What is Lean Retailing?

Answer 1

The catchphrase "lean retailing" consciously references the more established buzzword "lean manufacturing." Like lean manufacturing, lean retailing is an approach to re-inventing a long established business practice by using new information technologies to cut out waste and make operations more profitable. Pioneered by Walmart - but subsequently taken up by most large retailers - lean retailing relies on the use of Barcodes to manage every step of the product value chain, from raw material sourcing through manufacturing through final delivery to the shop floor. Major attention is given to "just in time" delivery to cut inventory costs, and to investments in IT infrastructures to allow stores to share sales data in Real Time with their suppliers. In many cases, Lean Retailing software systems will automatically place new orders for a given product froim the manufacturer as soon as an item is scanned at the check-out counter, and in some cases even the invoicing for that automatic order is automatized as well. Lean retailing aims to "cut out the fat" (waste) from the retail sourcing process to maximize profits for the retailer.