Control of losses caused by stock-outs at a supermarket chain in the state of Ceará

Abstract

The issue of stock-outs in supermarkets is constantly being analyzed, since, in addition to losing sales, retailers impart a negative influence on the loyalty of customers to the brand of missing products, compromising operational results. Despite technologies that have been developed to cope with them, stock-out levels in the last sixty years have remained very high: out of every 100 items, eight are missing in the shelves. In this article, the objective was to identify the main causes of stock-outs and to create action plans to contain them. For this, a case study was carried out, using a qualitative methodology.  A questionnaire was applied and interviews were conducted with the managers of five different sectors of a supermarket chain. Seven steps were identified to reverse or reduce stock-outs; only two respondents followed all of them. We confirmed the importance of having an effective tool in the fight against losses due to stock-outs, given their negative impact on consumers and their repercussions on retail.