CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 63
PANEL 2
FROM CLICK TO CART TO DOORSTEP: BUILDING A RESPONSIVE
AND PROFITABLE OMNI-CHANNEL SUPPLY CHAIN
“It’s no longer just about having inventory; it’s about having it available at
the right time. That’s the direction
we’re moving in with our inventory
planning. One of the problems we’re
trying to solve is helping kirana
stores, many of which don’t use any
technology, make smarter inventory
decisions. Since many of these kiranas
are already on our platform, we can
use our technology to understand
consumption patterns at a very local or grid level. For example, demographic
di昀昀erences a昀昀ect what products are in high demand and what people tend
to buy most frequently. With this data, we can suggest to each kirana store
what inventory they should keep, based on what’s selling best in their area.
This way, they’re not left behind and can make better decisions, even without
being tech-savvy. We’ve also recently built an analytics dashboard for our
suppliers. It shows, for example, how many times customers in a speci昀椀c
area have searched for their products on a given day. This kind of insight
allows suppliers to plan their inventory more accurately and design their
supply chain more e昀昀ectively.”
“Understanding data at a micro level
is essential to make informed decisions on assortment. For example, if
we compare two cities like Chennai
and Bangalore, we can initially de昀椀ne
a high-level assortment for each. But
if we want to go deeper, we can look
at different localities and analyse
the di昀昀erences in consumption patterns there. This level of granularity
requires in-depth data analysis.
Moving to inventory planning, we need to consider where the inventory is
held — whether in a warehouse, a dark store, or at a local outlet. Planning
also involves knowing your Days of Holding (DOH) and breaking down the
demand and supply into clusters. Data helps us classify products and decide
what to buy, in what quantity, and how to manage long-tail items with
minimal stock while still meeting demand. Analysing when customers place
orders helps determine inventory timing. For instance, at dark stores, around
60% of milk and dosa batter consumption happens in the morning. This
means the evening inventory can be lean, but early morning replenishments
are essential to meet demand.”
KAMLESH KUMAR, VP– Supply Chain, Jumbotail (MODERATOR)
VIRAT SHARMA, Sr. VP– Expansions, Zepto
“If our products are listed on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart today,
they might be on Zepto or Blinkit
tomorrow. But we aren’t increasing
our inventory for each channel—we’re
using the same stock, virtually connected to all platforms from a single
location. We also have internal rules
that dictate how inventory is allocated
across di昀昀erent channels. When stock
runs low in one area, we shift virtual
allocations in real-time to ensure service continues, especially if e-com is
a strategic priority at that moment. Looking ahead, we're working toward
integrating stock visibility across India. Since we’re a road-driven company,
we are now planning to expand from the current 500–800 km supply radius
to 1,600–3,000 km. With improved road infrastructure and logistics, it's
now possible to deliver across long distances within three to four days.
The fundamentals haven't changed—we just need to rework the basics in a
smarter, more digitally connected way. In the end, staying connected across
the supply chain in real time and staying true to the fundamentals is what
will drive long-term success.”
“We focus on two levels of inventory
visibility: what's available in the
warehouse, and what's in transit.
To manage this, we built a control
system powered by analytics. The
goal was to track our products—from
the warehouse through transit to the
customer’s location, whether that
be a retail warehouse like Costco or
Walmart, or a customer receiving an
order via Amazon. This full journey
of an SKU needs to be visible not just to senior leadership, but to every
operational team involved. For instance, a mill supervisor, a transportation
analyst, or an order management analyst each needs to see where the
inventory is and when it’s expected to arrive. This real-time visibility allows
the order management team to proactively communicate with customers,
manage expectations, or reroute shipments if needed. All of this is enabled
through a strong technology backbone that helps every stakeholder in the
chain make faster, more informed decisions. The background process in
action—digital tools, dashboards, and analytics models—powers the real-time
responsiveness that today’s supply chain demands.”
ANIRBAN SANYAL, Head of Supply Chain and National Logistics,
Century Plyboards India
TANNISTHA GANGULY, Associate Director– Supply Chain WMS (IT),
Kimberly-Clark
CARGOCONNECT AUGUST 2025 | 63
