MBA Career in Online Retail

Career of MBA in retail is not just about managing retail chains, as any naive retail management student would imagine. Retail has transformed thanks to the wave of e-commerce and has brought with it a tide of exciting opportunities for MBAs. 

Pick any Indian business newspaper any day of the week, and chances are that you'll find at least one piece of news related to e-commerce. It could be about Flipkart opening new fulfillment centers in Indian cities, or on how Apple plans to sell around half of its new phones in India through the online route.

Online buyers have become comparatively more comfortable with mobile technology, thanks to constant sale offers by e-retailers to increase their market share. What buyers see is just that they are getting attractive deals and offers, convenient modes of payments and fast delivery. But to materialize this, online retailers are reinventing almost all business processes and working out innovative business models for everything from sourcing to logistics. They are evolving at an unprecedented pace and for that they need people who can take a holistic view of the business, master a range of functions and help the retailer innovate. That's why these companies are recruiting MBAs with specialization in various fields.

Career in Retail- MBA Specializations

Firstly, have you thought why are these fast evolving and competitive retailers are flocking to management institutes and recruiting MBAs? Industry perceives MBA program as providing a comprehensive coverage incorporating all the important subject areas and teaching management techniques for handling business operations in a highly dynamic and competitive environment. Since technology has changed the consumer behavior and expectations, hence there has been a need in the market for young, tech savvy strategic thinkers.

To have a career in retail, options are not limited to MBA Retail Management specialization, but also in operations, supply chain, logistics and even data analytics. But retail on the verge of being disrupted by digital wave and digital being predominantly data driven, I think every MBA student eyeing this sector must build data analytical skills like marketing analytics, consumer analytics, merchandising and planning, demand and supply chain or predictive analytics. Today, there has been a paradigm change in the way savvy retailers connect with their consumers and meet their demands thanks to big data.

Conclusion

Players in retail sector especially in the online space need analytical thinkers who can understand business as a generalist and employ cross functional expertise. This is an exciting time to be in retail, offering long term cross functional exposure and growth opportunities especially to MBAs. MBA course is designed to train students to take a holistic view of the business and at the same time allows students to specialize in their area of interest. As far as MBA specialization is concerned, retail management, supply chain, logistics, sales and marketing, operations or even business analytics has huge scope to build a career in retail.

Operational challenges in Retail Management

I’ll approach operational challenges in retail from two aspects [1] Customers [2] Products. This article is intended for those who wish to pursue career in retail and are looking for some sneak peek information to find out if retail management is indeed challenging and worth committing to. Here the scope of discussion is limited to operational challenges. If you’re keen on exploring employee related challenges in this sector, I’ve also attempted to share my HR experience in HR Challenges in Retail Management article which I wrote some time back. 

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be dividing my thoughts on two levels- [1] Customer and [2] Products.

Operational Challenges Part 1: Customers

Merchandising

Merchandising gets customers and is a good starting point to analyse operational challenges. In a retail store, if customers get what they need, the variety that they’re looking for and they find those desired products displayed just at the right place so that they don’t miss it, then credit goes to the in- store retail merchandiser. That means the challenge here is to understand the customer's needs, the current market, and season’s forecast before buying stock. Also, merchandisers buy stock in right quantities, then business makes good profits. Stock that leads to unmanageable inventory is sure to lead to losses for the store.

Store Ambience

Before entering a store we often observe the window display, if it is pleasing we look forward to entering the store expecting that the store would be equally appealing. But what if it isn’t? If the store looks cluttered, where clothes aren’t stocked properly, the store staff isn’t welcoming, would you even feel like buying anything from there?

The customers are of utmost importance for any retail setup and ensuring a positive atmosphere in the store is one of the major tasks of a retail manager. The store manager takes care of things such as getting the products properly arranged, no cluttered look or foul smell in the store, keeping the floor clean, ensuring that the customers are met and their queries attended to etc. The feel of the store, its ambiance is of equal importance as the customer must find it easy to meet his requirements. Pleasant fragrance in the store, good music and courteous staff makes way for a perfect buying experience to the customers

Security and Safety

Like merchandising, safety and security is actually for products, but I want to associate this retail management aspect with nasty shop lifting customers. Inventory shrinkage or loss of products can be caused at different stages for different reasons. For example, while manufacturing, there could be loss of raw material, or while transporting products, employee theft and last but not the least customers who steal from stores.

Shop lifters think that stealing one chocolate or a pair of socks is no big deal for the retailer’s account book, but the collective loss of the retail industry on the whole is really huge. That’s why store managers use security devices and CCTVs, bar codes and tagged products (try taking tagged products out of the store and the beep- beep will alert everyone around). Well the challenge is that in spite of these measures, retail industry is still incurring losses due to in- store theft

Customer Service

Attending the customers, giving them feedback, answering their queries, looking after the refunds and returns and assisting them in shopping is necessary operation for a retail manager. In today’s times, it’s all about customers. Challenge is to always put customer at the centre of the retail business and yet manage other operations. Solution requires having less but well trained staff, giving better customer service. It sounds good in theory, but practically it is not so simple to implement. 

Operational Challenges Part 2: Products

Supply Chain Management OR SCM

Products that you as a customer see on shelves have a journey of their own. It is a process in itself to ensure that products reach the store where customers can buy. Look at the product you are buying. Manufacturing it required raw materials, maybe different parts got prepared in different locations, and then finished product got transported from factory to stores via distributors, wholesalers, etc. There are operational challenges involved at each of these retail management steps and at many more stages which are not described here.

For example, there are multiple departments involved in this supply chain. When these departments function on their own, without effective collaboration and communication, there are losses at various levels.

Then dependency on manual processes affects operations in a big way. ERP offers a solution in one way to automate processes in SCM. But ERP itself is a double edged sword. There are organizations which have failed miserably after moving to ERP systems due to various reasons which I think deserves a separate article!

Next example is that of fast changing trends or new innovations putting huge pressure on retail supply chain, leading to new sources of procurement of raw materials or just-in-time production models to cater to multiple markets and channels to name a few.

Stock and Inventory Management

This topic is also a part of supply chain management.

Stock and inventory management is a crucial part of running a successful retail business. And here is why. When stock is purchased it is with the intention of being sold. But what if stock is bought more than your estimated customer’s demand? What would happen if the merchandise is out of trend? Who will pay for a commodity that fails to meet the quality standards? It all would lead to dead stock, ultimately leading to a huge loss to the store. Hence, it is necessary to stock the right quantity of good. A retail manager must ensure that the items are stocked properly in quantity as well as quality.

Also, merchandise is stocked in the warehouse. One also has to see that the travelling time to transfer good from the warehouse to the store is less. This helps in the smooth functioning of managing the goods and would also prevent any kind of tampering of the product that is at higher risk if the distance is more, rough roads, climatic conditions etc.

The challenge lies in stocking the correct quantity and to make sure that the stock it delivered safely to the outlet. 

Educational Background for Freshers

Operations in Retail Management is a challenging career. As a fresher, to pursue career in this sector you can opt for an Operations Management course or MBA in Retail Management. Check for colleges that offer these courses. Also, check the syllabus and the duration to compare retail management courses.

Conclusion

This is by no means an exhaustive list of operational challenges in retail management, but just enough to give you an idea. As you go deeper exploring each of these topics in detail, you’ll discover more complexities especially in the context of modern retail with the boom of e commerce and different business models like brick and click.

Despite these challenges, the retail sector in the country is booming and attaining great heights. FDI in the sector would play a major role and enable a takeoff of the modern retail in the country. Emerging market economics have ensured that the modern retail sector will reap the benefits and be an attractive sector for investments as well as employment.

HR Challenges in Retail Management

Are you a people’s person? Do you understand people and possess the quality to identify their skills and hone them? If the answer is yes, then HR is the right career for you. 

Career in Retail HR

Many a times it happens that you enter a store with the intention of shopping, but grumpy looking, disinterested sales stuff happen to change your decision, and all you do is walk out of the store. This happens when the staff is not well trained, which ultimately affects the store’s sales. But who is responsible in retail management for training the staff and making sure that the workforce is at par with the organization’s standards? 

The answer is Human Resource Department. 

Hiring employees, organizing training sessions for the employees, taking care of the compensation, enhancing the company’s human resource and other such activities, form the job profile of a HR professional.  In a nutshell, HR is the backbone of an organization. Before you take the decision, it is of utmost importance that you understand the functions of human resource management.

The retail sector has much to offer then one can think of. Being an HR, involved with training and recruiting employees, I have seen tremendous growth in the area. A career in retail is sure to be promising, with the increasing demand and boom of international labels entering the Indian market.

Challenges of Human Resource Management in Retail

The retail industry has seen a substantial boom in the last few years across the globe and especially in India. The increase in the working population and especially the youth has provided a huge impetus for the growth of this industry. However, the entrance of global players has started to pose severe challenges in the organized retail sector.

The normal functions of HR like taking care of compensation, hiring, performance management and other related activities will be very much a part and parcel of your career as a HR in the retail sector. However, the major challenges lie in recruiting and retaining the right talent for the industry. You will have to deal with the shortage of highly qualified and skilled talent in the industry. The majority of the employees in the retail industry are customer facing and hence the entire training programs and grooming sessions have to be in place. Your major role will be in recruiting such talent, devising training programs, reviewing their performances and ensuring the objectives of the organization are met.

• The retail industry is highly dependent on its people and its workforce is the most critical resource as the on-floor staff faces the customers directly

• Electronic Retailing or e-Tailing companies make attractive and easy to use websites, but running a 24/ 7 show needs proper HR planning.

• The retail environment is highly competitive with global players entering the market

• The people management is of utmost importance and is a mode for both cost and revenue generation

• It employs a lot of people with diverse skill set including both skilled and unskilled labor and training them the right way is important

• Strong orientation is required towards customer service

• Good and efficient decision making skills need to be employed while recruiting for the organization

• Workforce pressure and payroll expenses have to be balanced during seasonal promotions for good customer experience.

 

Stepping into Retail HR 

A number of students today opt for MBA. It has always been rewarding to pursue MBA, provided you do it from a reputed college. To enter the retail sector as HR, MBA in HR could be the right course. Some management institutes like JDBIMS SNDTWU Mumbai offer sectoral specialization with MBA Human Resource Management, which allows students to concentrate on developing their HR abilities in the domain of their interest. Find colleges that offer MBA in HRM, gather information about the entrance criteria and then apply for it.

 

Conclusion

With more and more global players flocking Indian retail, the industry poses significant challenges for Human Resource department. To stay competitive in this sector, HR must create strategies to align the performance of its employees with the overall client satisfaction and devise good motivational and incentive schemes to retain them. The training plays a significant role and helps the employees become more efficient and effective at work.

How to compare MBA vs. Diploma and other Retail Management Courses?

Are you one of those who wish to enroll for one of the retail management courses like MBA Retail Management or short term diploma or certificate programmes, but are unable to decide which course is good for you? 

I faced a similar challenge when I was new to retail for hiring. 

Wondering what is the connection between hiring for retail and applying for a retail management course? To be able to hire the right fit for the right role, recruiter needs to understand the industry first. How it works, what tasks are involved and then what roles it creates. Similarly, as an applicant, get an overview of how the retail industry functions and whether you see yourself in that environment. That helps identify the competencies and in turn comparing different courses in that sector.

I’ll first give a simplified overview of retail management and the functions involved. Then a comparison of a two year full time course with short term retail management courses, followed by a conclusion.

An Overview of Retail Management

Let’s start with what you see when you go window shopping. 

Fashion Store Display Window

A visual merchandiser creates window and interior displays in shops, malls and store to attract the desired types of buyers. There are other parameters as well like store interiors and location.But which store do you enter with the intention of buying? The one that you think offers products of the price range and quality matching your expectation. Some retailers play on the price point of being the cheapest, some identify with a certain image like chic. A merchandiser or buyer takes care of that.

Behind - the - scene

Buying or merchandising is what truly defines retail and makes a retailer unique. This aspect of retail management consists of the activities involved in acquiring particular goods and making them available at the places, times, prices and quantities that enable a retailer to reach its goals. Now the question is how much to buy and respond to customer demands and how to move the products from source to retailing outlet.


Retail supply chain management are related to product procurement and controlling product quality, inventory levels, timing, and expenses. Logistics are also involved in moving the product from source to destination, handling and storing them.

Merchandising vs Supply Chain Management

Other functions include applying retail communication mix for promoting and selling the products, human resource and training, finance and administration, information technology and customer contact service .

Retail Management Courses

Courses I am considering are:

• Two year MBA Retail Management or equivalent PGDM Retail Management programme
• One year Diploma in Retail Management and 
• One year diploma in any particular retail function like supply chain management 

Competency: 

Ask yourself what you want to do in retail and build the right competency.

First of all a Retail Management course will generally cover all aspects of retail. So a MBA Retail and a Diploma in Retail would generally speaking have syllabus designed to cover most of the functions of retail. What MBA also covers are general management concepts and fundamentals of accounting, marketing organization behavior, operations research, research methodology, perspectives of management, etc.

Functions of Retail Management

Specialized courses like a diploma in supply chain give you an in-depth perspective and understanding of supply chain management. So if you are inclined towards cost optimization and other functions of supply chain and want to build a career in SCM specifically, then these short term focused programmes can help build the required competencies. Similarly, if your only focus is Visual Merchandising and store display, then you may consider searching for a relevant short term course.

Career:

Ask the recruiter what they are looking for when they are hiring.

If you’re already working in retail and looking forward to a promotion opportunity or to improve your knowledge, skill or ability in this sector, then a diploma or a certificate program can be helpful. But don’t forget to do a reality check with the HR department your organization and find out about the criteria.

If you are a fresh graduate, check what recruiters in retail sector as looking for in job descriptions. 

My experience of managing vacancies especially for big retailers is putting preference for MBA or equivalent PGDM. The job vacancies are I think the best way to understand the scope of growth in a company and about their compensation offerings. In my view, MBA offers opportunity to move across functions in a business organization. Read some case studies about your favorite leaders and don’t be surprised if you see most of them with cross functional experience.

Time:

Ask yourself how much time you have for management studies.

That I think depends from person to person. As a fresher without experience if you can afford to continue your education with a full time two year course, then might as well consider MBA instead of a one year/ part time diploma or certificate course. 

You’ll also get an opportunity to get involved in campus activities, contests, and events and even work experience through internships. Any reputed institute would have a placement committee to ensure internship and placements to their students. Institutes like JDBIMS , SNDT University Mumbai even have the concept of concurrent placements wherein MBA Retail Management student does 2 days a week field work along with studies to get practical experience in shop floor.

Conclusion:

To summarize, first understand whether you fit in the retail environment and can see yourself from a long term perspective. Once you decide what competencies you want to build, in what time period and for what type of career path, compare retail management courses to find out which one suits your purpose. Decide the course first, then shortlist institutes which are offering those programmes. Make an informed decision.