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November 15, 2007
Few analysts speak with more clarity and insight about a subject
than Devangshu Dutta does about Indian retail supply chain logistics.
Third Eyesight is a Delhi-based company that helps textile,
consumer durables and perishable shippers set up their Indian
supply chain. Namaste spoke with Dutta about a range
of retail supply chain topics, including why retail can sometimes
be a dirty word in India, and why India’s roads might
not be as bad as you’ve heard.
Namaste: Retail is a word that evokes extreme reactions
in India. Why is that so?
Dutta: Developments in retailing are no more or no less
divisive than any other change that is widespread in society.
The fact is that the retail sector touches each individual as
no other does. So whether you are a consumer, a retailer, a
vendor, a service provider or a policymaker, it is difficult
to adopt a distant approach.
The last 10 years have seen a tremendous amount of investment
in modern retail and its supporting infrastructure in the form
of shopping centers in India, and they are possibly the most
visible dividing line amongst all development. This is due to
several reasons.
While the environment within a shopping center may be world-class,
no similar investment is seen in the high streets where the
traditional retailer makes his living — whether in terms of
commercial or civic infrastructure.
While the shopping center developer is increasingly planning
his center impeccably, there is little regard still to the surrounding
catchment, whether in terms of merchandise mix, or in terms
of integrating with the urban infrastructure and landscape.
In many of the centers, there is minimal traffic planning with
regard to the surroundings, resulting in chaos over the weekends.
Simultaneously, large retailers are beginning to emerge in
the country and are counted as legitimate targets for pressure
and lobby groups of small traders, farmers, residents, non-governmental
and trade organizations. In this, India is actually no different
from other countries — witness the anti-Wal-Mart feeling in
many communities around the U.S. or the talk of "Tesco-poly"
in the U.K., or the strict planning norms regulating the growth
of large format retailers on continental Europe.
That may not be the case with other countries where similar
debates may be suppressed or may have limited visibility.
Namaste: Would it be fair to say the emergence of
the domestic retail sector in India seems to be pushing retail
logistics as much as foreign logistics companies or retailers?
If so, how will foreign companies benefit?
Dutta: Logistics and supply chain developments are certainly
being pushed along by Indian retailers and brands as much as
international ones. The larger Indian companies, especially
in the food and grocery sector, are aiming at adopting best
practices and adequate infrastructure to be able to compete
effectively against the operational skills of their foreign
competitors. Most of them can skip generations when looking
at supply chain standards, and do not necessarily need to go
through the same decades-long adoption and discarding or legacy
systems.
Foreign companies would also definitely benefit from this.
Any development in one retailer’s supply chain typically spreads
in ripples or waves through to other retailers as well, since
most vendors are not dedicated to any single retailer. For instance,
even if a specific physical link (such as a cold storage) may
not be available to more than one retailer, the process excellence
leaks across a vendor’s organization to benefit his other customers
as well. Similarly, the standardization of UCC/EAN bar codes
will not just benefit the initial founding retailers, but also
others along the way.
A foreign company stepping in after these developments have
been initiated by Indian retailers would find the environment
more conducive to its own processes and standards.
Namaste: What can Indian logistics services providers
learn from the influx of foreign interest and expertise in India?
Dutta: Foreign retailers expect to upgrade from the current
fragmented state of the Indian industry to norms that they operate
under in other markets. This provides an opportunity to Indian
logistics service providers to grow and develop, but is also
a threat to their existence in case they fail to change their
businesses to adapt to the new needs.
Indian service providers need to look at rapidly upgrading
their physical infrastructure, skill sets and systems. There
is significant interest amongst international logistics firms
to tap into the booming Indian market, and Indian service providers
can be their partners, to mutual benefit. The Indian companies
would stand to gain from the technical know-how, and possibly
even from customer relationships, while the international companies
can quickly gain the local base and ride on the local know-how
of their Indian partner.
Namaste: Infrastructure is the first word out of people’s
mouths — in India and abroad — when the potential barriers
to India’s success are mentioned. Is the country’s infrastructure,
as it relates to cargo movement, really as bad as it’s made
out to be?
Dutta: I would say that the infrastructure is a lot better
than it is made out to be, and is getting better still. But
this is one area where China stands in stark contrast to India,
where China has an infrastructure surplus while India runs into
severe deficit. Peak traffic, such as shipments of summer clothing
at the end of the calendar year, make the bottlenecks painfully
evident.
The second bugbear is documentation and regulatory process,
which again has gotten simpler, but needs to be simpler still.
VAT does not yet uniformly apply across the country, several
check points exist between and within states that hold up cross-country
cargo traffic. This not only adds time but also cost.
Namaste: Do you think the major retail chains who
have been itching to get into India will find the success they’ll
be looking for, and do you think they’ll have the patience it
takes to learn the Indian market?
Dutta: In my recent experience, most major retail chains
looking to enter the Indian market realize that it is a different
world from what they are accustomed to. They are prepared to
develop business plans cautiously, and with a long-term perspective.
The chief executive at one of our client organizations said
to me, while we were discussing its potential branding strategy
in India: "I see India as a market that will pay off in
the next 20 to 25 years, not just give us a quick buck in the
next five years."
Some have also learnt from their bitter experiences in China,
which also attracted companies with its billion-plus population,
but proved to be a burial ground for many reckless projections
and strategies imported from the West.
Namaste: Are Indian consumers — particularly those
outside of the cosmopolitan urban areas — ready to embrace
retail, and if so, what product categories are they most likely
to embrace?
Dutta: The Indian consumer is more sophisticated than
most people believe, and adapts new offerings at a very rapid
pace. This is true across product categories. The growth of
mobile phones amply demonstrates this. Not only have basic mobile
services grown rapidly, but also value-added services.
However, the price/value equation has to be right. Just because
a retailer has a swanky, air-conditioned store does not mean
that he can automatically charge a hefty premium over traditional
retailers. Again, mobile phone companies are a great example
— with the correct pricing, their penetration of even premium
services such as caller tunes, song-catcher, messages and calls
to premium numbers, etc. are prevalent not just in the metros
but in semi-urban and even rural areas.
Retail is similar, the only major difference being that due
to the need to put down physical stores, the growth is more
organic and looks staged rather than explosive. However, the
growth of shopping centers anchored by the Future Group in smaller
towns, or the aggressive launch of Reliance stores demonstrate
the willingness of the Indian consumer to also constantly evolve,
regardless of where they are based.
Namaste: What sections of the retail supply chain,
specifically, need to be improved to make them as efficient
as they’ll need to be to meet the expectations of foreign retailers
and transportation and logistics companies?
Dutta: Roads, truck fleets, distribution centers all
need to be upgraded, and are being. Some Indian companies —
Reliance is a notable example — are even pushing this along
and act as a domestic benchmark. Reliance has not only set up
a logistics company, but is also looking to manufacture trucks
in a joint venture with Volvo, to fulfill Reliance’s own requirements.
However, I believe foreign retailers will themselves evolve
a different mix for India, rather than sticking to their home-base
business models. I believe India, and possibly China, actually
changes companies as well. We might well find that these companies
will also carry back innovative practices to their home base
from India, as much as they bring in.
Namaste: Could you give a particular case you’re aware
of where improved supply chain efficiency from a retailer influenced
that retailer’s competitors to become more sound logistically?
Dutta: ITC’s rural initiatives — contract farming, e-Choupal
— have created copycat initiatives from other companies.
In the mid-1990s Spencer’s began pressing its FMCG suppliers
to bypass the distributor channel but were only somewhat successful
at that time. As they and other retailers have gained size and
weight, the tables have turned, and FMCG (fast moving consumer
goods) companies have even begun creating separate key account
business divisions to service large retailers.
McDonald’s had to create its supply chain from scratch before launching in India in 1996, and it did so with its supply chain partners from other markets which it paired up with Indian companies. These companies have then gone on to service other customers such as Domino’s and Pizza Hut, and some have also created their own brand of products (e.g. sauces, baked goods) to distribute in the wider market.