Abstract
Mobile and wireless (M&W) technologies have great potential to improve process efficiency and effectiveness within retail stores, but their application is still very limited. One of the main reasons explaining this situation is considered to be the lack of confidence in the actual benefits and, therefore, in the return on investment. As a matter of facts, activities in this context are characterised by great variety and non-standardised execution and as such the assessment of the costs and benefits of M&W solutions is more difficult than for the upstream tiers of the fast moving consumer goods supply chain (e.g., distribution centres). This paper attempts to provide a contribution for researchers and practitioners by presenting an analytical model to assess the profitability related to investments in multiple M&W solutions for retail stores, thus supporting the decision-making process.
Highlights
Companies operating in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain are generally attracted by the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) so as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes and the way by which they communicate with their supply chain partners and customers
The average net present value (NPV) of these scenarios is about €265,000 and the average PBT amounts to 5.5 years; 45 of the 61 scenarios have a positive NPV and 43 are characterized by a PBT that is shorter than 3 years. 35 of the analysed combinations use a paper‐based management of the retail store in the baseline situation; their average profitability is higher than that calculated, including all 61 scenarios: the average NPV is about €390,000 and the PBT amounts to 2.45 years
Checkout, characterized by a predominant manual component, is the only activity modified by the adoption of self‐scanning; these mobile & wireless (M&W) applications reduce the interaction between the customer and the employees for the scanning of the items and the payment process and, decrease the total cost of labour borne by the store
Summary
Companies operating in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain are generally attracted by the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) so as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes and the way by which they communicate with their supply chain partners and customers. B2B e‐ marketplaces, e‐commerce, radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless sensor networks, mobile payment, intelligent transportation systems and, more recently, social applications, all facilitate interaction and communication among users and are just some of the trends emerging in the industry [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. In this scenario, the emergence of new mobile & wireless (M&W) technologies is deemed to have great potential. The availability of just a few quantitative contributions in the academic literature and the resistance to change of some IT managers are www.intechopen.com
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