AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

In the field of supply chain, rival organisations compete on the basis of routes to market. The organisation that has the most cost competitive route to market is able to gain dominance and ultimately increase its profitability. Currently Clover is faced with the challenge where its retail customers want to take ownership of the delivery of perishable goods from the manufactures to their retail stores. Such a move would result in considerable loss of revenue to Clover. To retain this business Clover needs to prove to the retail customers that it has the most cost competitive routes to market and that it can deliver to market in the most economical and efficient manner that will benefit both Clover and its retail customers. The availability of appropriate information plays a key role in any activity along the supply chain. This research will focus on Point-of-Sale (POS) data, and how it can strengthen strategic collaborations between Clover and its retail customers in order to achieve cost competitive routes to markets. The research explores the supply chain strategies that can be utilised by the branded food and beverages group to collaborate with its retail customers. The impact of these supply chain strategies on routes to market is established and investigated. The role of information systems, mainly POS data, is highlighted to indicate how it can assist in attaining cost competitive routes to market. A qualitative research approach was adopted in order to solve the research problem with interviews being used as the primary data collection instrument. The data collected through the interviews was coded and analysed according to the themes, time, distance, volume and weight. The research analysed how these identified key themes impact on the cost competitive routes to markets. The research recommendation on how to attain cost competitive routes to market include, strategic collaboration with retailers along distribution channels, where feasible introduction of leaner and agile supply chains