Seven Eleven Case Study Advantage

Q1) A convenience store chain attempts to be responsive and provide customers what they need, when they need it, where they need it. What are some different ways that a convenience store supply chain can be responsive? What are some risks in each case?

A convenience store can be more responsive if they focus on what the customer wants and by doing just what Seven-Eleven Japan is doing, many locations, rapid replenishment, suitable technology deployment, and an equally responsive supplier.( 7-eleven knows who is buying which product and at what time, it knows it because the system is really efficient.) The first online network was established in 1979, so it proves seven-eleven Japan was in front of all others about technologies and supply

This allows centralization of local capacity, low level of inventory, but increases the cost. The main risk here is when the product is quick replenished in different location, it increase the transportation cost and capacity also increase.

*Extensive use of information technology: Seven-Eleven provide information system (information sharing) between stores and distributors to predict the demand accurately. The main risk is network failure as it depends so much on information system.

Q2) Seven-Eleven’s supply chain strategy in Japan can be described as attempting to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment. What are some risks associated with this choice?

The main risk for them is the potentially high cost concerning the transportation. When you are an enormous industry like seven-eleven in Japan, more than 12 000 retailers; you can't focus on every single person. Be the biggest company of outlet stores include that you cannot have a micro supply chain. The biggest risk is that you can't follow the demand, you will be able at the beginning, but after a few time in the market the demand will become big. It is too much work and if you can't follow, the customers will go to another retailer. Seven-eleven must be able to manage with

through financial and operational metrics. As the case points out, Seven-Eleven’s performance in the U.S. has been abysmal; clearly more of the same strategy and operations will result in continued failure. Perhaps a hybrid system can be applied in select markets to test the system’s efficacy in the U.S.

Q7) The United States has food service distributors that also replenish convenience stores. What are the pros and cons to having a distributor replenish convenience stores versus a company like Seven-Eleven managing its own distribution function? Pros: The largest benefit of having a distributor replenish the store is that they don’t have to invest in distribution centers or trucks to implement this task. Cons: The downside is the lack of control and the increased number of relationships that must be managed at the store level. Responsiveness may also not be as great. Some store managers will be cleverer at managing these relationships than others, and service levels will not be fixed among the stores. This also creates more potential problems for top management in overseeing the franchises to ensure customer