A PROJECT REPORT

ON

“TO STUDY THE USEFULLNESS AND BRAND AWARENESS OF IT

PRODUCTS IN RETAIL SECTOR“

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

MASTER IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES (MMS)

2011-2013

ROLL NO:- P-36

(MARKETING)

SUBMITTED TO

DR. V.N. BEDEKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, THANE

1

STATEMENT BY THE CANDIDATE

I wish to state that the work embodied in this Project titled “TO STUDY THE

USEFULLNESS AND BRAND AWARENESS OF IT PRODUCTS IN RETAIL SECTOR“

forms my own contribution to management. Wherever references have been made to

intellectual properties of any individual / Institution / Government / Private / Public Bodies /

Universities, research paper, text books, reference books, research monographs, archives of

newspapers, corporate, individuals, business / Government and any other source of intellectual

properties viz., speeches, quotations, conference proceedings, extracts from the website, working

paper, seminal work et al,they have been clearly indicated, duly acknowledged and included

in the Bibliography.

_________________________ _________________________

Signature of project Guide Signature of Candidate

2

Acknowledgement

I take this opportunity with much pleasure to thank all the people who have helped me

through the course of my journey towards completing this project. I sincerely thank my mentor,

Ms. Swapna Tamhankar, for her guidance, help and motivation. Apart from the subject of my

research, I learnt a lot from her, which I am sure, will be useful in different stages of my life.

I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Dhananjay Maniwade(Field Manager at IMRB) for

his help in making me understand the working of IMRB and providing me help throughout my

project. My sincere gratitude also goes to all those who instructed and taught me through the

years.

Finally, this project would not have been possible without the confidence, endurance and support

of my family. My family has always been a source of inspiration and encouragement. I wish to

thank my parents whose love, teachings and support have brought me this far.

SAMEER Y. WAJE

\

3

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................5

ABOUT IMRB INTERNATIONAL COMPANY.............................................................................................6

Need and Scope of Project.........................................................................................................................10

Project Objectives......................................................................................................................................11

About the Itops Project..............................................................................................................................12

RETAIL INDUSTRY................................................................................................................................13

Top Retail Formats in India.......................................................................................................................15

Retail Technology and the Evolving Shopper...........................................................................................16

Need of Information Technology in Retailing............................................................................................17

How Information Technology Involved In Retailing Operations?.............................................................19

Applications of Information Technology in Retail....................................................................................21

Some of the Information technology tools that retailers are using are:......................................................27

Contribution of India’s IT industry to Economic progress........................................................................33

Advantages of conventional and modern organized retail formats............................................................35

Literature Review......................................................................................................................................36

Outcome of the Study from Customer Survey...........................................................................................41

Learning from the project..........................................................................................................................53

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................54

Bibliography/ References..........................................................................................................................55

4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Industries in our modern day are facing tremendous pressures like society conformation,

technology innovation and market competition. These three forces describe by Boyett and

Boyett, (1995) catalyzed an organization to initiate goodwill responses, improve their

technological platform and invent systems to automate their operational processes. These are

efforts contributed to retain their competitive edge thus preserving their existence.

The challenge of retailing is to strike the balance between cost optimization and maintaining the

level of service. The trade-off between these factors is a dynamic one and retailers have to

endeavor to strike a balance towards it all times. Technology has become the basic fabric of the

retailing industry today. Perhaps the most important fact is that retailers who do not understand

the ways to use technology for competitive advantage will be left out in the competition.

This study is an effort to understand the applications of information technology in the modern

retail industry, like in supply chain management, store management, point of sale and customer

relationship management. With the help of case studies and a brief customer survey the current

industry scenario is also studied.

5

ABOUT IMRB INTERNATIONAL COMPANY

INTRODUCTION:

IMRB International, the erstwhile Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB), established in

1971, is the oldest & largest market research organisation in India and South Asia. IMRB

International is part of the world renowned Kantar Group, the Insight and Consulting Division of

the 10 Billion WPP Plc. The other partners in the Kantar world include Research International,

Millward Brown, BMRB, etc. In India, IMRB International is owned by HTA Private Limited

which also owns the world renowned advertising agency, JWT.

In 2005, IMRB International managed 2,500 projects and 40,00,000 interviews across all its

offices in India.

6

IMRB International promises high quality conceptualization, strategic thinking, execution and

interpretation skills on all its clients' research needs. IMRB International is the only research

company in India today that offers the entire range of research based services to its clients.

IMRB International's specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, business to

business marketing, social marketing and rural marketing.

The company has ability to provide the highest quality of professional services to the utmost

satisfaction of our clients which include small medium and large scale industries, government

and public sector units, multinational corporations and international companies.

To serve the diverse needs of our clients, the company has five specialist units:

• Probe Qualitative Research (PQR)

• Social and Rural Research Institute (SRI)

• Media & Panel Research Group

• Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM)

• Business & Industrial Research Division (BIRD) and the e-Technology Group

IMRB offers the full spectrum of customised research services which besides consumer research,

includes trade research, industrial market research, business to business research, trade and

tourism research, corporate image research, media research, financial services research, medical

marketing research and social research.

7

In addition, IMRB offers a wide array of syndicated research services in the field of technology,

media and market measurement.

Infrastructure and Resources

Research staff

IMRB has close to 400

professionals on its research staff

for handling consumer, industrial

and qualitative research. These

include managers, project directors

and research executives from

diverse academic disciplines

including engineering, statistics,

psychology, social sciences,

economics and management.

All research staff is extensively

trained in conducting market

research through in house experts

as well as faculty invited from the

industry in India and abroad. The induction training programme of IMRB International – Lyceum, is

well known in the research fraternity for imparting best quality training.

Analysis and Systems staff

Analysis of all survey research data is computerised. The in-house data processing cell has the state

of art infrastructure (hardware and software) available to them. The department is manned by more

than 150 full time computer professionals most of whom have advanced qualifications in

computer applications and languages. These personnel are also well versed in the use of wide

8

variety of off-the shelf data processing packages such as SPSS, Quantum, Brio, MDS, Excel Pivots,

CAN, LOTUS, FOXBASE, etc. Whenever necessary, customized analysis software is developed in-

house using higher level programming languages such as C++, Visual Basic , Fortran, etc.

Field staff

Field management operates through a three-tier structure to ensure close control and supervision of

fieldwork. Each of the zonal offices has more than 10 field executives who work under the overall

supervision of the Zonal Field Manager.

The field office maintains panels of interviewers for consumer research and panels of specialist

interviewers for interviewing target groups such as business executives, medical practitioners’ etc.

The interviewers are personally briefed and trained by IMRB executives on each project.

To collect data for its research projects, the research office draws upon the support from its local

as well as 15 field offices spread across the country. The 15 field offices of IMRB International

have also empanelled agencies to enhance our presence in over 250 towns of the country. This

decentralized field infrastructure with multi-lingual field executive staff enables data collection

across the country.

9

Need and Scope of Project

A thought of understanding the IT Environment & its life cycle.

To know the current marketing scenario in today’s world.

To determine various IT related uses and requirements.

To know the different scenarios and perception for IT products and its beneficiaries.

To find out & analyze the various ways of use of IT products in retail sector.

To find out how IT can generate better usefulness to retail outlet.

To find out how retailers can make a good buy worth for their business through IT.

To see how retailers rate IT and its involvement in their business workforce.

10

Project Objectives

To study and check the usefulness of IT products (PC/Laptop) in outlet sector with

changing IT technology.

To study the availability and brand consciousness of IT products with changing IT

technology and its usage in retail sector.

To figure out retailers needs wants and preferences towards IT durables.

To find out which branded product satisfies retailers in their business use.

11

About the Itops Project

The annual MAIT Industry Performance Review – ITOPs, conducted by India’s leading market

research firm IMRB International is a survey of the IT hardware sector’s efforts to manage the

business environment, gauge the market potential and consumer trends. This round of the study

involved face-to-face interviews with over 15,000 respondents selected randomly across 22 cities

in India. The MAIT-IMRB study was initiated in 1996-97 and encompasses five broad product

segments — computers, networking products, printers used in outlet sector. Apart from the

yearly review, a supply-side estimation module is used to monitor industry performance every

half-yearly, alternating with the annual review.

The MAIT-IMRB study involves data collection after the 'last mile' that the product travels, i.e.

from the premise where the product is finally installed. It is therefore an accurate estimate of

'what' was bought, 'by whom', and for 'what purpose'. Since the MAIT-IMRB study is based

entirely on data collected from 'users', it is able to accurately estimate the large unorganized

market as well as direct imports. It does not suffer from shortcomings of estimates based on

shipment or supply which in addition to under or over-counting, may also reflect biases in

perception of vendors and resellers. 

With five consecutive years of ITOPS data, the study is now able to closely track emerging

segments such as retail outlets, small offices, home users, first time buyers, etc. By virtue of

tracking the installed base built over the years, and monitoring the

extent of up gradations/ replacements taking place in the market, the study has been able to

identify emerging business opportunities that promise to expand the market for IT products in

India.

12

RETAIL INDUSTRY

What is retailing?

The word "Retail" originates from a French-Italian word. Retailer-someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something. Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use. It does this by organizing their availability on a relatively large scale and supplying them to customers on a relatively small scale. Retailer is a Person or Agent or Agency or Company or Organization who is instrumental in reaching the Goods or Merchandise or Services to the End User or Ultimate Consumer.Indian retail industry is going through a transition phase. Most of the retailing in our country is still in the unorganized sector. The spread out of the retails in US and India shows a wide gap between the two countries. Though retailing in India is undergoing an exponential growth, the road ahead is full of challenges.

The Indian retail segment accounts for 22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP)

and contributes about 8 per cent to the total employment. India continues to be among the most

attractive investment propositions for global retailers.

India has emerged as the fifth most favourable destination for international retailers, outpacing

the UAE, Russia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, according to A T Kearney's Global Retail

Development Index (GRDI) 2012. "India remains a high potential market with accelerated retail

growth of 15-20 per cent expected over the next five years," highlighted the report.

Retail in Rural India

Rural chains in India are focussing on hinterlands in a big way. For many companies, a large

portion of their revenues comes from rural sales. The companies thus are aligning their

marketing strategies in accordance to the requirements of their customers in rural areas.

Turtle, one of India's leading men's lifestyle brands unveiled their limited edition collection of

Khadi menswear with the theme "Ecological Weave". This is an initiative which not only hopes

13

to revive the khadi industry and the livelihood of its weavers and their families in rural India, but

is also poised to revolutionalise menswear fashion.

PRESENT INDIAN SCENARIO 

* Unorganized market: Rs. 583,000 crores* Organized market: Rs.5, 000 crores* 5X growth in organized retailing between 2000-2005 * Over 4,000 new modern Outlets in the last 3 years* Over 5,000,000 sq. ft. of mall space under development* The top 3 modern retailers control over 750,000 sq. ft. of retail space * Over 400,000 shoppers walk through their doors every week * Growth in organized retailing on par with expectations and projections of the last 5 Years: on course to touch Rs. 35,000 crores (US$ 7 Billion) or more by 2005-06 

Major players

- Food and grocery- Fashion - Others- Food world- Shoppers' Stop- Vivek's- Subhiksha- Westside - Planet M- Nilgris - Lifestyle- Music World- Adani- Rajiv's- Pyramid - Crossword - Nirma-Radhey- Globus- Life spring

14

Top Retail Formats in India

Traditional Format :

. Salesman

. Haats

. Mandies

. Company/Multi Brand store etc

Established Formats :

. Kirana stores

. Convenience/Departmental Store

. Pan/Beedi Shop

. Malls/Special Malls

. Company/Multi Brand Store

Emerging Format :

. Exclusive Retail Outlet

. Hypermarket

. International Retailer

. Malls/Special Malls

. Multiplexes

15

Retail Technology and the Evolving Shopper

Technology has changed almost every aspect of our daily lives. From how we listen to music and where we keep our information, to how we watch movies and communicate with our peers, emerging technology is transforming our daily lives in ways that might have been impossible to imagine a few years ago.

Except for retail.It seems odd that retail shopping is amazingly similar to the experience our parents knew. Sure, the cash register is now computer driven and the credit card swipe generates an approval in seconds. And much of the back-room technology that drives inventory replenishment is highly automated. Shelf labels may be printed out on computer stickers today, but many retailers still hand write their end cap signs. The physical displays are still the same metal shelves. And even when digital monitors are hung in the store, they are often little more than noisy, flashing versions of the same signs on the shelf. Despite a few improvements, from the shopper’s point of view, the shopping process is remarkably unchanged from the 1970s.

Not so in the electronic shopping world. Amazingly powerful technology helps you make smarter, more informed decisions and gives you access to the world’s supply of retail options. Consider the Amazon shopping experience: smart software helps you quickly find what you are looking for and gives you a wealth of information about the item. You can see previous purchase reviews, detailed product information – even reviews of the shoppers who wrote the reviews! And Amazon’s ability to identify other items you might like often makes the shopping experience feel magical because it is so easy.

Sporting goods retailer Golfsmith has a sophisticated e-commerce site as well, with video reviews from store associates about new golf club designs and links to articles in golfing magazines. They even allow you to read previouspurchasers’ product reviews based on the reviewer’s skill level – learning how beginner golfers lowered their scores might be more valuable than scratch golfers’ conversations on subtle changes in grip improvements. Is that same experience available in store? Not really. Sure, a great associate can beat the Amazon experience, but often shoppers want to explore unassisted. Meanwhile, with retail labor turnover approaching a 100% a year, great customer service is often impossible to sustain.

16

Need of Information Technology in Retailing

The critical information needs of the retail organization form the basis for critical success factors in the retail business. The following are some of the key information areas;• Product information – catalog, availability, new releases, promotion, supply and demand etc.

• Customer information – profile, behavior, activities, preferences, distribution etc.

• Operations information – logistics, allocation, procurement, schedule, inventory, shelf spaceA number of factors are responsible for the need of information technology in retail out of which four factors are more important than ever before. They are:

1. Intense Competition: Intense competition forces the organization to become more efficient and effective. As the industry matures lack of growth and excess capacity will often result in a share battle between the large companies. For example we are witnessing a market share battle in steel, automobile, chemical and food industry. One way to gain the competitive advantage is to use information technology at least in four ways. It reduces the operating costs through automation. It improves the product or service quality by providing quality assurance Information technologies provide a value added services which creates a differentiation. Information technology can be used for competitive intelligence.

2. Globalization of business operations: In all the businesses whether it is consumer or industrial, high tech or low tech, service or product there is at least some degree of global completion. Global operations require that both the time and distance barrier is to be eliminated or reduced. As the industry become more global in its procurement, manufacturing and marketing operations it requires a greater use of information technology to reduce the time and space barriers.

3. Organizational changes: With the organizational reorganization and increased mergers and acquisitions top management recognizes the need for flexibility through compatible information technology. Some of the aspects that creates the need for information technologyare: Cost efficiency through consolidation and automation.

Significant number of mergers and acquisitions.

Crises management and security of physical human resources has become a major issue in recent years

17

As the major industries mature and competition intensifies they are reorganizing to become market driven.

4. Technology revolution: In a very short period of time we have seen the commercialization of information technologies. The performance and price ratio of new generation information technology is making them more affordable and useful to the organization (Sheth, 1994).There are three fundamental dimensions of information technology; Sharp experiences in information technologies resulting in an increased value in use.

Information technologies have been distributed over time with respect to processing, memory and intelligence.

Information technologies are highly integrated with the advent of end to end digital

technologies, it is possible to transmit, store, process and distribute different forms of

information on a single integrated technology.

18

How Information Technology Involved In Retailing Operations?

Information technologies can be used by the organization in variety of innovative ways. They

have become tools to meet corporate objectives of effectiveness and efficiency. They can be used

as shown in the following figure.

Some of the areas are:

* Forecasting: Forecasting is the process of estimation in unknown situations. It's an essential

and very important process in any business organization. Business leaders and economists are

continually involved in the process of trying to forecast, or predict, the future of business in the

economy. Business leaders engage in this process because much of what happens in businesses

today depends on what is going to happen in the future.

Modern demand-forecasting systems provide new opportunities to improve retail

Performance. Although the art of the individual merchant may never be replaced, it can be

augmented by an efficient, objective and scientific approach to forecasting demand. Large-scale

systems are now capable of handling the mass of retail transaction data – organizing it, mining it

and projecting it into future customer behavior (Hussain, 2010). This new approach to demand

forecasting in retail will contribute to the accuracy of future plans, the satisfaction of future

customers and the overall efficiency and profitability of retail operations.

19

Inventory Management: Inventory can be either raw materials, finished items already

available for sale, or goods in the process of being manufactured. Inventory is recorded as

an asset on a company's balance sheet.

To optimize the deployment of inventory, retailers need to manage the uncertainties, constraints,

and complexities across their global supply chain on continuous basis. This allows them to

improve their inventory forecasting ability and accurately set inventory targets. An IT solution is

a proven and market leading solution for determining optimal time-varying inventory targets for

every item, at every location throughout supply chain. This allows retailers you to significantly

reduce inventory without adversely affecting service levels.

Store Management: Another example where Information technology can be beneficial is

a store management system that alerts out-of-place or stock-out items. A store is

commonly a shopper stall for the retail sale of commodities, but also a place where

wholesale supplies are kept, exhibited, or sold. A place where something is deposited for

safekeeping is called store. An in-store system uses magnetic strips or barcodes or RFID

to monitor actual versus intended product location on the floor or in the stockroom (Negi,

2008).

20

Applications of Information Technology in Retail

The Indian organized retail industry is the fastest growing in the world. To keep pace with the

rapid expansion, companies are forced to leverage technology to bring in operational efficiency.

With the government of India allowing 100% FDI in retail, major retail companies have started

entering the Indian market. The competition is getting tougher by the day and companies are

using technology as a differentiator. The following sections highlight the various operational

areas of retail industry and how information technology is used for competitive advantage.

IT in Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain may be defined as the series of companies that eventually make products and

services available to consumers, including all of the functions enabling the production, delivery,

and recycling of materials, components, end products and services. Supply Chain Management

may be defined as the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and

the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across business

within supply chain for the purpose of improving the long term performance of the individual

companies and the supply chain as a whole. SCM gives a value-enhancing and long-term benefit

for the organization. Firms with large inventories, many suppliers, complex product assemblies,

and highly valued customers have a lot to gain by good practices in SCM. The cost of inventories

was over $2.2 trillion in U.S in 2000. Transportation and inventory carrying cost in U.S totaled

$434 billion in 2000 (U.S Central Bureau’s Annual Survey of Manufacturers). The best way to

leverage the potential of SCM is by the efficient use of IT in this area. The importance of IT in

SCM has long been acknowledged but little work has been done in this area. But with growing

competition and greater emphasis to keep price as low as possible the companies are looking

towards strengthening their supply chain. IT can be used in SCM in various areas such as:

Purchasing Management

Demand Forecasting

21

Performance Evaluation

Inventory Management

Implementation of JIT

ERP Systems

1. IT in Purchasing Management

Electronic data interchange was developed in 1970 to improve the purchasing process. The rapid

advent of internet technology in the 1990’s spurred the growth of non-proprietary and more

flexible internet based e-Procurement systems. Earlier critics argued that e-Commerce have been

over inflated and it results in larger expenses than its savings. Today though many well managed

e-commerce firms are beginning to thrive as users realize the benefits of their services. The

material user initiates the e-procurement process by entering a material request and other

relevant information. This is then submitted to the purchasing department. After verification of

this the buyer transfers this data to the e-procurement system and assigns qualified suppliers to

bid for it. Suppliers connected to this system receive the bid instantaneously. The purchasing

department maintains a list of preferred suppliers for each category of material. Thus the buyer is

able to submit the bid request to numerous suppliers within seconds. The traditional manual

purchasing system is a tedious and labor intensive task. The new e-procurement system is a time

saving system. It also results in a lot of cost saving as manual tasks are reduced. This system is

much more accurate than the manual system. It allows mobility to the system. Audit trails can be

maintained for all transactions in electronic form thus increasing the tractability. This system

results in overall better management. This also results in various benefits for buyers.

2. IT in Forecasting Demand

Forecasting provides an estimate of future demand and the basis for planning and sound business

decisions. The goal of a good forecasting technique is to minimize the gap between actual and

forecast demand. All the factors that influence demand, the impact of these factors and there time

frame must be considered in developing an accurate forecast. Also buyers and sellers should

22

share all the relevant information about the forecasting so that a correct decision can be made.

Various forecasting techniques are as follows:

Jury of executive method

Delphi method

Sales force opinion

Consumer survey

Simple average forecasting

Moving average

Weighted moving average

Exponential smoothening

Regression analysis

Some of the forecasting software used are:

Forecast Pro Software: It is used by over 15,000 companies in 84 countries. The

software is easy to use and has a built in expert selection system that analyzes the data, selects

the appropriate technique for forecasting, builds the model and calculates the forecast.

Smart Software: This software is used by companies such as HP, Mead Corporations

etc. This is designed to run on Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP.

3. IT in Performance Measurement

It is said that “You can’t improve what you can’t measure”. Performance measurement is the use

of statistical evidence to determine progress toward specific defined organizational objectives.

The daunting task of measuring performance for organizations across industries and eras,

declaring the top performers, and finding the common drivers of their success did not occur to

anyone until around 1982, when Tom Peters and Bob Waterman got down to work researching

and writing In Search of Excellence. This publishing sensation challenged industrial managers’

actions and attitudes, and inspired researchers and scholars to further pursue the theory of high

23

performance. This task becomes more complex as corporations diversify into multiple industries.

A researcher must take this into consideration when conducting a comparative analysis of

companies.

Performance Measurement Guidelines in SCM:

Total SCM cost

Supply Chain production flexibility

Supply chain delivery performance

Supply chain e-business performance

Supply chain perfect order fulfillment

The evaluation of performance of the suppliers, material etc. requires a lot of data and

continuous evaluation is required. Due to large volume of information available it has become

almost impossible to do this evaluation process manually and thus the role of IT in this area has

been increasing. One of the most recognized methods for integrating supply chain and measuring

their member’s performance is the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR). This model

is used as a supply chain management diagnosis, benchmarking and process improvement tool

by manufacturing and service firms in a variety of industries across the globe. This follows

weighted approach to the areas that need more competencies.

4. IT in Inventory Management

In traditional supply chain inventory management, orders are the only information firms

exchange, but information technology now allows firms to share demand and inventory data

quickly and inexpensively. The inventory management directly influence how effectively the

organization deploys its assets and capacity in producing its goods and services. The problem of

inventory is compounded in an integrated supply chain, where a missed due date or stock out

cascades downstream, affecting the entire supply chain. In this area IT is used in The Chase

Production System in which the capacity is adjusted in the demand pattern. It is also used in

Master Production Scheduling, listing the exact end items to be produced in a specific period. IT

is also used in Material Requirement Planning and Manufacturing Resource Planning.

24

Case in Focus

International Truck and Engine Corporation is a fortune 500 manufacturer of make-to-order

trucks and buses. It has a huge network of dealers in more than 50 countries. The company has

annual sales of about $6.7 billion in 2001 and sold about half a million trucks in 2001. Its main

feature is the make-to-order trucks according to customer specifications.

This helps in reducing the inventory and provides a opportunity to charge a price premium for its

trucks. But to manage this information is a complex task. It required a system that could handle

more than 173,000 models and feature combination. The new system needed to handle all

aspects of product change effectively and efficiently, including the ability to interface and

communicate with existing systems. The company opted for TrigentConfigration Solution as is

manufacturer. This system had information imbedded in it. This information was used to process

truck orders. Dealers and company is also connected. The results were an increase in the revenue

by 150% and increase in profits by 120%. Also the BOM records were reduced from 7.2 million

to 250,000. The system enabled International to differentiate its products and compete effectively

in a market plagued by an oversupply of used trucks.

5. IT in Just In Time

Just-in-time (JIT) is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the return on investment of

a business by reducing in-process inventory and its associated carrying costs. When implemented

correctly, JIT can lead to dramatic improvements in a manufacturing organization's return on

investment, quality, and efficiency. Implementing lean/JIT practices significantly reduces lead

time. Lean/JIT practices mediate the influence of IT integration on lead-time performance.

Process improvements that result from lean/JIT practices are important contributors to the

success of IT integration. Even companies that have experienced success in reducing lead time

through lean/JIT practices may benefit from IT integration practices such as those embodied in

enterprise resource planning systems. Two general approaches have been taken to reduce lead

times in manufacturing: information technology (IT) integration within and between firms in the

supply chain and process improvements that, as a group, are often referred to as lean/just-in-time

(JIT) manufacturing practices. IT integration refers to information systems that electronically

transmit information within firms and between firms. Although these IT integration and lean/JIT

initiatives are complementary in concept, in practice they are often considered to be competing.

25

The sense of competition stems from two major sources. First, the source of organizational

expertise required is quite different for each approach, IT professionals in the case of IT

integration versus manufacturing management and manufacturing engineering for the lean/JIT

approach. Second, the financial resources and top management attention required by each of

these approaches often obviate initiating both IT integration and lean/JIT in a large scale at the

same time.

Case in Focus

The example is about one of the most well-known companies of the world, Dell Computer

Corporation. Product goes in and out of Dell so fast that there is barely any time to see whether it

is in the warehouse or manufacturing. Dell refers to this as a combination of just in time process

and e-commerce and the main reason for its success. Dell started in 1984 as a build-to-order

organization based on telephone call orders and the inventory was always low but never close to

today’s levels. Material arrives at Dell two hours prior to assembly. The internet can be used to

compress time and that’s what Dell has changed itself into. With the use of internet they can get

a better pulse on their customers needs at any given time and also feed the data to the suppliers.

The suppliers have also been brought close to each other by the use of internet and help in the

implementation of JIT.

26

Some of the Information technology tools that retailers are using are:

1. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of such technologies which can dramatically

increase the organizations capability to acquire data about entities properties and location. RFID

technology can provide much useful information about products: Product identification number,

price and cost, manufacturing date, location, inventory on hand and so on. RFID technology can

increase speed, accuracy and visibility of operational information exchange which in turn leads

to shorter cycle times, lower labour costs and improved customer service . Radio frequency

identification technology is “a technology that uses radio frequency waves to transfer data

between a reader and a movable item for the purpose of identifying , categorizing tracking and

monitoring products”. A typical RFID system is comprised of tags, readers and software. Tags

are the key component and are placed on the entity which is identified as data carrier; readers can

read/write data on tags and transmit the data between readers and tags; and software integrates an

RFID system which usually includes a front end which manages the readers and tags and a

middleware which routes this information to servers in order to run the back – end database

applications.

There are three main benefits from RFID application in retail supply chain. First, identifying and

tracking product information from RFID system can enable firms to integrate inventory

timeliness; for example a study reports that RFID can make a savings of 16% in out of stock.

Secondly RFID technology can greatly reduce or avoid shrinkage, which is the financial losses

attributable to a combination of employee theft, shoplifting administrative error and vendor

fraud. Thirdly RFID technology can help companies improve supply chain planning in three

ways: enhanced information visibility, increased information accuracy and privacy and security

issues. The three major concerns are first its relative high cost. Second the lack of globally

accepted standards and third complexity of RFID implementation.

2. Point of Sale technology: This can be defined as a computerized system used to capture time

and place of sale. It provides up to date information on sales of different brands, size, colour,

styles, prices, etc. Under point of sale technologies, specialized terminals or desktops are

combined with bar coding readers, magnetic stripe readers and cash registers for accurately and

27

instantly capturing the sale transaction. Retailers investing in these systems can benefit by

reducing their inventory investment by 15 to 30 %.

3. Electronic data Interchange: EDI is the exchange of business information through standard

interfaces, by the use of computers. In simplers terms, EDI is defined as the exchange of

electronic documents between organizations. It allows retailers to place instantaneous, paperless

purchase orders with suppliers. EDI is not only efficient but also reduces the time needed to

supply products to customers, by ensuring quick and accurate transactions. By using this

technique human intervention can be minimized and employees can focus on key business areas.

4. Barcode and Scanners: Bar code readers are photoelectric scanners that read the bar codes or

vertical zebra striped marks, printed on product containers. Barcode scanner reads the bar codes

quickly, speed up the checkout and makes the pleasant cashier to transfer the positive energy to

customers. Retailers now a days are increasingly using bar code system called the Universal

Product code (UPC).

5. Business to Business (B2B) collaboration: B2B is pre-agreed technological information

sharing mechanism and co-planning process. Business to business collaboration is electronic

marketplaces on the internet where supplier and buyers interact to conduct transactions. B2B

solutions are usually implemented through packages (SOA, C-ME and customized solution).

UccNet is an emerging B2B data communication standard for the retail industry with a

significant potential impact.

6. The Database Management, Data Warehousing and Data Mining: A single transaction at a

retail outlet releases a handful of information. The use of systems to organize, retrieve, search

and manage that data is referred as database management. A data warehouse is a collection of

computer based information that is crucial to the successful execution of enterprise initiatives.

The concept of data warehouse implies that the data stored for business analytics can most

effectively be assessed by separating it from the data in the operational systems. A data

warehouse is used for upgrading a retailer with important information regarding sales like colour,

28

size, and quantity of product. Data mining helps the retailers in extracting information from

database about the existence of which the user was not aware. It discovers a relationship between

customer behavior and variables that seems to be non – intuitive.

7. Cloud computing: Cloud computing is an IT delivery paradigm where compute capacity is

made available to users in an on – demand fashion through a shared physical infrastructure. The

expectation is that sharing hardware, software, network resources and management personnel

would reduce per unit compute cost for enterprises.

8. Collaborative, Planning, forecasting and Replenishment: Collaborative Planning,

Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is a concept that aims to enhance supply chain

integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. CPFR seeks cooperative management of

inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain.

Information shared between suppliers and retailers aids in planning and satisfying customer

demands through a supportive system of shared information. This allows for continuous

updating of inventory and upcoming requirements, making the end-to-end supply chain process

more efficient. Efficiency is created through the decrease expenditures for merchandising,

inventory, logistics, and transportation across all trading partners.

9. Electronic Cash Register: The Electronic Cash Register (ECR) keeps track of sales

transactions quickly and effectively. An abundance of PLUs (Price Look Ups) and department

keys accommodate a variety of merchandise items. This means a faster, more accurate check out

process and the ability to manage a wider variety of goods and services more efficiently. And

with features like fast, attractive receipt print outs and an easy-to-view LCD operator display, the

ECR makes managing the business a pleasure.

10. Loyalty Membership cards: Creative personalized customer loyalty cards enable retailers,

casinos and many others to provide customer loyalty reward points, discounts and perks.

Customer loyalty card programs also create opportunities to track customer data and use it to

build strong, lasting relationships.

29

11. Two Way Radios like the Kenwood TK3201: Members of staff communicate over a wide

area, check stock levels and stay in touch across the entire site. Not only does 2 Way Radio allow

members of staff to communicate over a wide area but they can be used as a health and safety

tool so workers can report accidents, check stock levels and stay in touch across the entire site

from the shop floor to the distribution area. Imagine a customer asking a member of staff if a

particular item was in stock. Gone can be the days of the staff member disappearing from what

seems like ever to find out. Instead a simple call using the Two Way Radio to someone in charge

of the stock levels and the customer is told in seconds if the item is available. Modern Two Way

Radios like the Kenwood TK3201 and Motorola XTN446 Radio are a perfect way for modern

retailers to differentiate themselves from their competitors whilst making all our shopping

experiences better.

12. Quick Response codes (QR): The Quick Response codes are the bar codes on the products

which could be downloaded by the customer from the internet or could be picked up from the

previously bought products on the smart phones or tablets. A list of all items to be purchased can

then be mailed to the retail outlet. The retail outlet can pack your material and either deliver the

same at your residence at a price or keep it at the outlet and the customer could pick it up based

on his convenience.

13. Customer Relationship management, Online Analytical Processing Collaborative

planning forecasting and replenishment: The emphasis of retailers are now in utilizing IT

solutions like CRM, OLAP, CPFR tools to carry out the behavioral analysis to stay in the

competitive market. Retail ERP packages have been implemented by large retailers but today

they are experiencing

difficulty in utilizing it fully, one of the key reasons could be the lack of adequate training. But it

is expected that the demand and utilization of these packages will grow in the near future. It is

estimated that about 400 to 500 mega bytes of data are transmitted daily between point-of sales

counters and corporate headquarters of retail chains in developed countries. Relay of transaction

data in such volumes helps to maintain a close working relationship between retailers and

vendors to predict consumer demand, shorten lead times, reduce inventory holding and thereby

30

save cost. Retailing database also helps in tracking purchase behavior through demographic and

psychographic information. This clearly is an indication of technology serving as an effective

means to build the retail business and not just restricted to supporting and improving the

operational efficiency.

14. ERP like Retail Pro, higher-end solutions like JDA, SAP IS Retail or Retek: Facilitate

complete integration of all the operations of the retail business and are a must in a scenario

where retailers have thousands of products, hundreds of suppliers, multiple locations, etc.

15. Customer Service Kiosks and Intelligent Vending Machines: Latest information about

products, their availability, price verification can be done at the customer service kiosks. If the

product is not currently available a process, whereby the missing goods are ordered and directly

shipped to the customer can be initiated. A ‘Get help’ button, can be used where by a customer

can click on this button and the store manager on the floor can walk down to the customer to

resolve his query or could inform the customer how much time he would take to come down to

the kiosk.

16. Voice ready Multi-Modal Wearable Computer Operatives can work completely hands and

eyes free by receiving picking commands from the WMS via a plug-in headset. Popular

application software and devices are available today that give a store associate access to store

inventory, point of sale, voice communication, instant messaging, and even external data such as

inventory at other stores in the region. Voice communication can be “broadcast”, where all

employees hear the same thing, or “unicast” where a conversation happens between two

employees. Group communication, or “multicast”, is also available which can be used to let

groups of managers communicate only amongst each other.

17. Mobile payment: Order through M-commerce or telephone and pay through mobile. This is

a very convenient way of making payment. The customer can order the material through his

smart phones using the Quick response codes. Ask the retailer to deliver the goods at his

residence and make payment through mobile saving huge amount of time.

31

18. Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) Master Data across all business partners

remains the same. If any business partner makes a change in the master data especially product

master, a simultaneous change will be initiated in the database of all the other parties interested

that is the suppliers, company and the customers. And therefore all the parties in the value chain

maintain the same master data avoiding confusion and errors.

19. Video Conferencing: Video conferencing solutions within and between retail branch

locations can facilitate inventory checks, remote support, remote team meetings, last minute

specials, new incentive programs, faster access to sales reports, employee information and

remote expertise

20. Mobile point of sale: Fully mobile point-of-sale stations can be set up using handheld

computers, scanners, and printers with integrated credit card readers. This would be a great help

in reducing the queue at the retail outlets especially during peak hours. The store personnel could

use mobile point of sale equipments and complete the customer transaction at a great speed

avoiding dissatisfaction.

21. E-Commerce and F-Commerce: Use of electronic communication like e-marketing could

well be a cost-effective form of attracting and retaining customers. With internet penetration and

awareness on the rise in the country, e-marketing does prove to be a good communication tool.

Use of technology could further be extended to home shopping, direct mails and telemarketing. It

can also facilitate growth in newer applications like kiosks, intelligent vending machines, PC net

shops, etc. F-commerce is face book commerce. Retailers are sending posts to the respective face

book accounts based on the interest level of the customer thereby individualize the information

sent.

32

Contribution of India’s IT industry to Economic progress

The contribution of India's IT industry to economic progress has been quite significant. The

rapidly expanding socio-economic infrastructure has proved to be of great use in supporting the

growth of Indian information technology industry.

The flourishing Indian economy has helped the IT sector to maintain its competitiveness in the

global market. The IT and IT enabled services industry in India has recorded a growth rate of

22.4% in the last fiscal year. The total revenue from this sector was valued at 2.46 trillion Indian

rupees in the fiscal year 2007. Out of this figure, the domestic IT market in India accounted for

900 billion rupees. So, the IT sector in India has played a major role in drawing foreign funds

into the domestic market.

The growth and prosperity of India's IT industry depends on some crucial factors. These factors

are as follows:

• India is home to a large number of IT professionals, who have the necessary skill and expertise

to meet the demands and expectations of the global IT industry.

• The cost of skilled Indian workforce is reasonably low compared to the developed nations.

This makes the Indian IT services highly cost efficient and this is also the reason as to why the

IT enabled services like business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing have

expanded significantly in the Indian job market.

• India has a huge pool of English-speaking IT professionals. This is why the English-speaking

countries like the US and the UK depend on the Indian IT industry for outsourcing their business

processes.

The emergence of Indian information technology sector has brought about sea changes in the

Indian job market. The IT sector of India offers a host of opportunities of employment. With IT

biggies like Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture and several other

IT firms operating in some of the major Indian cities, there is no dearth of job opportunities for

the Indian software professionals. The IT enabled sector of India absorbs a large number of

33

graduates from general stream in the BPO and KPO firms. All these have solved the

unemployment problem of India to a great extent. The average purchasing power of the common

people of India has improved substantially. The consumption spending has recorded an all-time

high. The aggregate demand has increased as a result. All these have improved the gross

production of goods and services been instrumental in facilitating the economic progress of

India.

34

Advantages of conventional and modern organized retail formats

Conventional

large bargaining power overheads

proximity to consumers

long operation-hours strong relations with customers convenience and hygiene.

Modern organized

Low operating cost and overheads Range and variety of goods long operating-hours assurance (brand related durability)

35

Literature Review

a) Topic-ORGANIZED RETAILING IN INDIA – CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNITIES

Learnings-

Indian Retail Industry is ranked among the ten largest retail markets in the world. The attitudinal

shift of the Indian consumer and the emergence of organized retail formats have transformed the

face of Retailing in India. With the sign of reemergence of economic growth in India, consumer

buying in retail sector is being projected as a key opportunity area. As a consequence, Indian

corporate houses are refocusing its strategic perspective in retail marketing with the idea to use

resources optimally in order to create core competence and gain competitive advantage. The

paper theme is to analyse finer strategic perspective for the retail sector in India and suggest

measures so that the corporate strategists could incorporate the same both qualitatively and

quantitatively. Based upon the qualitative judgment, a retail unit may be given an overall

understanding about the expected performance that can further be corroborated by quantitative

analysis. Retail trade has emerged as one of the largest industry contributing to employment

generation, revenue generation, increased turn over and many more. Organized retailing is

showing signs of enormous creativity. It. has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced

industries with several players entering the market. As a matter of fact retailing in India is

gradually edge its way towards becoming the next boom industry. This paper provides detailed

information about the growth of retailing industry in India. It examines the growing awareness

and brand consciousness among people across different socio-economic classes in India and how

the urban and semi-urban retail markets are witnessing significant growth . The paper includes

growth of retail sector in India, strategies, strength and opportunities of retail stores, retail format

in India, recent trends, and opportunities and challenges. This paper concludes with the likely

impact of the entry of global players into the Indian retailing industry. It also highlights the

challenges faced by the industry in near future

36

b) Topic- CUSTOMERS’ OPINION ON SMALL SCALE RETAIL STORES

Date and volume- May 2013

Learning’s- The Indian retail sector is dominated by small scale retailers. The organized sector

occupies only 5 percent share in the total retail sector. The presence of millions of small scale

retailers in different product categories makes one realize that a large number of people depend

upon this activity. In the light of severe competition from the fast growingand more challenging

big retailers in the fast changing scenario, the survival and growth of small scale retailers

depends upon their ability to provide customer satisfaction. Customer loyalty and support are the

pillars of success for these retailers. The present study aims to examine the opinion of customers

on small scale establishments. The customers’ opinion on facilities, ambience factors,

communication, sales promotion techniques, and service performance of small-scale retailers are

ascertained and analyzed in this paper.

The findings of the study indicate the fact that small scale retailers are the key players in the

Indian retail sector and continue to offer services to the satisfaction of customers. The boom in

organized retailing did not affect the consumer opinion and perceptions against small scale

retailers. The small scale retailer is the preferred choice of customers in all the product

categories. The customers expressed their satisfaction on these retailers’ services. The findings of

the study do not lead to the conclusion that the small scale retailers can ignore the competition

from big retailers. On the other hand, it cautions the threat and makes them realize the

opportunities to build loyal customer base by continuously improving their marketing offers and

interactions. The small scale retailers will have bright future in India provided they upgrade the

quality of services continuously.

37

c) Topic- ORGANIZED RETAIL SECTOR: FUTURE, CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA

Date and volume- Volume 4 Issue 1 January 2013

Learning’s-

Retailing provides a crucial link between producers and consumers in

modern market economy. Retail in India is most dynamic industry and represents a huge

opportunity both for domestic and international retailers. Modern retailing is not threat to

independent Mom and Pop stores as most of the consumers said that they never stopped visiting

Kirana stores. They strongly agreed on coexistence of both is requirement of the day. Their

frequency of going to kirana stores is reduced but it’s kind of opportunities for reorienting Mom

and Pop stores for attracting more customers. So, organized retailing is beneficial for India

because it’s not alarming to create conflict with unorganized stores but reshaping unorganized

stores into budding/nascent organised stores. Modern retailing has miles to go in India. The

growth of modern formats has been much slower in India as compared to other countries and the

development of this sector is restricted by the presence

of regulatory and structural constraints.

38

d) Topic - Technology Advances in Retail: Improving Margins using Wireless

Networks

Learning’s-

The retail industry is one that lives and dies on margins, with managers on a never-ending quest

to increase revenue and decrease costs. Technology has been an area of intense focus in retail

industries as a way to accomplish both goals. Improvements have been made in areas such as

supply chain management, inventory management, customer experience, and loss prevention.

Wireless technology, permitting communication between people and devices anywhere and

without cables, has enabled the dramatic transformation of business processes in the past, and

continues to do so. However, wireless deployments in the past have been limited by security

requirements, the cost of deployment, inadequate management solutions, lack of standards, and

availability of innovative solutions. Rapid advances in wireless local area network (WLAN)

technology in recent years along with widespread adoption of the technology in the consumer

and enterprise space have eliminated many of these

roadblocks. Today, a new wave of opportunity exists for retail industries to improve margins

through the use of wireless technology. This white paper discusses the applications for this

technology, the security requirements in retail environment, and considerations when selecting

the right architecture for mobile network deployments. There is no magic technology that by

itself can boost margins, fix operating problems, and guarantee customer loyalty. Only people

can do these things, along with a well-executed operational plan – but technology can help.

Successful companies today must build technology into their businesses. Wireless technology

has a number of innovative uses in retail, as described in this paper, that can improve operational

processes, improve the customer buying experience, give better visibility for management into

store operations, and ultimately improve the bottom line.

39

e) Topic -RETAIL TECHNOLOGY AND THE EVOLVING SHOPPER

Learning’s-

New, powerful shopping technology will transform the retail landscape. And it will happen fast.

The convergence of low power usage screens, high battery capacity, 4G mobile speeds, touch-

screen/intuitive interfaces and behavior analytics are conspiring to generate unprecedented,

transformative power for shoppers. And with increasingly lower-cost electronics combined with

increasingly tech-savvy shoppers, adoption rates at scale in retail are inevitable.

Brands will try to harness this to connect directly with shoppers. Retailers will try to ensure retail

loyalty and increase conversion. While both are valid strategies, both will be essentially

misguided.

Shoppers will use high tech where it helps them become smarter, faster, and more informed. If

brands and retailers focus on serving shopper needs with new technologies, they will win.

Shoppers will also win, and winning with shoppers means driving sales.

40

Outcome of the Study from Customer Survey

The survey was conducted by me in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Western suburb side. Since it

was a new project and exploratory study for me so no hypothesis was formulated. But the

summary of this project gives brief idea about the survey done in various areas of Mumbai, navi

Mumbai and western suburb side.

The survey states the following categories of questionnaire in 2 ways i.e. PC section (outlets

having IT product) and NON PC section (outlets not having IT products). Further in pc section it

states about the IT products available in retail establishment in various ways in questionnaire

such as i.e. qualifying section, peripheral section, operating section, networking products and

amount of investment on IT in that establishment.

Yes80%

No20%

IT Products

41

1. In qualifying section there are various questions, regarding the particular establishment

i.e. primary role of the particular respondent in particular establishment. i.e. formulation

of It plans, evaluating IT requirement, developing technical specification, approving IT

purchase and final purchase authority. So in this 50% of respondent had option as

evaluating the IT requirement, 25 percent of respondent had option i.e. ‘formulation of IT

plans’, sometimes 20 percent of people respondents ‘approves IT purchases’ and rest all

are stuck between 5% to 25% in ‘final purchase authority’ and ‘formulation of IT plans’

25%

50%

20%

5%

Role of respondent to IT product

formulation of IT plans

Evaluating the IT plans

Approving the IT purchase and final purchase authority

Final purchase authority

42

2. In another question which states about nature of work that is mainly carried out in that

premise particularly. I.e. shop, restaurant, dealer, shop and warehouse etc. so most of the

survey we had in hotels and shops i.e. shoes shop, medical, clothes shop, specks etc.

57%

21%

14%

7%

Major Activity

Outlets Service

Manufacturing Other

43

3. Another question which states the total number of employees in the outlet establishment

i.e. 1, 2-5, 6-10, 11-25, 26-50. So retailers can be as large and medium size retailers. So

depending upon this most of the retailers have an employee size of 6-10 in automobile spare

parts shop and in hotel it was 11-25 employees working as staffs and waiters and one manager.

Some times in kiranaawala shop there might me a range of 2-5 employee data. So we can say

almost 75 percent of retail sectors have an employee size of 6-10 and 20 percent belong to 2-5

employee size.

2%6%

61%

12%

18%

Employees percentage in retail outlet

1

2-5 employees

6-10 employees

11-25 employees

26-50 employees

4. The study also states the following products installed/used in the particular establishment.

I.e. desktop computer, thin client- workstation, netbook/mini laptop, notebook/laptops, all-in-

44

one desktop, tablet computer, servers. So it was observed that retail sector are still using old

technology desktop computer in retail outlets. 75 percent of outlet sector are using desktop

computer and 20 percent of outlets are using laptops in their establishment and 5 to 10 percent

are using netbook/mini laptops. But still the technology of thin client workstation and tablet pc

and all in one desktop is not seen in retail outlets which would be still a upcoming technology

which would be seen slowly in future.

70%

20%

10%

Products Percentage

Dekstop

Laptop

Netbook/mini Laptop

5. The study also stated the printers installed/used in the particular establishment. i.e.

DMP(dot matrix printer), multi-functional inkjet printer-(MFD IJP), single-functional laser jet

45

printer (MFD LJP), multi-functional laser jet printer (MFD LJP), single function laser jet, line

printer , scanner, UPS. So it was observed that 60 percent of retail outlets use single function

laser jet which was mostly observed in larger number as the single function laser jet are used

for printing bills purpose, brochures etc. and multi-functional laser jet was found to be around

20% in retail outlets. Dot matrix and line printer is mostly seen in banking sector and printing

bills.

2%

22%

67%

2%6%

Printer installed in establishments

Dot matrix printer

multi-functional laserjet

single funtion laser jet

Line printer

Ups

6. The study also illustrated the brands of desktop and laptop computer installed in the

establishment and its totals installed in particular establishment. i.e. Acer, Asus, dell, HCL,

Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, ThinkPad, Wipro, zenith, assembled products and

46

their brands.so it was observed 50 percent of retail outlets used assembled computer, 8% used

Samsung and 17 % used Hewlett Packard and 25% used other IT brand products.

8%

17%

50%

25%

Brands of computer

Samsung

Hewlett Packard

Assembled

Others

7. Next questions say about the various business activities that an establishment uses the IT

products.

I.e. Finance and Accounting department, marketing and sales, human resource and

administration, technical operation, logistics procurement. And all these activities is break up

47

in percentage which all together total should add up to 100%. So 60% of retail outlets

perform finance and accounting department,25% perform marketing and sales work, 10%

perform human resource and administration and 5% perform logistics and procurement.

60%

25%

10%

5%

Business activities in retail sector

Finance and Accounting Department

Marketing and Sales

Human Resource and Administration

Logistics and Procurement

8. Next questions show the latest processors used in the computers and laptops used in the

current establishments. It was found 60% used Pentium 4, 20% used core 2 duo, 10

percent used core i3, 3% AMD Athlon, 2% atom etc.

48

60%

2%

20%

2%

10%

3% 3%

Processor installed

Pentium IV

Atom

Core2Duo

Core2Quad

Core i3

Core i5

Core i7

AMD Athlon

49

9. The next questions states the respective brands of printers installed in the retail outlets. It

was observed that that 6o% retail outlets use Epson printers, 15% use canon printers in

their outlets because their cartridges are less costly and easy to installed.

10%

60%

20%

5%5%

Brands of printer

Canon

Epson

HP (Hewlett Packard)

Samsung

Panosonic

Don’t know

10. The next question suggest about the various sources you will use to gather more

information on IT. i.e. newspaper, magazines, websites, advertisements, friends , others.

50

So it was observed retailers mostly preferred newspaper and friends as a source of

information about IT products.

33%

17%

8%

13%

25%

4%

Source of Information

Newspapers

Magazines

Websites

Advertisements

Friends

Other

11. Next question tells about kind of customers you have for your retail outlet. Target

consumer for these retailers belong to the same city (area) where the enterprise is

situated. Only few retailers have their customers abroad.

51

63%

19%

13%

6%

Customers for the establishment

From Same city

From Same State

Other

All over India

12. Next question suggest about rating IT for retail business activity. For retailers, IT

products provide Security as well as work proceeds are also accomplished in efficient

manner.

52

43%

29%

19%

10%

IT to Business

Security

Efficiency in work

Network Enhancement

Other

Learning from the project

Many retailers often manage most of their operation on It technology. .

Desktop Pc- an IT product is popular and preferred more among others.

For Retailers, IT products are bought with an intention of Final purchase only.

Most IT products are assembled rather than associated with one single company.

53

Still the small percentage of retail sectors is unaware about the IT products and its

usefulness.

Sales and marketing are prime one. Provided support from other activities.

The office staff ranges till min 15 in nos. However certain shops showed high in nos.

Owner has main access to the IT products. Elsewhere, situation changes in lower nos.

Newspapers and acquaintances are more trusted to obtain any information on IT by the

retailers.

Major part of the retailers was Outlet Owners.

Target consumer for these retailers belongs to the same city (area) where the enterprise is

situated.

IT products provide Security as well as work proceeds are also accomplished in efficient

manner.

Conclusion

The introduction of information technology in the retail sector has not only helped the industries flourish at a fascinating rate but has also helped people reach the global market easily and has established the name of Indian Markets in the international market. With coming up of online retail stores like Flip kart, EBay, Home Shop 18, Snap deal India has shown that India is in no way behind other countries in any aspect. Recently we saw the rise of Indian companies in the field of Information Technology who have invented new technologies that are helping the retail sector. WIPRO along with other companies has setup many Point of Sales across the country.

54

Retail industry is now greatly influenced by technological advancements. Recent studies have shown that retailers are more interested in investing in the online sector as it is very fruitful in the long run, cost effective and reach to a large number of customers at a time. Information technology may capture the whole market but that doesn’t mean that the physical markets will vanish or deteriorate. They have existed since many years and will continue to exist. It can be said that Retail Industry has been blessed with IT in its business activities generating High returns, wider market reach, consumer preferences and likewise.

Though IT has on steady verge of being used in Retail industry, it still ranks itself on limited approach style.

It is seen that, Retailers (small-scale) are not too keen on use of IT thereby reducing scope of development through IT for their business activities.

But yes, those retailers who quickly grabbed the opportunity of IT and its use in their business have shown steady rise both in profit margin and market leading in terms of popularity, quality, and service in the minds of the consumers.

Bibliography/ References

Media Reports, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Market Research, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

http://retailindustry.about.com/

IT innovations in Indian Retail - www.expresscomputeronline.com

55

RFID Technology - www.microsoft.com/industry/retail/businessvalue/rfidoverview.mspx

http:// www.imrbint.com

www.interbrand.com/.../BestRetailBrands/2013/articlesinterviews/articlesi

www.indiaretailing.com

56