2023

Chase Up

Final Year Project

Retail Sector
Pakistan

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 Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Chase Up....................................3
2. Brief History............................................................................. 4
2.1. Vision Statement.............................................................................. 6
2.2. Mission Statement………………………………………………6
3. Sector’s Overview..................................................................................7
4. Portfolio of Company .........................9
5. Inventory Management System...........................................................10
5.1. Inventory Management System Software.....................................12
5.2. Benefits of Implementing Retail Pro Prism........................................14
6. Ordering System................................................. 16
6.1. Ordering Process.................................................................................17
6.2. The online order process....................................19
7. Stocking System..............................................20
8. Refund & Return Policy................................................. 23
9. Conclusion................................................................................24
10. Suggestions ..................................25

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 1. Introduction:

Chase Up is a well-known retail chain in Pakistan. It is one of

the largest and most popular discount department stores in
the country. Chase Up offers a wide range of products,
including clothing, footwear, accessories, household items,
electronics, cosmetics, toys, and groceries.

The company was established in 1984 and has since

expanded from one facility. Chase Up stores are known for

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their affordable prices and discounts, attracting a large
customer base.

Customers can find both local and international brands at

Chase Up, catering to different budgets and preferences. The
stores are typically spacious and well-organized, providing a
convenient shopping experience for customers.

Chase Up has gained a reputation for its focus on customer

satisfaction and providing value for money. The stores are
frequented by individuals and families looking for quality
products at competitive prices. The company has also
embraced e-commerce, allowing customers to shop online
through its website.

Overall, Chase Up is a prominent retail chain in Pakistan,

offering a diverse range of products and affordable options to
its customers.

2. Brief History:

Chase Up, established in 1984 as a family-owned enterprise,

initially specialized in offering affordable prices for high-quality
readymade garments, setting a precedent for modern
department store retailing in Karachi.

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The company's unwavering commitment to customer
convenience has remained at the forefront of its operations,
exemplified by their comprehensive assortment of quality
goods and services available under one roof, catering to the
financial capabilities of a vast majority of customers.

Over the years, Chase Up has experienced substantial

growth, resulting in the evolution of its business model.
Today, the company has emerged as a prominent player in
the retail sector, recognized for its dedication to providing
discounted prices without compromising on product quality.

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At present, Chase Up operates eight stores across Pakistan.
They are situated in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad and
Gujranwala.
By extending their retail footprint, Chase Up aims to solidify
their position as a trusted provider of accessible and value-
driven shopping experiences, serving the needs of a growing
consumer base throughout the country.

2.1. Vision Statement:

Our vision is to lead and become the pioneer of retail

business in Pakistan. We aim to do this by continuous
innovation and improvement in the quality of the product we
carry, our business systems and process.

2.2. Mission Statement:

Our mission is to continuously develop and enrich the lives of

our customers by providing One-Stop shopping solutions on a
daily basis.

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 3. Overview of Retail Sector of Pakistan:

The retail sector plays a significant role in Pakistan's

economy, contributing to employment and consumer
spending. Within this sector, Chase Up has established itself
as a prominent retail chain, offering affordable prices and a
wide range of products to customers.

Market Size and Growth:

The retail sector in Pakistan has been steadily growing over

the years. In 2020, it was estimated to be around $145 billion.
This growth is influenced by factors such as population
increase, urbanization, and rising disposable income.

Traditional Retail:

Traditional retail, including small local shops and markets,

remains prevalent in Pakistan. However, modern formats like
department stores and supermarkets have gained popularity,
providing consumers with more choices and organized
shopping experiences.

E-commerce and Online Sales:

E-commerce is on the rise in Pakistan due to increased

internet access and smartphone usage. Online sales have
experienced significant growth as consumers seek

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convenience and a broader product selection. Although the
share of online sales in the overall retail market is still
relatively small, it is steadily expanding.

Opportunities for Chase Up:

As a leading retail chain, Chase Up is capitalizing on its brand

and customer base to tap into the growing online sales trend.
By offering a seamless shopping experience, through its
ecommerce store, Chase Up is expanding its reach, attracting
new customers, and catering to the evolving preferences of
consumers.

Competitive Landscape:

The retail sector in Pakistan is a tough market where many

companies, both local and international, compete with each
other. Chase Up faces competition from other retail stores,
supermarkets, and online shopping websites. To stay ahead
and keep growing, Chase Up needs to be quick in responding
to changes, offer products at good prices, and make sure
customers are happy with their shopping experience.

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 4. Portfolio of Company:

Chase Up has showcased a commendable financial

performance, with a total revenue of $264 million. Although
online sales generated a modest revenue of $.2 million in
2022, the company recognizes the potential for further growth
in the digital space.

With a forward-thinking approach, Chase Up aims to leverage

its success and expand its market presence by establishing
additional stores in Karachi and nationwide.
This strategic expansion will enable the company to tap into a
wider customer base, fostering daily connections with a
diverse range of individuals.

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By offering an increasingly extensive selection of quality food
products at affordable prices, Chase Up aims to solidify its
position as a leading provider of accessible and value-driven
shopping experiences.

Despite its current position, chaseup.com.pk holds a relatively

small share of the fashion market's ecommerce net sales,
accounting for less than 0%.

However, this presents an opportunity for the company to

explore and enhance its online presence in the fashion
category, tapping into the potential for growth and capturing a
larger market share.

Also, with the integrated use of Retail Pro - an inventory

management system, Chase Up plans to bring up the total
number of points of sales to 200 across a total of 10 stores.

5. Inventory Management System:

Chase Up is a huge retail outlet that relies extensively on its

capabilities to organize, source and make inventories
available in the right quantities at the right places at the right
time.

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With an operation scale of that size, the inventory
management must be impeccable to provide value added
service to their customers.
This is especially important since they have various product
ranges and categories such as:

● Foods & Beverages

● Grocery
● Health & Beauty
● Herbal & Nutrition
● Laundry & Household
● DIY
● Fashion
● Grocery & Crockery

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Chase UP is managing its multifaceted Supply Chain with
Groceries and Non-Grocery Warehouses, equipped with state
of the art and customized Warehousing software solutions.

5.1. Inventory Management System Software

Here is a quotation by the Chase Up IT head to illustrate this

section:
“Prior to Retail Pro Prism, we had relied on locally built
software. However, the journey ahead for Chase Up poses a
number of competitive challenges which require our systems
to possess a greater degree of robustness, flexibility and
agility, and we found this in Retail Pro Prism.”
- Mr. Syed Izhar ul Hassan, General Manager IT

Introduction to Retail Pro:

Retail Pro is a retail management software developed by an

American Company that offers a wide range of features and
functionalities to enhance the operations of retail businesses.
It meets the needs of the retail industry and has many uses
and applications. Some of the more common deployments are
in the fields of:

● Point of sale (POS)

● Inventory management

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 ● Customer relationship management (CRM)
● Reporting

Prior Issues Due To Software Incapacity :

Before implementing Retail Pro Prism, Chase Up encountered

several challenges in their inventory management system.
These challenges included:

Flexibility of Reporting:

The existing software lacked the flexibility required to

generate diverse reports, hindering effective decision-making
and analysis.

Data Security:

Ensuring the safety of important inventory data was a big

concern with the old system. Chase Up wanted a more secure
solution to protect their valuable information.

Speed and Stability:

The previous system had some issues with its performance

and stability. Chase Up needed a faster and more stable
solution to make their inventory operations smoother.

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Integration and Inter-departmental communication:

The old system didn't work well with other systems, causing
problems and making it hard to share data between different
departments.

5.2. Benefits of Implementing Retail Pro Prism:

Chase Up decided to use Retail Pro Prism for the following

reasons:

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Ease of Use at POS:

Retail Pro Prism has an easy-to-understand interface that

makes it simple for store staff to handle inventory transactions
at the Point of Sale (POS).

Inventory Accuracy:

Chase Up knows how important it is to have accurate records

of their inventory. With Retail Pro Prism, they can maintain
better inventory accuracy, reducing mistakes and avoiding
stock shortages.

Automated Replenishment:

Retail Pro Prism has a feature that automatically manages

inventory replenishment. This helps Chase Up ensure they
always have the right amount of stock, preventing shortages
and keeping their inventory levels optimized.

Centralized Control:

By using Retail Pro Prism, Chase Up can have better control

over their inventory management. They can coordinate and

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control inventory activities across all their store locations from
a centralized system.

Secure Data Visibility:

Retail Pro Prism has strong security features that keep data
safe and visible only to authorized users. This protects
important information and maintains the integrity of the data.

6. Ordering System:

Chase Up has a mega mall like layout and is divided into

subsections from where customers can purchase the products
of a specific category e.g foods and fashion etc. The
traditional way of shopping is the same, customers load up
their carts and proceed to checkout POS where a barcode
scanner is reading all the products they wish to checkout with.
The system at the back end credits the sold out items against
the inventory records and if needed, puts up a flag for
replenishment.

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6.1. Ordering Process:

The ordering process at Chase Up involves several steps to

ensure they have the right products in stock. key stages
involved in their ordering procedure are:

Inventory Planning:

Chase Up starts by planning their inventory, deciding what

products and quantities they need. They analyze sales
history, customer preferences, and market trends to make
decisions.

Supplier Selection:

Chase Up chooses reliable suppliers based on factors like

price, quality, and dependability. Since they are famous for
being a cheap retailing store, sourcing cheapest suppliers and
cutting costs is a vital step for their business integrity.

Purchase Order Document:

Once the supplier is selected, Chase Up generates a

purchase order. This document contains important information
such as product details, quantities, prices, and desired
delivery dates.

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Placing the Order:

Chase Up sends the purchase order to the supplier. This

confirms the order and starts the procurement process.

Order Tracking and Delivery:

They receive updates from the supplier regarding the

shipment's status, expected delivery dates, and any potential
delays. Since most of their supplies are locally sourced, there
is a very small chance of deviating from standard timelines.
The deliveries are usually efficient, on time and enough to
cater to the needs of customers for the business week.

Receipt and Inspection:

Upon receiving the products, Chase Up's team inspects them

for quality and accuracy. They ensure that the delivered
quantities match the purchase order and report any
discrepancies to the supplier.

Reconciliation and Payment:

Chase Up's finance team reconciles the received products

with the purchase order.
They verify the invoice, match it with the order details, and
process the payment to the supplier.

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6.2. The online order process:

Chase Up’s online ordering system is much more convenient

and facilitating. It begins by the customer going to their app or
accessing their web based ecommerce store.
The app requires a registration and the user must be logged
in with their mobile number to access the store database.
This also gives them the ability to target the customer with
some promotional offers through telemarketing.

The application interface is quite simple and easy to navigate.

There are separate categories into which tiers of similar
products are categorized for customer convenience.

There is an add to cart functionality that the customers can

use to choose and select their desired products.
Once they are done browsing, they proceed to checkout and
choose one of the multiple payment methods. Such as
payment through bank card, micro financing, or other
payment gateways that their IT team has integrated to
facilitate the customers.

Some of the features that online customers can avail are:

● Instant item lookup
● Alternate product suggestion
● Price checker

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These features are courtesy of Chase Up’s Retail Pro Prism
inventory management software that offers built-in plugins to
improve the platform's capabilities.
Similarly, on the management side, this retailing software
provides useful features to the employees of Chase Up.
These include:
● Label printing
● Shortcut Keys
● Duplicate customer check

7. Stocking System:

Chase Up implements an efficient stocking system to manage

their inventory and ensure smooth operations.
Retail Pro Prism has stock keeping and managing capabilities
and offers various features to assist retailers in managing
their inventory effectively.

Some of the stock keeping and managing capabilities

provided by Retail Pro Prism include:

Inventory Management:
Chase Up maintains a centralized inventory management
system to track stock levels, product information, and

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replenishment needs. This system helps them stay informed
about stock availability, sales trends, and product demand.

Warehousing:
Chase Up operates warehousing facilities to store their
inventory. These warehouses are organized to optimize space
utilization and facilitate efficient movement of goods. They
utilize shelving systems, racks, bins etc to store products in a
well-organized manner.

Barcoding and Labeling:

To streamline inventory management and improve accuracy,
Chase Up uses barcoding and labeling systems. Each
product is assigned a barcode or label containing information
such as the product name, SKU (stock keeping unit), price,
and other relevant details. This allows for easier identification,
tracking, and inventory control.

Receiving and Quality Control:

When new inventory arrives, Chase Up's warehouse staff
checks the received products against purchase orders and
packing lists. They inspect the quality, verify quantities, and
report any discrepancies. This step ensures that only high-
quality products enter the inventory.

Stock Placement:
After inspection, the warehouse team properly places the
received products in designated storage locations within the

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facility. They use an organized system based on categories,
brands, or product types to ensure efficient stock placement
and retrieval.

Stock Rotation and FIFO:

Chase Up follows the First-In First-Out (FIFO) system for
perishable items and products with limited shelf life. This
applies to all FMCG products and inventory has to be
regulated carefully to prevent any damages or from becoming
expired or obsolete.

Palletization:
To facilitate ease of handling and transportation, Chase Up
utilizes pallets. Palletization involves placing products on
pallets and securing them for efficient movement within the
warehouse and during transportation.

Inventory Replenishment:
Chase Up regularly monitors inventory levels and sets up
reordering thresholds to ensure timely replenishment. When
stock falls below a certain point, automated or manual
systems trigger the generation of purchase orders to restock
the products.

Inventory Audits:
Periodic inventory audits are conducted to reconcile physical
stock with the recorded data in the inventory management

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system. This helps identify any discrepancies, improve
accuracy, and maintain inventory integrity.

8. Refund & Return Policy:

The refund and returns policy of Chase Up allows customers

to return items within 30 days of purchase. After this period, a
full refund or exchange is not possible. To be eligible for a
return, the item should be unused, in its original packaging,
and accompanied by a receipt or proof of purchase.

Certain items cannot be returned, such as perishable goods

like food, flowers, newspapers, or magazines. Intimate or
sanitary items, hazardous materials, and flammable liquids or
gasses are also not eligible for return. Additionally, gift cards,
downloadable software products, and specific health and
personal care items cannot be returned.

In some situations, partial refunds may be granted. For

example, if a book shows obvious signs of use or if CDs,
DVDs, VHS tapes, software, video games, cassette tapes, or
vinyl records have been opened. Items that are not in their
original condition, damaged, or missing parts not due to an
error by Chase Up may also qualify for partial refunds.

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Returns made more than 30 days after delivery are not
eligible for refunds or exchanges.

9. Conclusion:

Chase Up is a popular retail company in Pakistan known for

their efficient inventory management. They use software
called Retail Pro Prism to keep track of their stock and make
sure they always have what customers need. This helps them
make more money and keeps customers happy.

Chase Up also cares about the environment and has

recycling initiatives. They have a clear policy for refunds and
returns, which makes it easier for customers to understand.
They want to be responsible when it comes to waste
management and protect the environment.

Using the software to manage their stock helps Chase Up

increase their profits. They can see what they have and order
more when they need to. This way, they don't run out of
products and can sell more.

Chase Up's focus on sustainability and making customers

happy is important for their success. They want customers to
trust them and keep coming back. By offering quality products

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and a reliable refund policy, customers feel confident in their
purchases.

10. Suggestions:

Online Presence and E-commerce Expansion:

Chase Up should consider expanding their online presence

and investing in e-commerce capabilities. This would enable
them to reach a wider customer base, especially in today's
digital era where online shopping is increasingly popular.
Developing a user-friendly website and mobile app would
enhance the convenience as their current models are quite
outdated and difficult to navigate.

Customer Engagement and Loyalty:

Implementing customer engagement initiatives and loyalty
programs can help Chase Up build stronger relationships with
their customers. This can include personalized offers,
exclusive discounts, and rewards programs to incentivize
repeat purchases and foster customer loyalty. Engaging
customers through social media platforms and email
newsletters can also create a sense of community and keep
customers informed about new products and promotions.

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Expansion into New Product Categories:
Chase Up could explore expanding their product offerings into
new categories. Conducting market research to identify
emerging trends and customer demands can guide them in
selecting profitable product lines. This would attract a broader
customer base and increase revenue streams.

Continuous Employee Training and Development:

Chase Up should prioritize the training and development of

their employees. Providing regular training sessions on
customer service, product knowledge, and sales techniques
can enhance the overall customer experience. Empowering
employees with the necessary skills and knowledge will
enable them to provide exceptional service and build strong
customer relationships.

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