Seven Eleven Case Study
INTRODUCTION
The Seven-Eleven Japan Co. case discusses about the rise of Seven-Eleven in the Japanese retail store business. It analyzes the factors contributors to the phenomenal success of the company in the retail business with a supply chain perspective. The analysis focuses on the company’s supply chain strategy and performance drivers which leads to great balance between efficiency and responsiveness.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1) A convenience store chain can be responsive and provide customers what they need, when they need it, where they need it. What are some different ways that a convenient store supply chain can be responsive? What are some risks in each case?
• Increasing Location
Build several stores within the same geographical area with minimum distance apart from one another to gain the accessibility by customers.
Risk: Having too many stores close to one another can have cannibalizing effect on the stores.
• Rapid Replenishment
Supply the stores with what customers need when they need it. It also enables the stores to have low levels of inventory.
Risk: Having too frequent replenishment of products to different locations will increase the cost of transportation.
• Increasing Inventory
Offer the customers with greater varieties and quantities of products at all the stores to suit their preferences.
Risk: Having greater varieties of products will cause low level of error in forecasting demand and consequently increase wastage, if any; having high level of inventory will increase the holding cost and make the stores less efficient.
• Extensive Use of Information System
Help the store managers to forecast the demand with greater accuracy to better satisfy the needs of customers.
Risk: Having the entire supply chain heavily dependent on the information system will cause the operation going haywire in the case of network failure.
• Increasing Capacity
Expand the space of the stores to better facilitate the store activities and
The Seven-Eleven Japan Co. case discusses about the rise of Seven-Eleven in the Japanese retail store business. It analyzes the factors contributors to the phenomenal success of the company in the retail business with a supply chain perspective. The analysis focuses on the company’s supply chain strategy and performance drivers which leads to great balance between efficiency and responsiveness.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1) A convenience store chain can be responsive and provide customers what they need, when they need it, where they need it. What are some different ways that a convenient store supply chain can be responsive? What are some risks in each case?
• Increasing Location
Build several stores within the same geographical area with minimum distance apart from one another to gain the accessibility by customers.
Risk: Having too many stores close to one another can have cannibalizing effect on the stores.
• Rapid Replenishment
Supply the stores with what customers need when they need it. It also enables the stores to have low levels of inventory.
Risk: Having too frequent replenishment of products to different locations will increase the cost of transportation.
• Increasing Inventory
Offer the customers with greater varieties and quantities of products at all the stores to suit their preferences.
Risk: Having greater varieties of products will cause low level of error in forecasting demand and consequently increase wastage, if any; having high level of inventory will increase the holding cost and make the stores less efficient.
• Extensive Use of Information System
Help the store managers to forecast the demand with greater accuracy to better satisfy the needs of customers.
Risk: Having the entire supply chain heavily dependent on the information system will cause the operation going haywire in the case of network failure.
• Increasing Capacity
Expand the space of the stores to better facilitate the store activities and