Retail Business Logistics Empirical Research

As is known to all that after taking part in the WTO, there are many opportunities to Chinese economic development. Just as everything has two sides, when some of Chinese enterprises get benefits in the international market, the Chinese retailers have to confront the huge challenge from foreign competitors with powerful strength.With the rise of productivity and the letdown of the cost of material, logistics plays an important role in the competition. Logistics is looked as "the third benefit resource of enterprise" and involves in most parts of enterprises' management. Logistics affects not only the cost of product but also the service level and capital turnover of the company. In order to obtain advantages in the competition, it is the determinant factor that an enterprise has a good design, execution and control in the construction of logistics system. For retailer, to build a logistics system with high efficiency is absolutely necessary.The foreign retailing magnates, Such as Walmart, Dia, 7-11 shop, expand their business in the world and have obtained huge success which in a certain extent, owe to the strong support from logistics. Compared with them, Chinese retailers are in inferior position both in logistics technology and experiences. First of all, the managers of enterprises are short of experience and relative knowledge in this field. As a result, they doubt the function of modern logistics and do not attach importance to it. Second, in Chinese retailers' distribution center, the information system, automatization and standardization are all in a low level. Third, a lot of retailers have not realized the centralization of purchase and distribution. Low productivity, much error and high operation cost are the very common problems in the distribution of retailers. Like a bottle neck, the draggle of logistics construction seriously restrict the development of Chinese retailing.In recent years, more and more Chinese retailers wake up to the strategic position of logistics. In this article, I take a successful case of Huapu Hypermarket. I compare the obvious change before and after the establishment of modern distribution center to demonstrate the importance to build a advanced logistics system in retail enterprise. Meanwhile, I introduce how to design and prepare a modern distribution center and the way of cooperating with the 3rd part company in retailing logistics.Regarding the establishment of Chinese retailers' logistics system, I make some suggestions: first, we should correctly understand the crucial function of logistics in the strong competition in retailing. Second, we should pay more attention to the construction of information system. Third, increasing both automatization and standardization in the operation are necessary. Fourth, retailer should examine the performance of sales and purchasing dept. together with logistics dept. hi addition, it is a good choice for retailer to use the professional advantage of the 3rd part logistics company to control the operation cost and increase the service level.As far as I am concerned, retailing is one of the industry which will develop very rapidly and compete very cruelly in coming years. Retailing is also an industry whosedevelopment depends much upon logistics strength. The intention of the article is to emphasize that establishing a logistics system with high efficiency is relative to the development and even the existence of Chinese retailers. I hope it will provide some suggestions for some enterprises in this field.