Technology has come to stay. It is an innovation no one or organization can ignore. Advancement in technology is currently affecting so many businesses both small, local shops and as well as the giant retail stores. Most of these categories of businesses are affected because they have failed to follow or meet up with the current trend in Technology. Retailers that have not been able to keep up with the pace of technology have found themselves running out of business.

Technology and retail operations have been going hand in hand for years. Retailers winning today are those who have created an avenue to accommodate the advancement in technology and imputing it into their operation and logistics.

Fifteen years ago, the average consumer was shopping from local small stores in communities but now because of the advancement in technology some of this retail stores began to lose out of the competition. First to arrive were the departmental stores, then came the mega shopping centers in Suburbs, where everything could be located within minutes under one roof, causing smaller stores to bow out to giant competitors.

Technology got better over the years; a lot of strategies got introduced to the market like the power of distribution, the impact of advertising and branding, using social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Consumers now can buy product items and services from the comfort of their home and avoid the daily traffic that occurs mostly in the cities, putting convenience as part of the shopping experience. One major area technology is transforming the retail industry is the supply chain.

The supply chain of a company is the most important part of any business. It is not restricted to the size of the organization because every business must have a supply chain which ranges in the following sequence from suppliers, purchasing, production, distribution, and the customers. However, the supply chain is faced with one major challenge, which is a weak link in the chain. If one of the departments in the chain is weak it can affect the consumer experience and ultimately affect the business.

Technology has impacted the supply chain process and the way consumers relate with sellers, all thanks to the internet. Since the inception of the internet, emails and other technologies the expectations of consumer have grown correspondingly. Today, Companies are increasing globally and getting more innovative and coupled with competition growing from all corners. Almost everything today can be bought online and can be delivered to consumers.

A case study of this is Supermart Nigeria, an online grocery supermarket in Lagos, Nigeria. Supermart has been able to make use of technology in their supply chain effectively. They have IT specialists who work on the user experience of the site. The Company leverages mostly on it’s online presence to complete 80% of its supply chain, from website ordering of goods, to operations where all arrangement of delivery is being concluded then to home delivery of goods. Consumers want cheap and fast delivery especially with the present recession in the country. Supermart leverages on this by offering consumers discount on first orders and free delivery same day within 3 hours, which is an advantage they have to physical stores.

Supply chain is now more efficient because of the technology, the innovation makes the processes more effective and efficient. Many businesses are now adapting innovative supply chain because they know that it will help them a lot when it comes to ROI and efficiency. They can take advantage of that and make the business more effective and have better time management because the technology is about the automation of some processes of a supply chain.


Regards,
Emelia Ingram, Marketing
BR International Supply Chain Consultants
http://www.brint.com.au/services/consultancy