The top issue regarding supply chain planning and execution for 52 per cent of UK businesses is the automation of key processes, reveals the newly published study, State of the Retail Supply Chain 2016
The study, conducted by research firm Martec International and commissioned by Relex, asked retailers from the UK, as well as those in North America, Germany and the Nordics, with annual sales exceeding €100 million about the supply chain issues facing them.
It also asked about the visibility they have of their supply chain, whether they operate a single stock pool across all sales channels, and how productive they believe their staff are.
The top issue regarding supply chain planning and execution for UK retailers is automating key processes, an issue ranked third globally.
While last year’s report found that the biggest challenge for UK retailers in terms of forecasting was predicting demand for new products, this year they are more concerned with forecasting effectively across the supply chain, with 67 per cent citing this as a key issue.
UK retailers also rate the visibility of their supply chain at the lowest of all the regions at 5.4 out of 10. In comparison, German retailers give themselves 6.6, North America 6.5 and Nordic retailers 6.0.
When it comes to staff productivity, retailers in the UK are the least efficient. The average full time equivalent employee forecasts and replenishes an average of €73 million in sales. This is up €1 million from 2015, but is significantly lower than the all-country average of €172 million.
Finally, the report found that UK retailers with more than one sales channel are marginally less likely to operate a single stock pool than the average - 39 per cent versus the all country average of 43 per cent.
Mikko Kärkkäinen, Group CEO, Relex Solution commented, "For me, it is interesting to note the progression in how UK retailers view their supply chain challenges, even in the last year alone.
"It would appear that, despite seeming slightly more pessimistic in overall outlook, UK retail is starting to look more holistically at the supply chain and recognising the key role that automation can play in addressing some of the more specific challenges."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
