Our objective was to design, simulate and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals, and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities. According to one survey, approximately 40% of people do not find essentials at local brick and mortar stores and there is a mismatch between demand and supply for essentials in this pandemic COVID 19. So majorly our concept focuses on how to tackle this issue at ground level.
To draft a perfect solution, we identified earlier processes & systems in the retail supply chain and contacted various stakeholders at each stage to get their insights.Based on their insight we noted their pain points and developed a solution by keeping in mind all the stakeholders involved. To create an online portal to provide real-time information about the items available in nearby Kirana stores within the vicinity of 2 km.
Customers will log in and will place the order of essentials on the portal, and will pay digitally. They will select the brand of the items if required. Customers will be allotted a time slot during which they will collect the order from the store which will ensure social distancing.
At the back end, we will have the stock of the stores as we ask shop owners to use this as a billing and inventory management portal and thus we can show how much of the items are available on the list. Customers can choose the store that they want.
Kirana stores will confirm the order, check the inventory and will submit the requirement to main FMCG companies through that same portal. Also for walking customers at Kirana stores will be billed through the same portal. This will ensure real-time updates of stock. FMCG companies will receive orders, and once a truckload order for an area is accumulated. They will transport to those areas so that supply-demand will meet with limited use of resources. Kirana stores will pack the items as per individual order and will keep it ready to pick up. In sealed areas stores will provide home delivery. The orders will be pooled and assigned to a nearby store which will be delivered to the society.
The government body will have an overall check and control overflow of essential commodities across all zones to match the requirements by using this portal. The government therefore will be able to take key decisions based on the insights available to them on the portal.
Empathizing with all the stakeholders and in-depth analysis and brainstorming lead us to such innovative and easy to apply solution.