Today, supply chain management is gaining strong attention in the Indian retail market, and for good reason. Customer expectations have evolved rapidly. Shoppers no longer just want products. They want an instant solution, and to meet these rising expectations, retailers can’t afford to lag with outdated systems.
The retail industry in India is booming every single day. As of FY25, India has the third-highest number of e-retail shoppers globally, and the organised retail sector is expanding at a remarkable pace. It is projected to reach ₹19,70,870 crore (US$ 230 billion) by 2030. With growth at this scale, retailers need more than traditional operations. They need modern management knowledge and more innovative supply chain strategies.
Why does the retail industry need Supply Chain Management (SCM)?
What we learned from this research is that today’s retailers face a very different set of challenges compared to when they were first introduced. Thus, they require different types of solutions to meet their current needs. Over time, Supply Chain Management has transitioned from being primarily operational to an essential driver of growth, enhancing the customer experience, and providing retailers with a competitive edge.
In this blog post, we will provide a comprehensive overview of retail and supply chain management, including the primary obstacles retailers face and the steps they must take to create more innovative and resilient supply chains. As you navigate this blog, you will learn everything related to Supply Chain Management, from the backend processes of retail management to and how products get delivered to customers.
What is Retail Supply Chain Management?
Let’s say a popular beauty brand launches new products every year, and people are always excited to buy them. The brand becomes famous because it brings new ideas and meets customer demand on time.
But what we usually see is only the front part, ads, influencers, and product launches. What we don’t see is the backend work. Managing all this is very difficult without a proper system.
This is where supply chain management helps. It takes care of everything behind the scenes, bringing in materials, storing products in warehouses, and delivering orders to customers.
In simple terms, Retail supply chain management ensures products move smoothly from the factory to the customer without delays or issues.
Why Is Supply Chain Management Important in Retail?
- Controlling inventory levels to avoid inventory shortages
- Cutting down operational expenses
- Enhancements to ‘ease-of’ factors to support a competitive advantage
- Building customer relationships
Let’s discuss one by one the implications of the abovementioned advantages.
1. Controlling Inventory Levels To Avoid Inventory Shortages
Supply Chain Management helps address stockout issues that can arise for various reasons, such as late suppliers, SKU counting inaccuracies, and supply chain planning.
It helps avoid these issues by:
- Ensuring accuracy in predicting future demand scenarios
- Reordering the quantity of the right product at the right time.
- Bar-code counting system.
2. Cutting Down Operational Expenses
Any costs related to ordering, storing, and delivering inventory are classified as operational costs. But if effective control over operational costs is not exercised, there can be losses and a lag in your business.
To cut these costs, supply chain management assists with;
- Cost optimization of warehousing
- Order management optimization
- Curtailing the high costs of carrying and storing
3. Enhancements to ‘ease-of’ Factors to Support a Competitive Advantage
Cost control and disruption reaction through real-time scheduling creates a more efficient process for managing operations.
The use of automated systems improves the Supply Chain by:
- Removing manual tracking and paperwork.
- Real-time visibility across all processes.
- Assisting in planning the flow of products in accordance with demand.
4. Building Customer Relationships
Serving customers on time is the primary goal of any retailer. Without a proper system, customer retention can suffer.
Supply chain management helps by:
- Reducing delivery delays
- Ensuring stock availability during peak seasons
- Minimising order cancellations
How Does Retail Supply Chain Management Work?
So now you understand why retail and supply chain management are essential. But managing the entire supply chain is not easy. To deliver what customers expect, retailers need control over every stage of the process.
Here’s a simple flow:
- Sourcing: This process involves determining the required raw material quantities, selecting the right suppliers, negotiating terms, and creating purchase orders.
- Manufacturing: After receiving the stock, checking product quality, monitoring production output, and working with the team to develop new ideas or improvements come under this process.
- Storing: After manufacturing, handling the inventory carefully is key. This process includes managing the warehouse, counting SKUs, and keeping everything in its proper place.
- Retailing: This is the crucial stage where products reach the end customer. It includes managing orders and staying connected with customers to keep the relationship strong and transparent.
- Reordering: Once your product is delivered, the work isn’t over. This stage involves reviewing sales reports, predicting future demand, reordering stock, and keeping the cycle going.
Challenges and Solutions in Retail Supply Chain Management
As competition grows, brands continue to innovate and focus on what customers want. To stay ahead, you first need to understand your audience and identify the areas where challenges exist.
So, let’s take a look at some challenges retailers face and how you can overcome them to stay competitive in 2026.
1. Omnichannel Customer Expectations
Problem: As you navigate through this blog, you will learn everything related to Supply Chain Management, from where to buy products to how they get delivered to your store.
Solution: Use an omnichannel retail management system to:
- Keep your inventory accurate with real-time syncing.
- Speed up delivery through fulfillment from the nearest store.
- Make returns easy with a single, unified online and offline process.
- Improve inventory turns with endless aisle options and cross-store
2. Advanced Demand Prediction
Problem: Market demand in India can shift suddenly. A sudden rise or fall in market demand can adversely affect your business.
Solution: It is necessary to use an intelligent management system that can forecast demand based on historical sales data. It will help you understand the peak seasons for your products.
3. Emerging Retail Technologies
Problem: It is difficult to keep up with the competition and the challenges in the supply chain because the industry is rapidly embracing new technologies.
Solution: The solution is to partner with a dynamic system that meets your needs and has everything you require under one roof. This solution has all that you may require from AI for retail analytics.
How Unicommerce Supports Retail Supply Chain Management?
To succeed in today’s fast-changing and complex retail environment, brands must focus on digital transformation. Unicommerce acts as a trusted partner by offering modern capabilities that simplify operations and improve efficiency throughout retail supply chains.
Key Retail Supply Chain Management Capabilities Provided by Unicommerce:
- Centralized inventory management with real-time stock syncing to prevent stockout and overselling.
- Smart Order management and fulfillment system that consolidates all marketplaces into a single dashboard and orders from the nearest warehouse or store.
- Omnichannel features that enable seamless fulfillment across online and offline retail channels.
- Warehouse automation to take care of tasks like receiving, put-away, picking, packing, and shipping. It also supports FIFO/FEFO stock rotation and real-time tracking of inbound and outbound movements.
- Modern integration, such as POS and ERP, keeps your accounting, billing, and offline sales all in sync and provides accurate predictions based on up-to-date data.
Unicommerce helps brands meet customers’ needs across India with a consistent, reliable experience. It is built to empower retailers to attain operational excellence.
By embracing change in retail and supply chain management, a brand can ensure a sustainable competitive advantage, further increase revenue, and retain high customer satisfaction.
FAQs:
1. What is retail supply chain management?
Retail supply chain management is the process of managing the flow of products from inbound to outbound and, finally, to customers.
2. What are common challenges in retail supply chain management?
Some common challenges include inaccurate inventory levels, unpredictable customer demand, delayed deliveries, high operational costs, and difficulty managing multiple sales channels.
3. What is the benefit of retail supply chain management?
Efficient retail supply chain management helps reduce costs, avoid stockouts and overstocking, improve delivery speed, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
4. What role does supply chain management play in retail growth?
Supply chain management supports retail growth by ensuring smooth operations, automated updates, better inventory planning, and better customer service.
5. How does modern technology help improve retail supply chain management efficiency?
Modern technology automates manual tasks, provides real-time data visibility, improves demand forecasting, and helps retailers respond quickly to market changes.
6. What capabilities does Unicommerce provide for retail supply chain management?
Unicommerce offers centralized inventory management, smart order and fulfillment systems, omnichannel support, warehouse automation, and integrations with POS and ERP systems to streamline retail supply chain operations.