ALIRTEY(unjumble the words)---->>>>>Retail or Reality.

Reliance, bharti, godrej, Birla's .........the list might go enlessly after a decade but all these are synonymous and you may have guessed it right..........Supply Chain Management or Retail. Todays ET prompted me to write my views on this topic. The views will be grossly biased as the article has changed my perspecive towards Retail completely.

Till yesterday i belived these retail giant will revolutionize the 400$ retail market amongst which only the 2% belongs to the organized sector, but the article focussed on these kinds of popular myths. Indeed when you see all the newpapers putting only one view in resonance then you tend the narrow down your thoughts. Now we get to serious business.............

The most lucrative aspect which prompted these big corporate houses to put huge some of crores at stake was
the ROI, which they thought would sum up to as large as 40% of the capital invested. Did any of them had a look at he underlying risks involved all in a hurry they fell for the pie and it may be possible they all are licking thie wounds in years to come.

So what are these risks. Mckinsey report suggested that 25-30% of the perishable goods gets destroyed in the inefficient supply chain, coupled with middlemen the ROI rises to 40%. Other reports sugested that farmers are being grossly underpaid close to only 10% of the actua; market value of the food product, and this can be harnessed into by integration of the fragmented supply chain.


Now the truths about these report cannot be defyed but they did not mention that these inefficiencies can be easily coverted into bucks on table. This is where the pit lies. It is impossible to convert one form of energy to another without loosing some in the processes. Does supply chain also follows same laws after all its a chain of processes.

to be continued......

Kntting MAYAjaal

Friday was 'D' day for indian political system with Uttar pradesh waiting in frenzy for its new chief minister. It was already decided in the deluge of exit polls that Mulayam Singh getting reelected was as disillusioned as India winning a world cup, a impossible by any standards. Even mulayam would have got vibes ling before UP actually went for polls.

My Friend broke the ice by giving me a dismal news that Mayawati has sweeped the UP polls with a clear majority. It was disheartening, may be because of the OBC quota controversy keeping the general candidates high and dry, for a change they felt to be children of lesser gods. It seems you have to be backwards to move forward.

By the night the news has thoroughly swept my mind by a majority. channels were airing a salwar clad iron lady cheerfully thankful to upper and the lower caste for choosing her a unanimous leader. The next morning newspaper was no different. As the days has past by, the victory of dalits truly sanked in my mind that i accepted my defeat, defeat of urban middle class ignorant about the very meaning of word 'dalit', till i read today's newspaper about the dalit girl raped in UP village a fortnight back and police refusing to lodge an FIR because of the upper caste accused. Even the hospital turned its back to a DALIT girl.

This has not been a one of incidence but to our vibrant middle class we turn page to these news pieces feeling pity many a times trying to reconcile and blaming the poor girls fate for the tragedy. The options could have been many in the minds of UP junta but they rejected the hindutva, youthism, muscle power to show full support for their caste because they have been duped, bashed, killed by BJP, congress and SP. Little they could have done except proving a point to all these parties by their invaluable VOTE.

It might be tough journey ahead for the oppressed with crime deep rooted in the minds of muscle men. For a change they have something to smile and a hope to cheer. Good luck UP.