Supply chain management for a retail chain

Requirement

• The Retail chain, spanning 4 islands, wanted to optimize their ordering process across their 30+ stores, to guarantee a consistent supply of fresh inventory and ultimately boost their margins through data-driven sales planning and forecasting

Challenges faced by the client

• There were complexities in managing large number of products across departments, selective availability of suppliers at specific locations and varying lead times
• Lack of a standard ordering system for stores which led to wastages, markdowns and loss of sales due to over/under ordering
  

Database creation

• Created a centralized database of products store-wise for each department and mapped the vendor, minimum order quantity, shelf life, order/delivery schedule, safety stock level and other required parameters

Semi-Automated Ordering Framework

• Used the collected data to create an order management framework to efficiently place orders at warehouse and store level, incorporating sales forecasting based on recent trends and historical sales
• Automated the manual processes in sales planning, warehouse, inventory and order management for departments like Bakery, Service Deli, Produce and their in-house kitchen
  

Interactive Inventory Dashboard

• Leveraged Python to create an inventory management dashboard considering various lead times at different locations and adjusted orders for existing inventory at the time of ordering
  

Benefits to the client

• Automated ordering reduced manual errors, enhanced supply chain efficiency, reduced wastages and improved stock availability
• Reduced manual efforts of store managers, which helped them focus more on customer relationship management
• Implementation of the ordering system helped the client to increase operating margins by 4-5%