The Consumer Can Be Predictable! The Question Is: "Are you listening?"
As a kid growing up in New Delhi, I remember that every Saturday morning at around 10am we had a vegetable hawker come by our house. He would bring every vegetable my mother wanted. He would always have sufficient quantity and the right quality. The hawker was the supplier for our street which probably had close to 30-35 families. When I think about it now a few things jump out at me: (1) The options available were limited . The hawker did not bring 4 different varieties of potatoes OR 3 different varieties of peppers. Even under these limitations my mother was a happy consumer! (2) The quality was predictable . He knew that his products had to meet the highest quality standard for a guaranteed business. (3) The quantity we bought from him was predictable . Unless we had guests coming over, we would always buy a predetermined amount of vegetables from the options available. Furthermore, he always carried safety stock. (4) If he did not have something, he would take down the request