operation management
I. Introduction
Many companies around the world are seeking new sources of competitive advantages. One of the new drives is the effective supply chain management which brings customer satisfaction and profitability. Many retailers especially supermarkets and grocery stores use different strategies in order to achieve an effective supply chain management.
Faced with predictable variability, a company’s goal is to respond in a manner that balances supply with demand to maximize profitability (Chopra & Meindl, 2013: 247). Inventory management is the activity of planning and controlling accumulation of inventory which occurs because of local mismatches between supplier and demand (Slack, et al. 2012).
Inventory management is one of the building blocks of total supply management and a good indicator of the effectiveness of supply chain management (Basu&Wright, 2008)
Stock rotation is an innovative inventory management practice, commonly used in retail, especially in food stores such supermarkets and groceries, of moving products with an earlier sell-by date to the front of a shelf and of moving products with a later sell-by date to the back. (Gustafsson et al. 2006).
In this assignment, it is going to be analysed how 7-Eleven achieves the performance objectives; cost, dependability, flexibility, speed and quality via innovative inventory management and stock rotation and further compare this using the importance-performance matrix.
The author studied industry journals, including a case study of 7-Eleven’s, and emphasised the impact of stock rotation and inventory management on supply chain management.
II. Background to 7-Eleven
7-Eleven is the world’s largest operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores. 7-Eleven serves its customers principally selling grocery products, alcohol and tobacco as well as gasoline in US stores. Its product range shows that its customers prefer different types of food at different times of the day.
Many companies around the world are seeking new sources of competitive advantages. One of the new drives is the effective supply chain management which brings customer satisfaction and profitability. Many retailers especially supermarkets and grocery stores use different strategies in order to achieve an effective supply chain management.
Faced with predictable variability, a company’s goal is to respond in a manner that balances supply with demand to maximize profitability (Chopra & Meindl, 2013: 247). Inventory management is the activity of planning and controlling accumulation of inventory which occurs because of local mismatches between supplier and demand (Slack, et al. 2012).
Inventory management is one of the building blocks of total supply management and a good indicator of the effectiveness of supply chain management (Basu&Wright, 2008)
Stock rotation is an innovative inventory management practice, commonly used in retail, especially in food stores such supermarkets and groceries, of moving products with an earlier sell-by date to the front of a shelf and of moving products with a later sell-by date to the back. (Gustafsson et al. 2006).
In this assignment, it is going to be analysed how 7-Eleven achieves the performance objectives; cost, dependability, flexibility, speed and quality via innovative inventory management and stock rotation and further compare this using the importance-performance matrix.
The author studied industry journals, including a case study of 7-Eleven’s, and emphasised the impact of stock rotation and inventory management on supply chain management.
II. Background to 7-Eleven
7-Eleven is the world’s largest operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores. 7-Eleven serves its customers principally selling grocery products, alcohol and tobacco as well as gasoline in US stores. Its product range shows that its customers prefer different types of food at different times of the day.