Causes of Restocking Delays in Absence of Real Time Inventory Tracking of Airtel Airtime

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to ascertain causes of Restocking Delays in a Distributor Company of Airtel Airtime (AA) that give justification for benefits of using Real Time Inventory Tracking (R.T.I.T) in an attempt to mitigate Restocking Delays. From a study out at the Private Marketing and Trading Services (PMTS) an Authorized Distributor of Airtel Products undertaken in 2017 evidenced by Airtime scratch card and Electronic, E-Recharge Airtime among other forms to encourage R.T.I.T among other products in Telecom Companies and other Business Enterprises. The research comprises of the following areas among which included a detailed focus on a Qualitative and Quantitative approach in obtaining different categories of Restocking Delays in form of Themes and Sub Themes encountered in the Distribution Supply Chain (SC) of AA that is contained in this paper. This research continues to capture an in-depth explanation of the Managerial and Operational causes of restocking delays in respect to AA. Similarly, fast consumer products and services other than AA require a solution to Restocking Delays through implementation of Real Time Inventory Tracking Model (R.T.I.T.M) of AA among Distributor Companies (DCs). This paper also elaborated on Literature, Methodology and Findings obtained from the study. The results were obtained from regression analysis by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) that showed a higher significance of Stock Turnover Period and Airtime Denomination as a contributor to Restocking Delays whereas Messages from Airtel Head office to the Distributor had a non-significant contribution to restocking Delays as in Figure 9. The research recommends a Model for R.T.I.T in Telecom Distribution SC of AA and Omnichannel Inventory Management (OIM) as a significant contributor to timely reliable inventory restocking and promotes higher sales among DCs and retailers through minimized Restocking Delays. It shows that the forces of Demand and Supply change over time with different tastes and preferences of customers. The imbalance in AA stock levels changes at given times due to unforeseen forces of consumer demand experienced by DCs, explained by the “Bullwhip Effect” due to information distortion in the Supply Chain (SC).