Chapter -3

Retail Operation

Online shopping has become increasingly popular among consumers, making retail operations
crucial & demanding. Retailers must act readily to be prepared for the upcoming wave of
consumer trends, regardless of whether they are online stores or physical locations. To compete
with their rivals, ambitious retail organizations constantly look for ways to increase efficiency,
punctuality, and customer satisfaction

What Do You Understand By Retail Operations?

The daily operations of a retail business—a company that sells goods directly to
customers—are referred to as retail operations. These tasks, often known as operations, involve
selecting and purchasing goods for the store and taking customer payments for both online and
offline modes.

What operational strategy is ideal for a business will vary depending on several factors.
Although each company must determine its strategy, the primary goal of a business is to stay
updated in a changing market. All merchants want to use technology to enhance their
operations regardless of their size and product type.

Elements Of Retail Operations

A retail store is a place of business that sells merchandise in small quantities directly to
customers.
The operational strategy of a chain or retailer may vary depending on the type of merchandise
sold and the target audience. The following are some typical elements of retail operations:

Physical Store Layout

Retail operations include the store’s layout for brick-and-mortar retail businesses. Businesses
use shelves, display cases, and aisles to make products easier to find. It becomes easy for the
consumer to choose the product without help and make quick decisions.

Logistics
Logistics in retail refers to transporting goods between production sites, storage facilities, and
retail & customer locations. Retail operations specialists may consider multiple modes of
transportation, such as trucks, planes and trains, to develop a transport strategy that satisfies
customer expectations & saves logistics costs.

Inventory
Retail operations staff may exhibit a portion of their goods in the store’s main area while keeping
excess items in a back room to avoid clutter. Retail store managers frequently keep most of the
stock in a warehouse and schedule regular delivery to the store and customers accordingly.
Customer Service
Good customer service plays a vital role in attracting customers by providing them with a
delightful and exceptional customer experience. Also, promotional offers and freebies help.
Personalisation may also have a significant impact on future client retention. A higher customer
lifetime value is the outcome of a higher retention rate.

Mode Of Payment
Customers may have a variety of payment alternatives in both offline and online stores.
Exploring different payment methods, such as credit cards, mobile payment applications, and
gift cards can help retail operations experts make the purchase process quick and easy for
customers.

Return/Exchange Request
Customers may return to the store to exchange a product for another if they need it in a different
size or color or for multiple other reasons. Retail operation staff assists consumers in getting the
correct item or making a refund request if the customer requirement is not fulfilled.

Conclusion
Focus on the above elements to sustain your company in a dynamic, highly competitive, and
complex business environment and achieve the essential operational excellence for your
e-commerce venture. All the mentioned elements can help you optimize your retail operations,
but you must use them carefully to achieve the best results. You will encounter obstacles, but
the key is to remain focused, pay attention to your consumers, resolve their problems, and take
preventative measures.

Store Administration

Stores Administration involves the management/ organization and control all store activities and
documentation for maintaining flow of goods to meet the organization requirements.

According to Maynard, “Store management is to receive materials, to protect them while in

storage from damage and unauthorized removal, to issue the materials in the right quantities, at
the right time to the right place and to provide these services promptly and at minimum cost”.
A store administrator, sometimes referred to as a store manager, is a person whose duties are
to oversee the daily operations of a retail store. In this career, you provide customer assistance,
lead job training, monitor inventory, and make performance assessments of employees and
sales.

Objectives of Store Management

The various objectives of store management are as follows:

1) Minimizing Cost of Production:

The store’s primary goal is to produce services at the lowest possible cost by minimizing
production costs. The total material cost in production includes the cost of materials, the cost of
procurement, and the cost of transporting and transferring materials. The costs of the store
include preservation, accounting, insurance, and store equipment. These costs have a direct or
indirect effect on the total cost of the product. So, the company is trying to minimize these costs.

2) Maintaining the Worth of Stock:

The primary goal of store management is to keep materials at a minimum on a regular basis in
order to make the best use of working capital. It also contributes to lower storage costs. The
stock-keeping in the store is completed in a shorter period of time. The storekeeper tries to
prevent the inventory from becoming obsolete and also tries to minimize the warehouse time for
the stock. The storekeepers work tirelessly to keep the store’s merchandise valuable.

3) Services to Organisation:
The store management helps in providing different types of services to the organization. The
service consists of monitoring all the stages, i.e., raw materials and work-in-progress, finished
goods, and controlling the scrap.
● There is the proper movement of raw materials, components, tools, equipment, and any
other commodities required for the production of products and services.
● They assist with the upkeep of materials, spare parts, and stores as needed.
● They help in maintaining a proper supply of materials at the time of work in progress.
● They assist in obtaining and storing scrap items.
● They help with keeping records of all the receipts, issues, and goods in

4) Establishing Coordination with other Departments:

Management relies heavily on coordination. The basic objective of store management is to
have proper communication with the material control department. The store manager, for proper
functioning, needs to cooperate with another department. They give a continuous flow of
information and materials for providing and maintaining services to other departments.

5 ) Advising Materials Manager:

The store plays an important role in material management. Management is reliant on the store’s
formulation of various types of investment policies. The store manager needs to have proper
knowledge of the store and the store’s items for framing various kinds of policies. Other
departments can use this information to keep the stock at the proper quality, quantity, and order
level.

Functions of Stores/Stores Department

Before the material moves into the store, the function of the store begins. In terms of day-to-day
operations, the store department must communicate with the user’s office department.

Storekeeping has the following functions:

 ● Receipt: To receive and account for the inventories that are received.
● Storage: To receive and safely keep the inventory and avoid loss on account of damage,
deterioration and pilferage.
● Retrieval: It ensures the materials are easily accessed and space is optimally utilized. It
further ensures that the materials are retrieved as and when required.
● Issue: The demand arising on account of the consuming departments is satisfied upon
the receipt of the goods.
● PRecords: To record the receipts and the issues.
● Housekeeping: Emphasis is given on neatness and cleanliness and the same is kept in
a manner that the receipts, issue, and storage are satisfactory.
● Surplus Stock: The surplus stock should be properly disposed of.
● Verification: To avoid loss of stock, physical verification should be timely conducted.
● Coordination and Cooperation: To provide for interface with the inspection and the
production department

Store Manager

A fixed set up or location offering merchandise in small quantities to the consumers for their
end-use is called a retail store.
An individual responsible for managing the overall functioning of the store is called a store
manager.
A store manager takes care of the day to day operations of the store and ensures maximum
profitability for his store.
In simpler words a retail store is a store manager’s baby.

Hierarchy

General Manager
↑
Store Manager
↑
All employees of the store
(Floor manager, cashier, Department manager, Asst Store manager)

Gender Preference
Both Male/Female. However in certain cases the selection might depend on the merchandise
available in the store. A store specializing in female lingerie would prefer a female store
manager as she would be more comfortable with the female buyers

Responsibilities of the Store Manager

Recruiting employees for the store is the store manager’s prime responsibility. He not only has
to hire the right candidates for the store but also train them for their overall development. He
must ensure that all the employees (floor manager, department manager, cashier and so on)
contribute to their level best for the effective functioning of the store.

1) He must act as a strong pillar of support and stand by his team at the hour of
crisis. It is his duty to acquaint his team members with the latest trends in fashion or any
other newly launched retail software. It is his responsibility to delegate responsibilities to
his subordinates according to their specializations and extract the best out of them. The
store manager must motivate his team members from time to time.
2) The store manager must make sure his store is meeting the targets and earning
profits. He is responsible for the smooth and effective functioning of the store.
3) The store manager is responsible for maintaining the overall image of the store. It
is his duty to sensibly display the merchandise so that it immediately catches the
attention of the customers. The store manager must ensure that his store meets the
expectations of the customers and lives up to its predefined brand image.
He must ensure:

● The store is kept clean

● Shelves and racks are properly stocked and products do not fall off the shelves.
● Mannequins are kept at the right place to attract the customers into the store and rotated
frequently.
● The merchandise should be according to the season as well as the latest trends.
● The store is well lit, ventilated and offers a positive ambience to the customers.
● The signage displaying the name and logo of the store is installed at the right place and
viewable to all.
● One of the major responsibilities of the store manager is to make the customers feel safe
and comfortable in the store. It is his key responsibility to make sure that the customer
leaves the store with a pleasant smile.
4) He is responsible for managing the assets of the store. The security and safety of
the store is his responsibility. The store manager must ensure that sufficient inventory is
available at the store to avoid being “out of stock”.
● He along with his subordinates are responsible for planning, managing profit and
loss, handling cash at the store as well as collating daily sales as well as other
necessary reports.
● He must ensure that the store is free from pilferage.

Inventory Management

Inventory management refers to the process of ordering, storing, using, and selling a company's
inventory. This includes the management of raw materials, components, and finished products,
as well as warehousing and processing of such items.
● Inventory management is the entire process of managing inventories from raw materials
to finished products.
● Inventory management tries to efficiently streamline inventories to avoid both gluts and
shortages.
● Four major inventory management methods include just-in-time management (JIT),
materials requirement planning (MRP), economic order quantity (EOQ) , and days sales
of inventory (DSI).