The company
Nikita Stores is an established retail grocery store in Thane, Maharashtra that has been serving customers since 1995. With three decades of experience in the industry, the company has grown from a single store operating with a few SKUs during inception to offering a diverse range of 45,000 SKUs, across four outlets today.
With a dedicated team of 25+ employees, Nikita Stores ensures efficient supply chain management and handles inventory across outlets accurately, even without a dedicated warehouse.
The challenge
Having started their business with a single store in 1995, the Ravarias had their business running for 20 years but were not able to expand due to their focus on handling the daily store operations. Their routine was tiresome and error-prone due to manual processes. Below are some of the major challenges they faced.
Operational inefficiency
- Chandrakant had to dedicate 16 hours a day for monitoring all the operations.
- His decisions were error-prone and processes were tiresome since he handled all the operations, such as billing, purchases, payments, and accounting, manually.
- Duplicate and delayed payments created trouble in accounting.
- He had to be in the store always and was unable to manage the business remotely due to a lack of proper software.
Burden in counter billing
- Billing processes would take too long due to lack of barcoding, labeling, and batch-wise differentiation.
- Unable to generate more than 200 bills per day due to more time consumed for counter billing.
- Customers were not aware of the discounts and schemes offered to them on the items or bill value since those details were not shown on the bills.
Improper purchase practices
- No proper purchase entry tracking due to a lack of software.
- Difficult to track the margin provided by different suppliers and raise reorders to correct suppliers at the right price.
- The reordering process was time consuming since analyzing past purchases, deriving insights, and making decisions took 10 to 12 minutes for each order.
- Managing multiple suppliers based on tax conditions and controlling the margins was difficult.
Inefficient inventory management
- Managing accurate real-time inventory was difficult as system stock barely matched with physical stock.
- Challenging to refill the stock at the right time due to lack of proper tracking across the supply chain.
- Unable to identify slow-moving and fast-moving items and make accurate decisions.
The solution
While searching for solutions to those business challenges, Nikita Stores came across Gofrugal. Once evaluated and implemented, the business noticed improvements in their efficiency.
Schemes and offer management
Gofrugal's comprehensive CRM and offer management tracks and applies discounts efficiently. Discounts are now clearly printed on the bill, educating customers about their cost savings.
Barcode-based billing
A built-in barcode scanning feature ensures accurate product tracking and accelerates the billing process. Product details such as product name, batch number, price, and expiry are instantly reflected during billing, significantly reducing checkout time and enabling seamless handling of a high volume of bills.
Purchase management
A comprehensive purchase module in Gofrugal's software tracks when a product was purchased, how much has been sold, and when it's time to reorder easily. It can identify fast-moving and slow-moving items based on stock movement and facilitate informed purchase decisions faster with real-time insights.
Customizable purchase formulas in the software help configure suppliers based on tax conditions and streamline the reordering process.
Inventory management
Gofrugal's end-to-end inventory management tracks every material inflow and outflow, ensuring complete control over stock levels. The store can maintain minimum and maximum quantities, and the software automatically suggests items to reorder from each supplier when its quantity reaches below a critical level. This helps the business to maintain optimum stock, avoid stockouts, and prevent expiry.
Margin protection
Advanced features and checks monitor supplier margins, help staff negotiate with suppliers, and secure the gross margin return on investment (GMROI).
Analytical business reports
Access to real-time analytical business reports on sales, purchase, and inventory helps the owners track and monitor the business from anywhere. It empowers them to make data-driven decisions with real-time insights.
Integrated accounting and GST filing
Gofrugal's integrated accounting solution helps manage financial accounting, track payables, receivables, and process payments effortlessly. Integrated GST filing simplified tax filing and the reconciliation process.
Anytime business oversight
One great value addition is the digital business assistant app, WhatsNow. It enables Nikita Stores's owners to track the business in real time even when on the go. They can monitor sales, purchases, and inventory data across all outlets at home or while traveling. This reduced the need for them to be physically present in the store for important decisions. It saved time, accelerated business decisions, and improved cash flow.
“I tried many local software, but none of them met my requirements. Finally, I tried Gofrugal and have been using it happily for more than 10 years. I am now relieved from long working hours due to automated operations with Gofrugal software. I spend more time with my family and focus on other business innovations. I suggest other retailers try Gofrugal software at least once.”
Chandrakant Ravaria,
Owner, Nikita Stores
Benefits and ROI
Nikita Stores has experienced a remarkable transformation in its business operations after implementing Gofrugal. From faster billing to improved inventory management, they significantly enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and profitability. Here are some key benefits.
- Faster billing process: They now generate over 1,000 bills per day, compared to just 200 bills before, as billing time significantly reduced from 10 minutes to just a few seconds.
- Quick and precise purchases: Reordering now takes a fraction of a second, down from 10 minutes.
- Accurate inventory management: Maintaining required stock levels, refilling the stock at the right time, and tracking stock movement is made easy.
- Seamless accounting: Integrated accounting and GST filing simplifies supplier payments, outstanding tracking, GST filing, and reconciliation.
- 24/7 regional support assistance: They can resolve issues anytime with dedicated support in the regional language.
Looking forward
With Gofrugal as their trusted ERP software, Nikita Stores has not only streamlined operations but also unlocked new opportunities for growth. What once seemed like daily operational challenges transformed into easy, automated processes, allowing them to scale effortlessly and open new stores every two years.
By automating key processes, the Ravarias gained the freedom to innovate, expand, and achieve a healthier work-life balance. Their journey from a single store to multiple outlets is a testament to the power of making smart business decisions with the right technology. As they continue to scale, Nikita Stores stands as an inspiring example of how digital transformation can drive long-term success and customer satisfaction.
Watch their detailed story here