products for customer

satisfaction, hence any expired stock is dumped. On an average, 8% of the food items are

dumped by the Reliance Fresh store at Gurgaon, Calicut. Certain items which reach their

expiry date are taken back by the suppliers. These include items such as bakery items,

and certain dairy products. In other cases, the stock is dumped. Hence, Reliance Fresh

ensures that the products in the stores are of good quality and hence ‘Freshness’ stands as

their USP.

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ABC analysis of inventory

ABC analysis is basically a business technique which is used for materials management. It is also referred as Selective Inventory Control. It stands for Always Better Control. The following three policies are based on ABC analysis:

A type items: Very tight control and accurate recordsB type items: Less tightly controlled and good recordsC type items: Simple control required and minimal records

It is a good method of identifying items which items have significant impact on the total inventory cost. It also gives a way to classify the inventory items which require different methods of management and control.

Shortcomings of the ABC analysis:

1) Since a retail chain has hundreds of items in multiple categories, however, we have done the inventory analysis on the basis of data available for few major products.

2) We have taken the average weight of a category of products if the price variations are high and average price has been taken.

3) In our representation and analysis, the outcomes are significantly away from the actual value.

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e. Waiting-line Analysis

Queuing studies are an integral part of setting up most service organizations. Queuing

majorly results from unpredictability and variations in arrival rates as far as service

organizations are concerned. As arrival rates are beyond our control, the avenue left to cope

with this variation is to build sufficient capacity into the system to handle most if not all

fluctuations. This compromises utilization rates, but little can be done about that, as we

cannot build an inventory here.

In order to find the various parameters associated with queues, we need to know the average arrival

rate and the capacity of the queuing channel. A Poisson distribution is built around the average to

take into the fluctuations in arrival rates. From measurements made at Reliance Fresh, the arrival

rates during average and peak periods are as follows.

Period Rate in No/ Hour

Average/Normal 26

Peak 44

Different people bill different numbers of items at the counter. In order to find the capacity

of the queue we need to know the average number of items billed per person as well as the

average billing time per item. To find the latter we do a linear regression analysis between

the number of items billed and the total time taken for every corresponding customer.

The slope of the linear regression gives us the time taken for billing per item. It comes out to be 14

seconds per item. The average number of items billed per person is approximately 5.5 units. The

results from this analysis are summarized below.

Avg no of items 5.5 units

Avg time per customer 76.6 seconds

Capacity to serve 46.9 customers/hr

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Combining the Poisson distribution with the capacity that we have now found we can

calculate the probability of exceeding that capacity. It is negligible at normal arrival rates but

substantially high at 34.5% at peak arrival rates when only one channel is operating

efficiently.

Waiting times and average numbers in the queue and in the system can be calculated using two

simple queuing models. One for a single channel and one for a double channel.

Average Hour

(Single Channel)

Peak Hour

(Single Channel)

Peak Hour

(Double Channel)

Average no waiting in line

0.77

Average no waiting in line

4.86

Average no waiting in line

0.18

Average no in the system

1.35

Average no in the system

5.71

Average no in the system

1.03

Waiting time in queue

1.72mins

Waiting time in queue

7.29 mins

Waiting time in queue

0.27 mins

Total time in the queue

3 mins

Total time in the queue

8.57 mins

Total time in the queue

1.54 mins

As can be seen, efficient operations with two channels ought to be sufficient to take care of

the anticipated arrivals. It is however seen in practicality that the two channels, even while

running in parallel and in tandem are rarely fully efficient. At several points in time, one of

the staff at the channels leaves his/her station resulting in only one queue operating for that

period of time. This backlog has to then be cleared resulting in temporary clogging.

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f. Usage of IT for procurement

The usage of IT systems has not penetrated deep into Reliance fresh, especially at the individual store levels. Almost all of the procurement requirements are inspected and calculated manually. However they have Implemented SAP solution on their systems.

g. Reliance Fresh: Wastage

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As a supermarket serving customers with variety of item, Reliance fresh also have

wastages on varying levels amongst different items. The percentage wastage for some of

these are as follows:

Non fruits & vegetables have a shelf life dependent on product’s expiry date: 0.5-1%

Fruits and vegetables having a shelf life of 1-3 days: 5 – 7% shrinkage due to dryness in fruits

and vegetables having a shelf life of 1-2 days: 3% Therefore the major sources of wastages

are fruits and vegetables. Being extremely perishable items, they need to be kept in

refrigerated environment. The inventory levels are kept at minimum level so that the

wastages are reduced.

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5. Facility Design

a. Floor Plan at Reliance Fresh

1Customer Relations

18

Snacks35

Milk52

Kitchen items

69

Deodorants

2Cold Drinks

19

Packaged food36

Energy drinks53

Unutilised cash counters

70

Shoe polish

3Ice creams

20

Pickles37

Ghee54

Unutilised cash counters

71

Shampoo

4Vegetables

21

Namkeens38

Cold drinks55

Storage space

72

Utensil Cleaner

5 Apples22

Sauce39

Dental care56

Coffee73

Utensil Cleaner

6 Fruits23

Chips40

Tooth brush57

Packaged Juice

74

Utensil Cleaner

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7Edible oils

24

Ready to eat41

Soaps58

Health Supplements

75

Laundry Items

8 Spices 25

Chocolates42

Baby diapers59

Tea76

Laundry Items

9Open pulses

26

Packaged Atta43

Hair product60

Incense sticks

77

Frozen Food

10

Atta large stock

27

Basmati Rice44

Sanitary pads61

Bath hat78

Cold drinks

11

Beauty products

28

Staples45

Bathroom Accessories

62

Empty79

Matrices

12

Vegetables

29

Staples46

Plastic accessories

63

Kitchen aprons

80

Batteries, CFL’s

13

Biscuits30

Chinaware/Plastic

47

Rice64

Cleaning clothes

81

Incense sticks

14

Vegetables

31

Check out48

Glass ware65

Shoes82

Decorative Items

15

Vegetables

32

Fruit juices49

Ghee66

Baby shoes83

Bucket, Stools

16

Check out

33

Breads/Milk50

Disinfectants, etc.

67

Hair care beauty

84

Fridge Storage

17

Baby Food

34

Glucose, mineral water

51

Home medicine/cotton

68

Beauty products

85

Hand fans

86

Loose Staples

Figure 1 Floor Plan at Reliance Fresh (Gurgaon Village 1)

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The arrangement seems to be an attempt to boost the sales of these products as these are low-priority items. Customers may not look for them if they can’t see them at the first instance. As against

this, customers will look for necessities which are the next bays

b. Insights from the floor plan

Area of the Store: 4200 sq. feet (70 ft. * 60 ft.) There are 4 billing counters

o 2 are operational in normal hourso 3rd become operational in peak hourso 4th one is idle all the time

First Line of Vision – Fresh products which include vegetables, fruits, cold drinks, ice-cream, daily groceries

The first Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or bays that meet the eye are:o Special offerso Confectionary, juices, etc.o Fruits & vegetables

First half of the Store – cold drinks, packaged juice, snacks, personal care, home & cleaning products

First half of the store is an extension of the products seen in the first instance:o Attractive looking chocolates, chips and junk foodo Packaged Milk products, other products, ready-to-eat foodo Juices, health drinks and aerated-drinks

Latter Half of the Store – utensils, chinaware, plastic ware, electrical products such as CFL’s, bulbs

Latter half comprises necessities of lifeo Staples: packed and open flour, sugar, salt, spices, cooking oils, ghee etc.o Cleaning agents, and detergentso Cosmetics and toiletries

Other Observations

Vegetables as such were not fresh and were available at a much higher rate than outside local vendors

The arrangements of articles were not proper with different brands occurring in the same shelf and sometimes there were more than one place where same article is kept.

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Grocery items such as flour and rice were not properly stored and within the same type of rice different grain texture was observed

Promotions were not very well advertised and when we interviewed a people about the promotions which are going on in the store they were unaware of it

AnalysisThere are two main gates to the store. One is meant for entry and the other for exit. In

multiproduct retail stores, one has to surrender all the articles while getting into the

store through the entrance and get the purchased articles verified at the exit. But this

practice is not religiously followed in this store. Consequently there is a high

probability of shop lifting. More issues are mentioned as below:

1. There are 3 cash counters just at the entrance. There is little space for the customers

to stand in the queue due to the presence of shelves very near to the cash counter.

2. A manager’s counter and a refrigerator at the entry door serve no much purpose

and reduce the aesthetic value of the store

3. There is a large open fridge on the right bay of the store. This is used for storing

perishable items like butter, cheese, milk, fruits etc. In the front of the fridge, there

are large containers filled with fruits and vegetables. There is a lot of rotten fruits

and vegetable lying in the containers. This leaves a negative impression on the

customer, as the term FRESH in the store name appears as a misnomer.

4. Going further from the fruits/vegetable bay, there is a huge space devoted to

groceries. This is well arranged and serves the customer needs well. Also a new rack

has been added which displays packaged groceries by RELIANCE itself. This is a good

move to promote self-owned brands.

5. The end of the left bay has a huge rack containing edible oil packets. This is done to

safeguard other products from oil spillage.

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6. As we move from the grocery space to the next bay on the right, we can find FMCGs

like chips, noodles, chocolates, namkeen, etc. These are highly sold items and are

strategically placed at the center of the store. The shelf space devoted to potato

chips and stuff like that seems too much though.

7. The next bay on the right is devoted to FMCG daily care products like shaving

accessories, talc, deodorant, soap, gels, shampoo etc. All the brands are kept together

due to limitation of space. This area is one of the most crowded due to the nature of

the products. The back side bay consists of household products like brooms,

buckets, doormats etc.

8. The last bay is highly unorganized and carries products varying from utensils to cloth

to foot ware to ice-cream. This bay is one of the least visited in the store. The space

devoted to products here is too much.

9. Near one of the billing counters, there is a rack containing hosiery items. This gives the

store a very poor look. The garments are not well arranged and are often hanging

around the shelf.

10.There is a magazine stand and chocolate shelf near one of the billing

counters. This is good as people usually end up buying such stuff while going out.

11.A lot of loose containers containing material for sale are found lying here and there in

the store. This is hugely due to limited floor space.

12.The outer parking space is very inconvenient due to unevenness of the land.

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6. Recommendations

a. Service Blue-print and Poka Yoke

Figure 2 Service Blueprint for Reliance Fresh

Potential Poka Yoke Points

Customers react in two ways when they encounter a service failure – they either remain with the service provider, or leave. Consequently, service recovery becomes the cornerstone of the customer satisfaction strategy. The literature review suggests that loyalty is one of the responses a customer has to a service failure.

Successful service recovery has significant benefits:

Enhancing customers’ perceptions of the quality of the service and the organization Positive word-of-month communication Enhancing customer’s satisfaction Building customer relationships, loyalty and impact on profits

Potential points for Poka Yoke

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Organization of Shelves:o Certain sections in the store were not organized properly, particularly those

with household itemso As a result, customers found it cumbersome to locate the item of their choice

Security Guard at the entrance:o The security guard could get more involved by re-designing his job and

making him responsible for baggage collection at the entry and checking bills at the exit.

b. Managing customer-induced variability

Customer introduced variability is one of the central challenges faced by a supermarket or departmental store. This can be minimized by following some of the following steps:

a) To make sure enough employees are on hand at any time to assist at the store to manage any sudden increase in the number of customers

b) To provide off-peak pricing in the form of additional offers or discounts to reduce traffic during peak hours

c) Train employees in such a way that they are able to handle any type of request and also adapt to customer’s varied skill levels. This can be attained through cross training of employees

d) Make sure employees compensate for customer’s lack of effort, for example moving the shopping carts back to the position where they should be stacked in case the customer fails to do so.

e) Perishable food preservation mechanism needs to be improved – food can be stored longer without being spoilt

f) Make sure that different articles of different brands are stocked separately in order to avoid wastage of customer’s time. Workers have to be assigned for this purpose to correct such disparities from time to time

g) To place complementary products or products which fall in to the same category and are likely to picked up together next to each other in the same unit.

c. Store layout recommendations

1. We suggest a proper entry exit mechanism with guard always on duty.

2. The manager’s counter should be removed from near the entry gate and placed at

the end of the store.

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3. Some space has to be created for billing queue formation.

4. It has to be ensured that the fruits and vegetable should be of better quality and

rotten material is immediately removed from the shelf.

5. Beverages, cheese, butter, milk etc. should be arranged in a visually

appealing manner.

6. Instead of providing too much shelf space to chips and namkeen, a

mechanism can be deviced to hand these packets.

7. The toiletries should be segregated based on brands and

arranged accordingly.

8. The last bay needs complete restructuring. A shoe displaying rack should be

installed.

9. Ice-cream section should be brought near the counter, inducing more sale while

exit.

10.The hosiery rack from near the exit door should be removed and placed in the

last bay.

11. Frequent cleaning of the floor space is suggested to avoid dirty look of the

store.

12.The parking area should be leveled to cause convenience.

13. A baggage counter with token system should be installed. The entry gate guard

can take care of transactions.

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References:

www.ril.com www.google.com www.wickipedia.com

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