The diferent functions performed by retailers are as follows:
i. Assembling goods: A retailer needs to purchase products and services from supplier and store them. This is essential to make the products and services available to the customers when required. ii. Arranging storage: A retailer needs to have a proper storage system to store the products and services to make them available to the end customers on time. iii. Grading and packaging: Sometimes, retailers need to perform the grading function. rading is an activity in which the retailer needs to categorise the products based on their characteristics, such as si!e, shape, colour, and quality. After grading the products, the retailer needs to pack the classi"ed products to make them easily available to the end customers. iv. Physical distribution: A retailer performs the physical distribution of goods from the supplier to the end customer. v. isk bearing: A retailer needs to bear the risk of loss that may result from the spoilage of material while procuring and storing the products and services. vi. !inancing: A retailer needs to perform "nancing functions by providing credit facilities to its customers. vii. "ales promotion: #etailers promote the products and services by displaying them attractively in windows or shelf. viii. $ersonal selling: #etailers advise and guide the customers in the selection of products and services, thereby promoting the products. i#. Gathering market information: #etailers provide customer information like their tastes, preferences, buying behaviour, and competing brands, to the manufacturers and wholesalers to design and market the product accordingly. Q$. %i&erentiate bet'een etail "upply (hains vs. )anufacturing "upply (hain. The diferences between the retail supply chain and manufacturing supply chain on the basis of their core competencies are shown in Table below "l *o (ore (ompetency etail "upply (hain )anufacturing "upply (hain % &nvestment'Assets &n retail supply chain, investment is done primarily to manage the (ow of merchandise throughout its network as the main cost for the organisation is the cost of sourcing, stocking, and &n manufacturing supply chain, investment is required in managing the (ow of goods in the network, equipment, and resources essential for production purposes. distributing merchandise. Thus, the retail supply chains are distribution focused. Thus, the manufacturing supply chains are asset focused. ) Si!e of *etwork #etail supply chain networks include multiple warehouses and large number of retail outlets. Thus, it requires optimal transportation of products and warehouse planning becomes essential. +anufacturing supply chain networks are smaller with a limited number of manufacturing plants and warehouses. , Types of *etwork &t consists of storage locations -warehouses. and selling locations -retail outlets., and emphasise on managing inventory and service levels. &t includes storage locations -warehouses. and manufacturing locations -factories., and focus on managing inventory, resource planning, usage, and service levels. / 0apacity 0onstraints These are largely unconstrained with modelled inventory levels and inventory multiples to sustain desired service levels. These are constrained by the manufacturing capacity -including available resources, skills, and material. along with the modelled inventory levels and inventory multiples for maintaining desired service levels. Q+. ,#plain the di&erent stages of retailer-supplier relationship development. The relationship between the retailers and the suppliers develops gradually. Thus, the retailers and the suppliers need to move through various stages to develop a strong relationship. These stages are shown in 1igure below i. A'areness: &t is the "rst stage of the retailer2supplier relationship development. &n the awareness stage, either retailer or supplier identi"es the other party as the potential e3change partner and they get aware about each other. ii. ,#ploration: &n this stage, both parties begin to e3plore the possible opportunities. &t includes testing assignments on how well the two parties can work together. &n the e3ploration stage, the initial trust and mutual satisfaction is developed between the retailer and the supplier. iii. ,#pansion: After gaining information about each other, both retailer and supplier think about e3panding their relationship further. &n the e3pansion stage, the retailer and the supplier become more dependent on each other, due to increasing bene"ts derived from the e3change increase. &n this stage, the risk taking within the retailer2supplier relationship increases. They look for win2win situations where both parties bene"t. iv. (ommitment: &n this stage, the retailer and the supplier invest in the relationship and adopt a long2term perspective. Q.. /(onsumer ,lectronics retailing is one of the rapidly gro'ing markets in 0ndia1. ,#plain the supply chain in consumer electronics retailing in this conte#t. 0onsumer electronics retailing is one of the rapidly growing markets in &ndia. &nnovation is the key for the success of consumer electronics retailing. This industry includes the following product categories: White goods: &nclude washing machine, A0, and microwave ,ntertainment goods: &ncludeT4, 545'405'+$, player, home theatre, music systems, and i$ods 0maging products: &nclude digital camera and handycam (omputer and peripheral products: &nclude desktops, laptops, printer, and peripherals (ommunication products: &nclude mobile phones, telephones, and phone accessories 2ome appliances: &nclude mi3er2grinder and cooker 2ome medical electronics items: &nclude blood pressure and blood sugar measuring instruments "oft'ares: &nclude gaming software and music 05s'405s'545s The supply chain of consumer electronics starts from product designing, which is performed by the research and development department of the manufacturer, based on customer6s feedback obtained by the retailers or its own website. After that, product sample is prepared and market testing is performed. 1urther, the quantity of the product to be produced is decided and the process of production is started. After production, the manufacturers use diferent distribution channels to reach out to the end customers. Some of the consumer electronics manufacturers open their own retail stores to sell their products, like 4ideocon. &n addition, all large retail groups including 1uture group, Tata group, and #eliance group are also entering in consumer electronics sales. 1or e3ample, 1uture group promotes 7 8one, Tata group promotes 0roma, and #eliance group promotes #eliance 5igital. +oreover, manufacturers are using the &nternet stores to sell their consumer electronic products. 9owever, multiple sales channels also result in channel con(ict, such as the con(ict between the organised retail and traditional distribution channels. &n customer electronic retailing, warranty and service plays a vital role. 7arlier, these services were provided by the manufacturers. 9owever, with the passage of time, these services are now provided by the retailers. 1or e3ample, the #elianace 5igital has introduced #elianceres: that provides the pre sales and post sales support services to the cutomers. (hallenges: Supply chain cost related to storage of bigger items is a big challenge for this industry, as the margins for the retailers are very low. Q3. %iscuss the ma4or areas of )erchandise )anagement. +erchandise management is the process by which a retailer attempts to ofer the right quantity, of the right product, at the right place, and at the right time, while meeting the retailer6s "nancial goals. +a;or areas of merchandise management are shown in 1igure below The diferent areas of materials management are discussed as follows: i. Analysis: &t is performed after determining the target segment and their needs to buy the required merchandise. ii. Planning: &t is the process of establishing performance guidelines. &t consists of establishing ob;ectives and devising plans for obtaining the merchandise well in advance of the selling season. iii. Procurement: &t is the process of procurement of the merchandise, either from the manufacturers or the distributors. &t is also known as a buying system. #etailers use two types of buying systems, namely staple merchandise buying system and fashion merchandise buying system. Since, historical data is available for staple Stock2<eeping =nits -S<=s., statistical techniques are used to forecast sales. 1or fashion merchandise, the buyers forecast sales at the category level. >oth the merchandise and the buyer6s performance are evaluated at the end of the sales period. )erchandise )anagement Analysis 9andling 0ontrol $rocurement $lanning iv. 2andling: &t is essential for a retailer to identify the requirement of the merchandise at diferent stores and ensure it reaches the store at the right time and in the right condition. v. (ontrol: &t is the process of checking the guidelines established in the merchandise planning. +erchandise control involves designing the policies and procedures to determine if the stated ob;ective has been achieved. Q5. ,#plain the follo'ing: i. (olour Wheel ii. 6b4ectives of 7isual )erchandising i. (olour Wheel A colour wheel is a convenience tool that helps to determine the colour scheme of a store. &t is a usual wheel "lled with %) diferent colours as shown in "gure below As shown in this "gure, the %) colour in the colour wheel are a combination of warm and cool colours. 7ach colour in the colour wheel creates a diferent response. ii. 6b4ectives of 7isual )erchandising As a tool to promote sales of a retail store, visual merchandising aims to ful"ll the following ob;ectives: To inform the customers with all the features of a product and services in a creative and attractive way To ofer attractive and appealing display of the products and services To provide self2e3planatory displays of the products and services to in(uence the buying decision of the customers To implement reasonable display ideas to introduce new products in the store To discover and implement creative ideas of describing the product features to a customer To realise the target of higher sales for a retail store To enforce a long2lasting impact and recall value of all the features of a product in the customer6s mind To inform the customers about the launch of a new product'new season merchandise arrival. #ecover the products in the night and display appropriately before the store opens ne3t day. Thus, 4+ involves displaying the product for sale in a creative and attractive way that e3plores its features and usefulness before the viewers.