Metro Cash and Carry - Supply Chainers Delight

Yesterday I happened to visit the Metro cash and carry hyper mall in Yeshwantpur. I haven't seen such a store in my life and such varied merchandise under one roof.

Right from office stationery, to house hold items, electronics items, TVs, Computers to drinks, meat, fish and poultry items, clothes, toiletry, footwear, snacks what not.. Because of objection from the retailers and APMC (Agricultural produce marketing co-operative) only processed food items are being sold here, not produce fresh from the fields. One cannot find rice, wheat, vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses here.

Since it is meant only for businesses and not for direct selling to customers, the entry to this shop is only through metro cards which are issued to industries and other enterprises which are run by individuals. Salaried people will find for the time being shopping t Metro difficult, unless they have a relative or friend with a metro card.

One has to buy for a minimum amount of Rupee one thousand and most of the items are sold in packs of two up to a dozen. For instance one can buy Reebok shoes available outside at Rs. two thousand here at rupees one thousand, but there should a minimum quantity of three pairs of footwear items.

By any rough estimate there is inventory here worth upward of rupees two hundred crores. Effective and efficient procurement systems, effective tracking of inventory, efficient Information systems to keep track of sales, arrivals and damages etc is of vital need for the successful functioning of the hyper mall. Minimization of procurement lead times, implementing delayed product differentiation strategies, minimizing inventory levels under stochastic demand, minimizing total costs of operations are all major issues which need to be handled by the Metro personnel on a war footing in order to be cost competitive and to remain the market leader.

With huge parking area and a processing/packing area behind, the Metro is sure to stay in the country. Now with other retailers establishing themselves in the market, it is only a matter of time before Indian customers realise the importance of efficient purchasing and processing policies which will ensure availability of cheap and high quality items to the Indian public.

If ensuring availability of high quality items at affordable rates to the public with ease and convenience of shopping can be achieved by Metro, it is beneficial for the country as a whole. India needs to encourage such initiatives to meet the needs of rapid urbanization which is happening in the country. The question of loss of livelihood for the existing retailers and traders is only momentary as they will get alternate employment and employ their entrepreneurial spirits to come up with novel storage, distribution and purchase plans for the big businesses, creating a synergy and a win win situation for all the stake holders in the process.

George Easaw.