Millions of small, family operated nanostores are the main source of consumer packaged goods in many neighborhoods of large cities across the developing world. In many of these countries, well over half of consumer goods are sold via the nanostore channel. Understanding this channel is critical for anyone selling or intending to sell into these large and fast growing markets. Tackling the logistics complexities of serving millions of nanostores is a challenge that many face, yet few master. In this book, we discuss logistics distribution and commercial route-to-market concepts for this channel and present best practices from Latin America, Asia, and North Africa. The book serves to inspire managers in marketing, sales, supply chain, distribution, logistics, and general management to develop their understanding and their business success in these growing markets. This book includes a unique set of case studies focusing on companies that have successfully created forward-looking approaches to retail operations over the world. The case studies included provide readers with a range of best practices, useful insights, and commercial and logistics strategies for serving diverse distribution channels. The authors (with extensive experience within these markets) and editors (from premier research institutions in Europe and the US) have done extensive field research over multiple years to develop the insights that are shared in this book. With the growth of convenience stores in the developed world, the insights also serve as an inspiration for those in Europe and North America that are confronted with a rapid proliferation of retail outlets as proximity shopping is becoming the norm. In the final chapter, the editors reflect on recent developments, particularly in China, where electronic commerce and nanostores are partnering to become a strong rival for the organized retail channel. "As the world population tends to concentrate more and more in urban environments, the two fastest growing channels for consumer goods distribution are online sales and convenient, proximal nanostores. Remarkably, this trend applies to both the most and the least developed economies. This book is a valuable resource that covers the realities and the challenges of serving nanostores, a subject much less widely covered than the "sexier" online e-commerce channel, but equally important for understanding the evolution of the world's fast moving consumer goods markets." - Sergio Barbarino, P&G Research Fellow and Chairman of The European Technology Platform for Logistic Innovation, ALICE

Millions of small, family operated nanostores are the main source of consumer packaged goods in many neighborhoods of large cities across the developing world. In many of these countries, well over half of consumer goods are sold via the nanostore channel. Understanding this channel is critical for anyone selling or intending to sell into these large and fast growing markets. Tackling the logistics complexities of serving millions of nanostores is a challenge that many face, yet few master. In this book, we discuss logistics distribution and commercial route-to-market concepts for this channel and present best practices from Latin America, Asia, and North Africa. The book serves to inspire managers in marketing, sales, supply chain, distribution, logistics, and general management to develop their understanding and their business success in these growing markets. This book includes a unique set of case studies focusing on companies that have successfully created forward-looking approaches to retail operations over the world. The case studies included provide readers with a range of best practices, useful insights, and commercial and logistics strategies for serving diverse distribution channels. The authors (with extensive experience within these markets) and editors (from premier research institutions in Europe and the US) have done extensive field research over multiple years to develop the insights that are shared in this book. With the growth of convenience stores in the developed world, the insights also serve as an inspiration for those in Europe and North America that are confronted with a rapid proliferation of retail outlets as proximity shopping is becoming the norm. In the final chapter, the editors reflect on recent developments, particularly in China, where electronic commerce and nanostores are partnering to become a strong rival for the organized retail channel. "As the world population tends to concentrate more and more in urban environments, the two fastest growing channels for consumer goods distribution are online sales and convenient, proximal nanostores. Remarkably, this trend applies to both the most and the least developed economies. This book is a valuable resource that covers the realities and the challenges of serving nanostores, a subject much less widely covered than the "sexier" online e-commerce channel, but equally important for understanding the evolution of the world's fast moving consumer goods markets." - Sergio Barbarino, P&G Research Fellow and Chairman of The European Technology Platform for Logistic Innovation, ALICE

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. Sales originating at online channels have been steadily increasing, and even for sales transacted at brick-and-mortar channels, a much larger fraction of sales is affected by online channels in different touch points during the customer journey. Shopper behavior and expectations have been evolving along with the growth of digital channels, challenging retailers to redesign their fulfillment and execution processes, to better serve their customers. This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omni- channel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing the supply chain transformations associated with fulfilling an omni-channel demand. The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, “Omni-channel business models”, we present four studies that explore how retailers are adjusting their fundamental business models to the new omni-channel landscape. The second part, “Data-driven decisions in an omni-channel world”, includes five chapters that study the evolving data opportunities enabled by omni-channel retail and present specific examples of data-driven analyses. Finally, in the third part, “Case studies in Omni-channel retailing”, we include four studies that provide a deep dive into how specific industries, companies and markets are navigating the omni-channel world. Ultimately, this book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of operations in an omni-channel context and highlights the different innovative research ideas on the topic using a variety of methodologies.

This book includes chapters related to the analysis of cultural differences as a tool to enrich tacit knowledge and make processes more efficient, the factors that influence job satisfaction and the value of social capital as a competitive strategy to achieve productivity and competitiveness of organizations, in addition to research of the utmost importance to discover the facets of the diamond with respect to the symbolic capital of the organizations where Generation Z will work and how it will discover the best time to establish an innovation ecosystem that will influence its work trajectory. Industry 4.0 requires a major paradigm shift, since human capital is a source of competitive advantage. Being competitive enables to a company, a region, a society or a country the power to advance in different areas, contributing to the benefit of a social group, therefore, and organizations need to make efforts that lead to adding value and generate a competitive advantage. Industrial applications based on artificial intelligence can change our lives in just one generation. The chapters in this book show progress and challenges related to real-world applications, as well as the need to strengthen human capital to achieve systemic and comprehensive competitiveness required in the XXI century.

Global disruption, new technologies and changing consumer habits are causing turmoil in the supply chain industry. This book shows businesses how to remain resilient in this dynamic new environment. The supply chain crisis of 2021 exposed the necessity of a sustainable supply chain. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has transformed our society and economy. The logistics and supply chain industry continues to be innovated by automation, blockchain and sustainability. Amid all this volatility, it is vital for businesses to not only protect their operations from disruption, but to rise to the challenge that these innovations pose to become game-changers in their sectors. Now in its second edition, Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation provides vital insight into the major trends transforming the supply chain and logistics industry. Featuring a new section on the role of technologies in reducing carbon emissions, case studies from companies such as Amazon, Alibaba, Maersk, UPS and DHL, as well as a full update of all existing content on crowd sourcing and shipping, on-demand delivery, autonomous vehicles and more, Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation is the essential guide to thriving in a rapidly developing logistics landscape. Online supporting resources include PowerPoints and sample case studies.

Mastering the Supply Chain is an introduction to supply chain management. The book integrates theory with practice and aims to create a cross-functional mindset in students and practitioners. It provides a wide overview of relevant supply chain concepts and sets out the challenges that need to be overcome in order to find practical ways of implementing these in a real company situation. Readers are continuously asked to actively reflect on the choices they make, thus experiencing first-hand the many challenges that good and effective supply chain management presents. Mastering the Supply Chain presents a different way of learning that puts the reader at the heart of a life-like situation, so that they experience the impact of every decision they make, not just in their own 'silo' but across the business. In this way, they will learn that many supply chain concepts are relatively simple to understand, but not so easy to apply in reality. Chapter 6 helps students to pull everything they've learned together and see how the concepts play out in the real world by guiding them through an interactive demonstration of the online business simulation game The Fresh Connection (free access is included with the book). This is a key text for students on supply chain management BScs and MScs as well as background reading for students playing the full version of The Fresh Connection Business Simulation game.