Purpose: The shopper journey can cross a number of channels leading up to the point of a possible purchase, which may be unseen by the retailer or brand for the targeted purchase. The purpose of this paper is to gain a greater understanding of the decision making and purchase intention activity for online Millennial shoppers in deciding what fashion garments to buy in the digital retail environment. The paper also investigates the use of technology and social media involvement in the shopper journey leading up to the point of purchase. Design/methodology/approach: In line with other studies that investigated online shopper behaviour (Balabanis and Reynolds, 2001; Pavlou et al., 2007), the authors have undertaken an exploratory investigation using an online survey conducted with respondents sourced through using Survey Monkey Audience. The survey was conducted with over 580 respondents (49.7 per cent female and 50.3 per cent male) between 16 and 34 years old living in England. Findings: The findings highlight a picture of shoppers going on very different shopper journeys with different lengths, influenced by different touch points and using different media and devices. Each customer has their own individual experience and expectation. They can move through extremely diverse, long and complicated journeys in the buying process before they purchase a product. Most striking is their willingness to reach out and be influenced by other people beyond the control of any retailer – using platforms that are not necessarily specifically related with any retailer. Shoppers can undertake numerous activities before they make their final purchase decision, seeking content from different retailers, asking for social validation of their decision from their social networks both online and offline which is often out of sight of the retailer or brand. Practical implications: The findings show how retailers and brands can understand the shopper decision journey and their behaviours across all the devices and channels that are used. Moreover, for some or part of the digital journey the shopper can often be unseen by the retailer or brand. Originality/value: Consumers actively seek out novelty, knowledge and inspiration but shoppers employ a variety of interactions over a much greater period of time to arrive at the moment of purchase. This research provides an insight into the range of complex views and positions held by each individual to get a much more complete picture of where shoppers are looking to buy and what are their interests.

Purpose: Recent literature recognizes the role of warehouses in enhancing the overall logistics performance. Thus, lean thinking has recently found its way in supporting warehouse and distribution centre operations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance and business performance.Design/methodology/approach: A two-stage study was conducted. First, a Delphi technique was adopted to develop a relevant questionnaire. Second, this questionnaire was used to measure the degree of waste reduction in the different warehouse activities and to test the developed research hypotheses. The authors test the hypotheses with a sample of Middle Eastern warehouse operators.Findings: There exists a positive relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and both warehouse operational performance and distribution performance. There was no direct relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance. However, results revealed that the relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance was mediated by warehouse operational performance and distribution performance.Practical implications: The developed instrument provides a guide for logistics managers as to understand how to reduce waste in each warehousing activity. The results also inform logistics managers of how distribution performance can be improved through lean warehousing. The resulting performance improvements in the distribution operations will ultimately be reflected in the logistics performance of downstream retailers.Originality/value: The study develops an original instrument for measuring waste reduction in warehouses, and provides insights into the evolving lean warehousing research area. This is the first scholarly work to uncover the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance and business performance.

Purpose: This study aims to embark on a bibliometric journey through the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management (IJR&DM) to delve into its rich repository of applied retailing research.Design/methodology/approach: 626 publications in IJR&DM between 2015 and 2023 have been retrieved from Scopus for performance analysis of the journal’s publication (productivity) and citation (impact) trends as well as a science mapping of the journal’s collaborators (contributors) and major themes (contributions).Findings: The performance analysis highlights the growth in the productivity and impact of IJR&DM alongside its most cited publications, most prolific contributors, most relied-on journals, as well as the authors, institutions, countries, and journals that the journal has impacted the most. The co-authorship analysis reveals the collaboration (i.e., international with a high concentration in Europe and North America along with an emerging presence in Asia) of IJR&DM. Keyword co-occurrence analysis and bibliographic coupling reveal eight themes. Our exploration revealed close interconnections among various domains including retailing and adaptive strategies, channel strategies, customer experience, market innovations, operations management, relationship marketing, shopping motivation, and sustainability.Research limitations/implications: Although this study delivers a state-of-the-art overview of the retail industry through the scientific contributions from IJR&DM, it remains limited to the insights from a single authoritative source of knowledge on retailing.Originality/value: No review, to date, has been conducted for IJR&DM. This study provides the inaugural retrospective of the scientific contributions of IJR&DM, outlining publication and citation trends alongside the intellectual structure of its body of knowledge on retailing. Theoretically, this retrospective is pivotal in charting the intellectual growth and thematic nuances inherent in retail research. Practically, this study serves as a guide for practitioners, enabling them to make strategically informed decisions and craft forward-looking strategies in sync with current realities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the supply and productivity improvements derived from implementing manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) practices.Design/methodology/approach: The approach is a case study in a Greek aerospace company, using Hellenic Aerospace Industry, SA (HAI). The closed loop business operating system, MRP II is recognized as being an effective management system that has an excellent planning and scheduling capability, which can offer an increase in customer service, significant gains in productivity, higher inventory turns and reduction in material cost.Findings: The implementation has included setting clear goals, following a formal implementation plan, using a project steering committee and project teams. However, some aspects such as limitations by Greek legislation, constraints in hardware, incomplete education and training of the personnel and the BOM data accuracy are discussed in the context of HAI Productivity and supply issues resulting from the implementation process are reviewed.Practical implications: Although, the use of the MRP II system in industrial developed countries is extensive, in Greece it is still in its infancy.Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on MRP II in the Greek aerospace industry.

Background: This paper examines how logistics mangers increase performance by incorporating VAS in their distribution centres in the context of different natures of customer demand. The study is underpinned by the principles of lean and agile strategies as two key concepts that can be applied to respond to different customer expectations. Methods: Based on the phenomenological interpretivist paradigm, an empirical multiple-case study was conducted in German distribution centres operated by six companies. The empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews, built on the triangulation of sources. Open, axial, and selective coding were employed to analyse data collected through eighteen in-depth interviews with managers from the distribution centres. Results: The findings indicated that the construct of customer demand forms different benefits that the logistics service providers can achieve through VAS. Simultaneously, various customer demands on VAS requires the distribution centres to focus on developing different operational capabilities to gain superior performance. Conclusions: Based on the research findings, a conceptual model was created. This model can support logistics service providers in improving company performance through effectively managing VAS in their distribution centres. The high dynamic VAS customer demand can bring more financial and non-financial benefits but needs higher flexibility in the warehouse operation system. Stable and predictable VAS, in turn, require a higher degree of standardisation.

Disaster preparedness behaviour in Indonesia is still considered low. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence the disaster preparedness behaviour of tourist village managers around Mount Merapi. This study is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through a focus group discussion (FGD), with 32 participants in 3 sessions with 10–11 participants per session. The data were analysed using Collaizi’s approach by reading the transcripts to obtain an overview and insight, extracting important statements, formulating meaning using codes and grouping into themes. We examined factors influencing disaster preparedness of tourist village managers in Mount Merapi using the PRECEDE component guide from the PRECEDE-PROCEED model. The results of this study indicated that seven themes were found related to the disaster preparedness factors of tourist village managers: four themes related to predisposing factors, namely, belief, knowledge, risk perception and experience; two themes related to enabling factors, namely, availability of infrastructure and training; and one theme related to reinforcing factors, namely, support from various parties. Contribution: By knowing all three factors that drive behaviour – predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors – interventions can be more comprehensive, targeting not only the initial motivation for behaviour change but also the necessary resources and ongoing support for sustainability. This holistic approach is critical to achieving behavioural change in disaster preparedness behaviour among tourism village managers.