Managing the Retail Supply Chain

Book Description
Buying, merchandising and the supply chain is inextricably linked. Product merchandisers play a key role in retail, as profits can be affected by how successfully they undertake their work. Merchandisers set prices to maximise profits and manage the performance of ranges, planning promotions and mark-downs as necessary. They also oversee delivery and distribution of stock and deal with suppliers. Their connection with an understanding of the supply chain is vital. Supported by theories, explanations, and real-life examples, Managing the Retail Supply Chain looks at concepts and core themes that run across all sectors.
Many businesses use a one-size-fits-all solution for any issues which arise, leading to big problems. Managing the Retail Supply Chain presents numerous examples of different business models adopted by a variety of companies. Covering basic principles of the retail supply chain, KPIs, merchandise planning and demand planning as well as Omni channel, vertical integration, on-shelf availability, and e-commerce, Managing the Retail Supply Chain is an essential guide for anyone involved in or studying retail supply chains and merchandising.
My Thoughts
As a retail Safety and Asset Protection Manager, I have worked in stores, in the distribution center network, and at the corporate office. While many retail organizations are thriving, many others are falling behind and failing in today’s global economy. Today’s consumer is savvy and with the erosion of brand loyalty, retailers must provide an excellent shopping experience or face losing sales to a competitor. Margins are razor thin and having the right product available to the customer when they want it is vital to drive sales.
This book was easy to read and understand, which to me is key, as someone not familiar with supply chain “lingo” could easily be lost in a text too heavy on technical terms and too light on real-world examples. The authors did an outstanding job of balancing necessary knowledge with real-life scenarios.Someone considering a career in any facet of the supply chain would greatly benefit from this book, as would anyone just wanting a better understanding of how some companies can consistently deliver products in an acceptable time frame, while others suffer repeatedly from backorders and being out of stock. The success or failure of an organization in today’s world relies heavily on a well-run supply chain and this book did a great job of explaining why.
Thank you, James Topps, Glenn Taylor, Logan Page Ltd. And NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I had quite a learning curve when I moved from store side to the supply chain side and wish this book had been available to me at that time. I have a fairly extensive collection of books related to safety, retail and supply chain and this will be a great addition to my ever-growing knowledge-based collection.

It is important today for every company to look over its supply chain, especially if it has a retail presence, irrespective of company size and no matter how big or well-funded your rivals may be.

Today's customers are ever-demanding and want near-instant gratification, delivery and service. That said, it is still possible to compete with a timely product or service delivered to either the end customer or an intermediary, whatever the size of your company, as long as the proposition is reasonable, credible and consistent. There is invariably a one-size-fits-all solution and it is important to not only find a working offering but one that can be managed, monitored, audited and relied upon. A book like this may help, taking the reader through a range of focussed examples of real-world logistics-related business models, techniques, plans and metrics. It is a lot more than making sure the pallet is loaded on a boat at port X and how it gets from port Y to the factory or customer.

It is clearly a specialist read, but something that works well for the industry participant. It can also be a great book, albeit a bit of an investment, for a student who is needing to learn the basics at the start of their career. It is certainly capable of expanding your horizons and providing important knowledge that may help in other management and business disciplines too. For the more-experienced hand it can act as an aide-memoire and memory boot, featuring some of the latest thinking and experiences and all wrapped up in a clearly written, engaging manner. When you can consider what it could save your company, it is a piffling investment.

It can have a bit of a North American bias to its featured cases, but this is not an impediment to purchase. When you consider the size of the United States, you can easily see distances that rival two distant points in Europe. There are major differences between a one-time delivery of a pallet between two locations, and ensuring that a network of stores featuring stock from several distribution centres, external distributors and direct suppliers are supplied, even before your own trade customer shipments, retail web store and resale arrangements are considered. You need to keep a lot of balls juggled in the air, being aware that things can disrupt the best laid plans and be able to forecast/respond/reduce disruption.

The reality is that this book can deliver a LOT more than what its title and subtitle promise. It is easily capable of being a very giving resource to a much wider audience. It can be definitively worth closer consideration!

Managing the Retail Supply Chain, written by James Topps & Glenn Taylor and published by Kogan Page. ISBN 9780749480622. YYYYY