Supply chain leaders from two of India's largest consumer goods companies — ABFRL and Britannia — argued at the ETRetail E-Commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2026 that inventory accuracy and execution speed will define success in omnichannel retail. The discussion, titled “Speed vs Scale: Can One Supply Chain Serve Stores, Marketplaces & Quick Delivery?”, featured Swaminathan Ramachandran, Chief Supply Chain Officer at ABFRL, and Vipin Kataria, Chief Commercial Officer at Britannia, moderated by retail expert Zubair Patel.
The convergence of channels forces real-time fulfillment
According to the source, panelists opened by noting that India’s retail ecosystem now spans a highly fragmented but interconnected network of channels — from kirana stores and modern trade to ecommerce, quick commerce, and out-of-home consumption points. Vipin Kataria of Britannia stated that the scale and diversity of India’s distribution network makes availability the central objective of supply chain design, rather than channel-specific optimisation. He said, “The guiding force and driving force for most organisations is availability,” adding that modern supply chains must now respond to real-time demand signals across formats including retail, ecommerce and quick commerce. He also highlighted that the rise of quick commerce is an extension of existing FMCG complexity rather than a disruption, as companies already operate across millions of touchpoints in urban and rural India.
Fashion retail faces different constraints: long lead times and SKU complexity
Swaminathan Ramachandran of ABFRL pointed out that fashion retail faces fundamentally different constraints, including long lead times, high SKU complexity, and shrinking product lifecycles. He noted that product cycles that once lasted several months have now reduced significantly, increasing pressure on forecasting and responsiveness across channels. He explained that ABFRL’s transition from wholesale to large-format retail and then to omnichannel distribution has required continuous re-engineering of supply chain systems and operating rhythms.
From monthly cycles to daily and hourly fulfillment
A key shift discussed was the evolution from monthly dispatch-driven models to daily and even hourly fulfillment cycles as ecommerce and quick commerce gained prominence. ABFRL highlighted that earlier systems were designed for bulk forecasting, but modern retail requires continuous replenishment and automated allocation systems across stores. Ramachandran noted that automation and system-driven allocation now ensure that a significant share of dispatches happen without manual intervention, improving both speed and accuracy.
Balancing service levels and cost-to-serve
The panel addressed the balancing act between service levels and cost-to-serve in a multi-channel environment. In fashion retail, ABFRL highlighted that supply chain cost is now evaluated alongside demand fulfillment, rather than in isolation. Vipin Kataria noted that organisations increasingly optimise for total service impact rather than individual cost components, ensuring availability even if it requires higher short-term cost adjustments. He added that inventory decisions today are driven by real-time demand visibility and system-led allocation rather than manual planning cycles.
| Theme | ABFRL (Fashion) | Britannia (FMCG) |
|---|---|---|
| Channel complexity | Wholesale → large-format → omnichannel | Kirana, modern trade, ecommerce, quick commerce, out-of-home |
| Supply chain constraints | Long lead times, high SKU complexity, shrinking product lifecycles | Massive distribution network, millions of touchpoints |
| Central objective | Accuracy and speed in a high-variety environment | Availability across all channels |
| Fulfillment shift | From monthly cycles to continuous replenishment | Responding to real-time demand signals |
| Key enabler | Automation, system-driven allocation | Integrated dashboards tracking cost-to-serve and demand gaps |
Digitisation enables real-time intelligence
Panelists emphasised the growing role of digitisation in enabling supply chain intelligence across large-scale retail operations. Britannia highlighted the use of integrated dashboards that track cost-to-serve, demand gaps, and energy or supply disruptions across manufacturing units and distribution nodes. Such systems now enable organisations to make real-time trade-offs between servicing demand and managing operational constraints, significantly improving decision speed.
Outlook: What this means for your procurement team
For supply chain and procurement leaders, the discussion underscores that the old paradigm of separate supply chains for each channel is no longer viable. The convergence of stores, ecommerce, and quick commerce demands a single, agile network built on real-time inventory visibility and automated execution. As both speakers noted, the shift from manual planning cycles to system-driven allocation is already underway. Teams should prioritise investments in integrated dashboards, automation, and cross-channel inventory pooling to reduce stockouts and improve service levels. The ability to balance speed and scale will hinge on execution speed and inventory accuracy — not just within a single channel, but across the entire omnichannel ecosystem.
Sources:
