How to improve supply chain for supermarkets

Best practices for supply chain management in supermarkets

Need for an ERP software for managing supply chains

Managing the supply chain is difficult because you face new uncertainties and challenges daily. Specifically in the case of supermarkets, where demand changes rapidly. You need to be aware of products popular among customers, vendors with the best product quality and price, available shelf space, and other expenses.

With all these factors in mind, you must address your customers’ demands effectively and on time. The best solution to manage these needs is a supply chain management (SCM) software or SCM module in an ERP software. Such a solution tracks demand and inventory stock changes, alerts retailers when inventory reaches a pre-defined limit, and generates more insights.

Websys’ ERP software’s affordability and effectiveness make it the best solution for managing your supply chain. Websys’ ERP has a state-of-the-art interface making it easier for users to learn and use the software. It perfectly fits supermarkets and grocery stores’ supply chain management needs. It streamlines your processes and makes them more productive, generating quality results.

Besides implementing ERP software, the following are some of the other best practices to adopt to improve supply chain processes in your organization:

Align your marketing and supply chain teams

Any marketing strategy you implement will affect your demand and supply. So, make plans for the movement of products in supply chains by aligning these two departments. Facilitate collaboration between them to address changes in demand, thereby delaying disruptions or delays. The Websys’ ERP software enables efficient communication between teams to improve further.

Know your suppliers well

You must have enough knowledge about your suppliers, such as delivery processes, technologies used, etc. It is good to know from where they are getting their supplies and the potential challenges they can face. This knowledge helps you prepare for any potential risks that may affect your relationship with suppliers.

Have appropriate, trained staff in the supply chain team

To ensure your supply chain processes function properly, have adequate employees in your team. The team must have well-trained employees with knowledge of all aspects of the supply chain. Their expertise and experience will help you have a smooth supply chain workflow, resulting in a better customer experience.

Keep working on your demand forecasts

If your demand forecasts are wrong, you may have too much stock or too little, leading to waste or unsatisfied customers. That is why focus on preparing your demand forecasts for every slight change in driving factors. Take into account historical sales, seasonality, promotions, and competitors’ strategies to forecast demand. Websys ERP aids you in forecasting.

Consider strategic sourcing to focus on TCO

Talk to more expert suppliers to pick their brains on what works and what does not. They know trends in the market, customers’ reactions to specific strategies, and effective supply chain processes. They can help you with tips on warehousing, transportation, operations, etc. Focus on all of these helps reduce your total cost of ownership (TCO).

Regularly review your supply chain procedures

You must monitor your supply chain procedures to check their compliance, efficiency, and accuracy. Such monitoring will allow you to reduce the risks of fraud, disruptions, and theft. You can take proactive actions to remove bottlenecks and make your processes more efficient and productive.

Manage your returns

Managing items returned by customers is more complicated than the outgoing ones. It affects the inventory count and adds to another category; you need to recalculate it. Your ERP software can help by updating data across teams.

Adopt these best practices in your supermarkets to reduce your business’ operating costs and improve customer services.