Question

Fast Runners has become one of the most recognised athletic brands in India. It deals in a wide variety of sportswear. However, of late it has been facing difficulty in keeping its inventory under control. In 2022, the company adopted an inventory management software which helped it to predict items that could sell best and prepare the company to meet their demand. This has helped the company in providing better customer satisfaction by making the goods physically available to them.

State the three activities Fast Runners should undertake other than the one discussed above, in order to ensure the availability of its products at the right place, at right time and in right quantity.

Answer 1

Three other activities that will ensure availability of products at the right time, at the right place and in right quantity are:

1. Order Processing: A good physical distribution system should provide for an accurate and speedy processing of orders, in the absence of which, goods would reach the customers late or in wrong quantity or specifications. This would result in customer dissatisfaction, with the danger of loss of business and goodwill.

2. Transportation: Transportation is the means of carrying goods and raw materials from the point of production to the point of sale. It is important because unless the goods are physically made available, the sale cannot be completed.

3. Warehousing: Warehousing refers to the act of storing and assorting products in order to create time utility. Generally larger the number of warehouses a firm has, lesser would be the time taken in serving customers at different locations but greater would be the cost of warehousing and vice-versa. Thus the firm has to strike a balance between the cost of warehousing and the level of customer service.