Research projects

The objective of this research, planned over two years, is to identify how automatic restocking systems (ARSs) can be used more efficiently, in order to minimise stock outages and maximise the efficiency of inventory management in the supply chain of the retail sector. During the first year of the project, a database has been compiled with information obtained on the implementation of ARSs between two major retailers with a total of 70 stores and their main suppliers, including data about all the points of sale and the transactions made along the supply chain. At the end of 2012, the project moved from the data gathering phase to the analysis phase, with the aim of presenting the initial results at two international academic conferences on operations management and, at the end of 2013, of submitting articles for publication in international academic journals in the area of operations management. In addition to the two articles originally envisaged in the planning of the project, two more articles could be prepared after completion of the project in 2014, as the data gathered provide sufficient material for the development of these two additional studies.