Britannia to shift focus to direct supply

Britannia Industries Ltd is planning to adapt a new distribution model to directly tailor-serve retail outlets across the country in less than a day as part of its plan to multiply sales and expand retail reach.

 

The Kolkata-headquartered biscuit maker intends to operate with a zero-day inventory by reducing distance between its distribution centres and retail stores that the company reaches directly.

 

The decision to focus on direct distribution came soon after Varun Berry took over as the company’s managing director in March 2014.

 

While the focus on direct distribution was initiated in 2014 and increased reach, the new form of direct distribution is fairly new. In the last couple of years, Britannia tested the model for commercial viability in different pockets across 10 cities, starting with Mumbai.

 

Britannia is not alone in implementing the new distribution model. Kolkata-based cigarette-to-biscuit maker ITC Ltd, which reaches about 2 million retail stores directly, has been working on a similar ‘factory-to-retail in a day’ model for the last few years.