Increasing on-shelf stock availability of a Mexican convenience store network: A case study

© IEOM Society International. become an important issue to resolve during the last years for an international, and the leading Mexican convenience store company that is experiencing an aggressive growth level. Improving OSA level would increase cash flow to finance growth. The purpose of this work is to present a case study of how this major convenience store retailer tackled the low-level OSA issue. This study is carried out in the national store network. The product families that contributed the most to a low OSA index are grocery items, wine and liquors and water items. After an exhaustive analysis two major causes were identified: inadequate inventory management systems and highly imprecise forecasting procedures. The implementation of several initiatives is in process. However, results from pilot tests will be shown.