the 3 golden rules of optimizing network design process:

1)The decision to allocate volumes and markets to plants is an important decision in the overall tactical decision system for the firm. The decision to locate these plants in locations where it has decided to is an important network design decision, which has significant implication on the supply chain performance

1)Firms can use linear programming model to decide an optimal network design and operations Deciding optimal location of services in a model a) where consumers need to walk in everyday involves different considerations as opposed to a model b) where “ its corporate employees are located at one point and with c) where its manufacturing locations are located across the country

2)Network design involves large amount of data , converting large amount of data into meaningful structured data into insights

3)Global firms spreads out their risks by having their manufacturing plant as dispersed across geographically possible and keep their excess capacity in network as a hedge against uncertainty in markets and prices of finished products and raw material

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Who Checks Out Faster…Men or Women?

Image Source- GroomsAdvice

Men stare at space while women check multiple outfits. Isn’t that a sweeping statement or maybe a cliché? Men have been stereotyped and on the other hand, women are the epitome of having an insatiable desire to shop. Any man’s expressions look like waiting till eternity for her woman to finally make up her mind. The flickering of fluorescent lights in the shopping mall continues to hypnotize the man. So do men hate shopping? Contrary to popular and often cliched  opinion, many men are perfectly happy to hit the stores.

However It is the process of shopping that they hate an not per se " shopping " as an activity. The generalization that men and shops do not gel well together is a cliché. There is a subtle difference that retailers need to understand. Biologically speaking  men buy for their needs while women shop for their wants.

 Women are naturally programmed to be a gatherer whereas; men behave like a hunter since primitive times. And this 21st century is no different. So any man’s job is to target the exact thing rather than wandering aimlessly to look at various options available. Men are far more decisive when it comes to shopping. However, women shop on behalf of their kids, husband, in-laws, friends, professional associates and even for their friend’s kid, to name just a few. It is said that men head to the check out counter after choosing one out of 3 items, while women selects  one out of every 8 items  they see.

Their tendency to constantly evaluate their purchases and the impact it will have on the people they care for is visible to everyone. So it is a must for retailers to understand the gender differences  and how does this impact retail  . By doing so, retailers can overcome the hidden barriers to the sale. Diversity in the shopping behavior of both the genders need to be addressed before forming any notion about them. Nowadays, both the genders are staying single and settle down later in life. So don’t risk your sale by forming stereotypes about them.

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Retail Start Ups now to e-open for 365 days a year

Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today proposed allowing small and medium shops to open all through the week on a voluntary basis as part of the simplification of rules for the sector to create more jobs, a move hailed by retail players. In his Budget 2016-17 speech, Jaitley said the government plans to circulate Model Shops and Establishments Bill which the state governments can adopt on a voluntary basis in order to boost the retail sector, which is the largest service sector employer in the country.

 "Many more jobs can be created in this sector, provided the regulations are simplified. If Shopping Malls are kept open all seven days of the week, why not the small and medium shops? These shops should be given the choice to remain open on all seven days of the week on a voluntary basis," he said. Jaitley, however, said the interest of the workers in terms of mandatory weekly holiday, a number of working hours per day have to be protected. "We propose to circulate a Model Shops and Establishments Bill which can be adopted by the state governments on a voluntary basis," he said. 

 Welcoming the announcement, Retailers Association of India CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said, "Permission for keeping stores open 365 days helps retailers increase sales, generates more employment, creates customer convenience and also increases tax collection for the government thanks to increased sales.

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The 5 Biggest Industry Vertical Markets for Predictive Analytics

The Industries with the highest use of Predictive Analytics

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Reviewing the Supply Chain process in Beer Manufacturing

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Reviewing the role of Information Technology in enabling effective Supply Chain decisions

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPLY CHAIN DECISION  MAKING 

Information technology plays a huge supporting role in ensuring the right mix of decisions and designs that helps supply chain managers take the right decision Information technology helps managers to access information on the functions and status of all other supply chain across geographic units.

For example a retail store can not only afford to figure out the store inventory, but also need information on consumer demand, lead times and associate variability’s like “logistic and transportation “

1. The IT department provides seamless and friction less support across the supply chain implementation , which forms the core of the supply chain. Any process related to order and purchase, manufacturing , inventory, transportation and logistics , and warehouse are mapped and tracked
2.  IT provides internal collaboration across departments, which are shared across the internet and cloud . It helps vendors, suppliers and other stakeholders across the supply chain to co-operate and collaborate.
3.  IT based decisions support systems is used to aid better decisions through the supply chain mechanism and ecosystem. Any critical issue on delivery, demand fluctuations ,lead time and risk can be “ tracked in real time” therefore giving the operational managers, the flexibility and the time to ensure compliance 
4. The role of Information Technology in terms of  measuring the entire supply chain performance and aid the operational managers to set internal metrics and benchmarks and observe “ their effectiveness”cannot be more emphasized. Business Intelligence tools includes a technology stack with layers for reporting and analysis

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State of Indian FMCG market : 5 trends for Marketers

 STATE OF INDIAN  FMCG MARKET:TOP 10 REVIEWS AND TRENDS

India FMCG Sector Report May 2014 from iimjobs.com

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