Question:

Large retailers, in general, tend to move from a business model characterised by a fragmented network of many small-to-medium scale retail operations located in city centres, to a business model characterised by much fewer but significantly larger retail operations, with each operation seeking to

(a) process a much larger volume of customers,

(b) increase the overall level and convenience of service provision to the customers, and

(c) reduce operational costs.

Explain the implications from an operations design viewpoint of such a change of business model, and critically evaluate the types of operations (design) strategies and tactics, both within store and in terms of supply, that can help to facilitate the achievement of the new business model and its associated objectives ((a) to (c)).