Some one has said….. ‘The concept ‘fresh’ is in the limelight. One often asks, for example, what is considered fresh and what not. ‘Fresh’ is a multi-faceted concept. To the retailer, fresh is a product segment, while it actually also connotes quality. In logistics, fresh has a uniform message: a fresh product is perishable. It is this that makes the work of a fresh products purchaser for a retailer so special. The purchaser has to buy products of the right quality which a) cater to market demands, and b) fit the timing necessary for distribution and marketing. Orders of fresh products for the shop floor have to be estimated correctly because empty shelves are a no-no, on the one hand, while product waste due to decay has to be minimized, on the other. Value decrease due to quality loss can result in price reductions, or even result in products being thrown away. If product waste in a retail outlet is too low, this could signify a risk of empty shelves and an inability to offer fresh products to the consumer (nil sales). This smaller assortment will lead to drop both in turnover and customer service. If product waste is too high, one could increase the returns of the fresh segment by counter measures’. But what are those counter measures? Some other time..

How does one handle situations at work place when one has to share mediocrity, an old time friend asked me over a drink one fine evening last week. Shall he suffer in silence, hit back or try to educate some incompetent nincompoops who are hell bent to have their say because of their being in position of authority.

It is strange one find value in those household items that one has not seen or used for ages only after one start searching for useless items and they become visible. Ironical, that you started your search only to find and throw unused items to retrieve some precious space.

Why farmers’ grow fruit and vegetables? To satisfy a house wife’s need while earning money to satisfy theirs. A supermarket is a meeting point to link house wives and farmers to satisfy supermarket’s promoting company’s needs, which in turn has floated the retail chain to satisfy needs of its shareholders.

So a supermarket is the centre point to satisfy needs of farmers, housewives, shareholders and of course supermarket’s workers.

What a humble radish could achieve is simply mind boggling. 

Fresh produce sector in the India continues to grow. Like agriculture, markets for perishable products are increasingly complex. However, unlike many agricultural sectors, fresh produce markets often involve much higher risks, with the potential for corresponding higher rewards.

A market with low liquidity, high price volatility, little transparency and virtually no standardized products at wholesaling, ancient regulatory /legal environment, absence of cool chain, fragmented retailers and low decision involvement at retail end, creates unique challenges.

Recent innovations in distribution and technology, retailer and wholesaler consolidation, changing legal environment, international policies, food safety issues, and health concerns are creating new challenges and new opportunities in a sector where per acre cost of production is already very high and government safety nets do not exist.

This is my world…….I trade perishables for a living and enjoy every moment of it.