Retail: Industry Structure and Value Chain

This topic introduces the fundamental concept of retailing as the final stage in the distribution of goods and services to end consumers. It covers the industry's scale, economic impact, and its role as a critical employment sector and driver of consumer spending globally.

This topic explores the diverse formats through which retail businesses operate, each with distinct characteristics regarding product assortment, pricing strategies, store size, and target customer segments.

This topic examines the digital retail landscape covering business-to-consumer e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces that connect multiple sellers with buyers, and emerging models like social commerce and live-stream shopping.

This topic provides a comprehensive view of Michael Porter's value chain framework applied to retail, covering primary and support activities that collectively create value for customers and competitive advantage for retailers.

This topic examines the hub of retail logistics operations where products are stored, managed, and prepared for distribution to retail stores or direct shipment to customers in e-commerce fulfillment.

This topic covers the operational aspects of running physical retail locations, from opening procedures through daily sales operations to closing procedures, including staff management, customer service protocols, and store-level inventory control.

This topic covers the final stage of retail logistics focusing on getting products to their destination, whether retail stores or customer doorsteps, including route optimization, delivery scheduling, and the growing importance of last-mile efficiency.

This topic examines alternative retail expansion models where brand owners license their business format to independent operators, covering franchise structures, legal frameworks, operational standards, and technology requirements for franchise management.

This topic covers the critical role of location in retail performance, examining how retailers evaluate and select store locations, the economics of retail real estate, and the strategic considerations in expansion planning.

This topic covers the evolution from multi-channel to omnichannel retailing, examining how retailers create unified customer experiences through integrated inventory management, unified customer data, consistent pricing, and flexible fulfillment options.

This topic examines how retailers source products from manufacturers and wholesalers, covering procurement strategies, supplier selection criteria, negotiation processes, quality control, and the use of vendor management systems.

This topic covers the first stage of physical goods movement in retail, detailing how products are transported from suppliers to retailer warehouses or distribution centers, and the processes for receiving, inspecting, and recording inventory.

This topic examines how retailers organize and present products to customers, covering category management principles, planogram creation, space optimization, and the strategic decisions around product mix and presentation.

This topic explores how retail companies organize themselves internally, covering organizational hierarchies, departmental structures, roles and responsibilities, and how organizational design impacts decision-making and operational efficiency.

This topic examines how retailers develop and manage their own branded products, covering the strategic rationale, sourcing and quality control processes, positioning strategies, and the impact on relationships with national brand manufacturers.

This topic explores the structural evolution of retail markets through consolidation activities, examining how large retailers acquire competitors, the drivers of consolidation, regulatory considerations, and the changing competitive dynamics.

This topic synthesizes understanding of retail operations with IT enablement, mapping key technology systems to value chain activities and understanding data flows, integration requirements, and the role of IT in optimizing retail operations.

This topic examines best practices and emerging approaches for improving retail value chain performance, covering lean retailing principles, just-in-time inventory, demand forecasting, and the role of data analytics in optimization.