What could be the reason that the supply chain management of Indian F&G retail is lagging behind, was a question being asked by many a delegate at the IRF 08. The best answer best given was by Steve Gilman, chairman, Big Idea Asia Ltd.
Speaking to Indiaretailing, Steve said: “The Indian retail scenario, as compared to other evolving retail countries, is far better and according to our research, it is actually at a stage right now which is faster than the retail movement in China.”
He further said, “If you compare the growth of retail in the two countries, undoubtedly China is moving faster but the delta of the total affect if calculated, then India takes over China at this stage right now.”
His thought was that if the Indian regional as well as state governments ease up some of the taxes that are imposed on retailers and policies regarding FDI are revised, things could take place differently. But the supply chain in India lacks basic infrastructure, which should be modernised on an urgent basis.
He said, “The Indian consumers are not very different from that of other countries in the world. They react and communicate in the same way as the consumers around the world do.”
But according to him, one of the main reasons why India is still not open to the advancements in supply chain management and also in waste management in the F&G segment is just because of the simple fact that they are not thinking out of the box yet for the consumers. Citing the example of Uniliver, which has been operational in India for almost more than 70 years now, he pointed out that their operations here in India are still not in sync with the best of the supply chain practices and applications around the world; yet they continue to be a success due to their understanding the baisc Indian consumer psyche. This results in less wastage of their products as they produce and sell according to requirements, rather than blindly following what their competitors are doing.
– Manish Pareek
