Jesper Aastrup

Forty years of Out-of-Stock research – and shelves are still empty

This article examines 40 years of research conducted in the area of Out-of-Stocks (OOS). Two research streams originating from the Progressive Grocer (1968) study are reviewed. The first stream dealt with demand side issues and analysed consumer responses to OOS. The other dealt with supply side issues and analysed the extent and root causes of OOS situations as well as how to improve OOS. Four paradoxes are derived from the review and are discussed: 1) OOS rates largely seem to fall into an average level at about 7 to 8% despite 40 years of research; 2) only sparse attempts have been made to integrate the two research streams; 3) there is an emphasis on minimizing OOS rather than relying on basic trade-offs as addressed by Economic-Order-Quantity theory to optimize OOS levels; and 4) despite clear evidence of the store as the major contributor to OOS situations, the store has largely remained a ‘black-box’ in OOS research. Finally, the study suggests that OOS research can integrate the notions of the two streams by showing how the conditions for consumer responses can be translated into different degrees for costs of understocking taken from Economic-Order-Quantity theory. This will have important implications for the management of OOS.

Analyzing out‐of‐stock in independent grocery stores: an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine out‐of‐stock (OOS) challenges in the independent grocery sector with a special emphasis on in‐store root causes. The analysis aims to assess the extent and root causes for OOS in the independently controlled retail sector and provide a comparison of these results with the centrally controlled chain sector in Denmark. The paper also seeks to examine the practices and challenges of store ordering and store replenishment processes in the independent sector and identify practical implications for store management and other members of the grocery channels.Design/methodology/approach – The research design includes two studies. Study‐I surveys and compares the extent and root causes of OOS of 42 stores from eight chains in the two sectors. Study‐II identifies, based on qualitative interviews with 17 store managers/owners of independent stores, specific insights on store operations.Findings – The quantitative study shows that the OOS rates in the independent secto...

A model for structuring efficient consumer response measures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a model which structures and links different types of efficient consumer response (ECR) measures; it does so by considering the use of both quantitative or “hard” and qualitative or “soft” measures in ECR, emphasizing the importance and causal role of “soft” measures throughout the ECR process.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the ECR and performance measurement literature and proposes a model that explains linkages from intra‐organizational, inter‐organizational and industry prerequisites through ECR activities to ECR outcomes; and highlights the role of performance, behavioural, attitude and capability measures. Two extant studies from Austria and Denmark are examined in the context of the model to exemplify some of its features.Findings – Similarities regarding issues of inter‐organizational and intra‐organizational prerequisites were found, but the two studies also demonstrated variety in the use of measures in ECR research.Research limi...

The Danish Retail Market: Overview and Highlights

This paper presents an overview of the Danish retail market. A detailed picture of the Danish grocery sector is provided, and we highlight issues from the specialty sectors of fashion and DIY as well as patterns of internationalisation among Danish retailers. We further profile the Danish consumer in terms of consumption patterns and demographic changes as well as some specific consumer tendencies with a special emphasis on sustainability issues. E-commerce is taken up as a special theme, both profiling the consumer side and the retailer side. This part is exemplified with books and groceries. Finally, we present the state-of-the-art of retail logistics in Denmark and analyse the impact on retailing of law on planning and law on opening hours.