On‐shelf availability: the case of a UK grocery retailer

Purpose – On‐shelf availability (OSA) has been a major cause of concern to UK grocery retailers over the last five years and the topic has been the focus of commissioned research reports by various trade associations. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of how one major grocery retailer tackled the OSA issue that had been exacerbated by management focus on new technology and distribution facilities. Design/methodology/approach – The purpose of the research was to determine if any relationship existed between OSA and store picking for home shoppers, OSA and promotions and OSA and store size. This paper discusses the academic and practitioner literature on OSA and out‐of‐stocks (OOS) and then presents a single company, in‐depth case study of one multiple grocery retailer. Primary research was undertaken with senior managers of the company but also at regional distribution centre (RDC) and store level to chart how new logistics strategies were implemented at an operational level in Scottish stores. Findings – It was noted that the advent of home shopping has aggravated the “last 50 yards” and a company can experience acute OSA difficulties. Network changes involving a mixture of old and new systems create short‐term pressures and profitability shortfalls. The new high‐tech networks push products out to stores but overstocks occur in backrooms of stores and do not reach the shelves. Demand and supply may not synchronised. Research limitations/implications – Although there is primary empirical research related to the case study the major output is a framework presented for future investigation, thus there is no expansive empirical study in this paper. Practical implications – With the exception of smaller stores where OSA remains a problem, the company has succeeded in improving OSA levels in the other areas. Originality/value – This paper adds to our knowledge of OSA and OOS by investigating the flow of goods from the RDC to the store shelf and presenting various critical points in the process flow that have received scant attention from academics and practitioners.