Guest Lecture by Mr. Vaibhav Tembulkar

Retail industry forms one of the strongest pillars of Indian economy contributing to almost 15% of the GDP. Since late 90s organized retail is growing phenomenally; and with the onset of online retail it is definitely one of the most lucrative career options for MBA Graduates. Hence, SIMSREE students were very thankful to Mr. Vaibhav Tembulkar, Trading Head, Non-food, HyperCITY retail (India) Ltd; for his session on Modern Retail – A New Innings and Supply Chain Challenges. Mr. Tembulkar, an alumnus of 1997 Batch has a diverse experience, having worked with organizations like Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, Prestige and Wadhawan Retail (P) Ltd.

Mr. Tembulkar started the session on a light note reminiscing about his days at SIMSREE, contrasting his experiences with what he saw today. He was happy to see the tremendous improvements in infrastructure. He went on to ask the students a few questions about retail industry and their views about FDI and its impact on the existing players. He made sure that all the queries that were gnawing the students’ minds about retail were properly addressed.

Mr. Tembulkar emphasised on the importance of having an efficient supply chain for an industry like retail, where optimum utilization of inventory has a major impact on the bottom line. He started the discussion by comparing the level of organised sector in India which is around 6% of the total as opposed to Countries like US where almost 85% of retail is organised. He touched upon the various inefficiencies in the supply chain and the immense wastage that it leads to especially for perishable items like food. He also said he viewed the FDI in retail more as an opportunity than threat as this move would definitely improve the back end infrastructure and supply chain leading to a more inclusive growth for everybody in the value chain.

Mr. Tembulkar definitely surged our interest in the industry, and we look forward to more such sessions with him.