Sahyadri Fresh

Report Submitted to

SKEIN

By

Akhil Kumar-2011012

Alankrita-2011015

Anupama K-2011295

Himanshu 2011303

Jay Desai-2011341

Piyush Kumar Swaneja- 2011168

Ragesh Pradhan- 2011185

On

21-08-2020
Sahyadri Farms: Tackling Covid-19

Abstract:

We are targeting a small town. This small town has poor internet infrastructure and a close-
knit structure. The locals trust the vendors in that area itself. 90% vendors are shut because of
COVID 19. The service provided by Sahyadri Fresh helps the local vendors as they can
achieve significant sales even in the lockdown. Moreover, people are afraid to go out and
want things delivered at home. This makes a perfect opportunity for an ad hoc delivery
system being implemented where a supply chain is instituted from procurement to delivery.
Warehousing can be kept minimum as the vendors would have their own storages where they
can harvest and store their fruits and vegetables. This would institute a B2C sales channel. In
a population of 2.5Lakh with all basic amenities this business plan seems to be excellent.
There is 70% of smartphones usage which means about 1.75Lakh people have smartphone
access. All 76 stores can be approached to ship their orders which can be placed using the
Sahyadri Fresh website or an application based on the response.

Major findings:
1. People want supplies to be delivered home.
2. Market size is limited but fully penetrable.
3. Low competition leading to good supply chain and control.
4. Less need of inventory control as that can be taken care of by Vendors
5. Institution of a order fulfillment approach based on the availability report from
vendors.

Recommendations:
1. Institute at least 60% of vendors and supermarkets as partners.
2. Target offline marketing so as to make people aware.
3. Work to get about 500 orders daily on an average per day in initial weeks.
4. Focus on sanitization and prompt query addressal
Material Planning:
Assumption taken: We have the necessary startup cash and all the local vendors are ready to
collaborate
After analyzing the current condition of this semi urban city, its abundantly clear that there is
an urgent need for a grocery/essential products delivery service. The analysis of the city
showed us that although 70% of the population uses smartphones, but still people prefer to
buy their groceries offline from well-known source. And that is because 80% of the people
live in a joint family where even if there are smartphone users, the whole family won’t accept
online delivery.
So, we decided to come with a plan to create a small company which would connect all the
local vendors, nearby farms, and market stores even which are closed and provide a platform
from where the public can order. It will work on the basis of food delivery system, where in
the customer can call our company and order whatever they need, and we then provide them
with those products at their doorsteps by following all the rules and regulations in a safe
manner. The reason we believe that the customers would readily accept this business is
because you don’t need a smartphone, or internet connectivity and we are providing them
products straight from their favorable store.
The question that arises is how will we meet the demand if 90%of the stores are closed. So,
we decided that we will use the existing supply operations of these stores, as the main reason
they closed down was because of safety concerns and not a fall in supply. Our task in this
venture other than providing a platform would be to ensure that all the products are kept at
the store in a safe and secure manner, without any degradation.
Certain rules that we will be implementing are:
 Partial or no return policy
 We will establish certain guidelines for safety at the warehouses and of the
delivery personnel’s
 We will remain impartial and no store will be favored
 Transactions can be in cash/card/upi
The reason why the vendors will be willing to cooperate even though they will have to pay us
a certain percentage is because we are reducing their operation costs and allowing them to
reopen their business in a safe way.
The regulatory compliance given by the govt. of India on delivery will be followed.
Inventory will include the existing warehouses of the stores/vendors, new PPE kits, masks,
sanitization machine and delivery vehicles
We are planning on taking the local populace vehicles which are not being used on nominal
rent, and as for the delivery personnel we are planning to hire the workers in various
supermarkets who have been left stranded due to COVID.
By using existing assets and inventory we would be able to reduce the amount of time
required to establish the business and also gain the trust of the customers by involving people
that they know about.

Procurement
The lockdown has already disproportionately hurt semi urban town people due to loss of
livelihood and lack of food and other basic needs. Basics human needs include food such as
wheat, rice, vegetable oil, soap, and health care facilities. Relying on single supplier would be
risky. Selecting a good vendor results in growth of the business. Good suppliers will ship the
right number of items, as promised, on time so that they arrive in time. We can procure the
necessary raw materials from local suppliers and can tie up with the vendors. By this we can
help the people in supplying their basic needs. By tying up with vendors we can reduce
administrative costs. Convincing vendor for this new business is also an important factor in
order to have a good relationship with the vendors. We can convince vendors by stating the
advantage they will get in reducing their operational costs which includes cost of hiring staff
number, shops, electricity bill etc. By this the vendors can have a advantage in expansion of
their business. We can use credit system as it benefits our business as well as supplier’s
business. The agreement can be signed with the supplier stating if there are any fault from
their side it is their responsibility and the payment policy. We can use credit system as it
benefits our business as well as supplier’s business.
The Stages in Procurement
 Procurement planning
 Requirement definition
 Sourcing
  Evaluation and selection
 Contract Management

Safety Measure taken Up by our Company:

Amidst the SARS-COVID 19, the safety measures and the sanitization protocols become of
utmost importance. Since we’re catering to a small town, our size won’t be that big and the
inclusion of all the safety guidelines given by WHO can be followed properly and steadily.

1. Storing:

One of the main parts about any delivery service, is the warehousing. Since a lot of
Mom and Pop shops are closed, we used the opportunity to use their stores to use as a
warehouse. Before storing any of the staples, we sanitized the warehouses. Employees
who were responsible for it ere given a short training on the importance of warehouse
sanitization. We made it mandatory for the employees to wear a PIP kit before
entering the warehouse. Certain guidelines on how to allocate goods with different
shelf lives and how to quarantine damaged or contaminated goods to stop it from
spreading, were given.

2. Source:

Since the community believes on buying fresh products every day, we hired vendors
to provide us with them on a daily basis. Before contracting them, they are thoroughly
checked, and if there is even a little bit of doubt regarding their health, they are
dismissed and another vendor is contacted with.

The fruits and vegetables, along with all the other groceries undergo special cleansing
process, which minimises the risk of contracting the virus. Special crates will be used
to carry and deliver the products. They have been specifically washed and sanitized
after every usage.
 3. Delivery People:

They are the people who are the main MVPs and need to take certain measures with
utmost seriousness, since they will be the one contacting our stakeholders.
Temperature tracker has been introduced via which customers will be able to keep a
track through their phones about the temperature and health of their delivery person.
50% people have been provided with detailed guidelines and necessary materials for
disinfecting and sanitizing.
All delivery personnel are being monitored and trained on the handling of sealed
crates. Since they are of high quality, they need to be handled properly so that can be
reused.
Outreach programs have been rolled out to educate the customers and build their trust
for the company. All the delivery men are required to wear gloves and mask and
dispose them off after a day of work.

4. Stakeholders:

Although a major part of the population is not a user of technology, they have a basic
idea about how to go about it to protect themselves and take precautions.
Our aim is to push them towards that direction. Pamphlets and flyers are being
distributed door to door, along with digital messages being sent regarding the new
safety measures that need to be followed while ordering groceries online.

The instruction includes the pointers on how to deal with the crates and how
contactless delivery works. After the groceries have been taken out, they need to be
checked thoroughly. If its damaged, we need to be contacted within 15 minutes.

The crates need to be put Infront of the house, which would be collected by the
delivery people at the end of the day.

Delivery:

The delivery operations will involve many stakeholders working together, like the store
house manager, the department which will keep track of the sequence of the order placed, the
department which will pack the order to be delivered and finally the deliver guy itself.
The sequence in which the following operation will take place is

Recording
Packaging Delivery
the order
The share of cost incurred in each cycle:
Let’s Assume a commodity whose cost is Rs 100 is being sold at Rs 120. The share of each
process in the cost incurred should be
Process Cost incurred (Rs)(+/- Percent Share
10%)
Recording the order 45 50%
Packaging 25 28%
Delivery 20 22%
Total 90 100%

Based on the above analogy we can come to a profit of Rs 30.

Now the Delivery part will include the cost incurred cause of the various resources being
used
1. Wage of Delivery guy
2. Cost of fuel

Here the wage of delivery agent will be in the larger proportion, as it is a town and hence the
cost of fuel incurred will be less.
Also, to save further on fuel and movement of delivery agent the delivery will be done only
when the number of orders in a particular area exceed a set threshold value, so that cost
multiple delivery could be done in a one go.

Return:
The return policy will not be applicable on grocery stuff until and unless the packing of the
product has been tampered beforehand.
The delivery agent will unpack the grocery packing while delivering and once the delivery
has been completed no return will be initiated.
In case of any other retail product being returned following return, structure will be followed

Placing Verification
Collection
return order & refund
In most of the cases cash payment would be done for a delivery hence the delivery agent will
provide a gift card or cash coupon card while picking up the order for return. Once the
product reaches the store it will be verified and once the verification completes the gift card
or cash coupon card which have been provided will be recharged with the appropriate
amount, and the same could be used to shop further.
Source :

1. https://grofers.com/blog/creating-transparency-in-grocery-shopping-during-covid-
19/
2. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/covid-19-pandemic-safety-
measures-food-delivery-apps-are-taking-to-win-back-customers-trust/effective-
outreach/slideshow/74963427.cms
3. https://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/the-scor-model-for-supply-chain-strategic-
decisions