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Is product freshness important only for perishables?
I have often heard from supply chain professionals that product freshness on the retail shelves is important only for perishable items with a short shelf life of just a few days. Categories cited are milk, bread, fruits, vegetables, etc.
Does it mean that for categories with long shelf life of say 2-3 years, product freshness is not so important? I would encourage you to stand in the consumer goods aisle of a supermarket and observe how many consumers look at the date of manufacturing before selecting their brand. If she is considering two brands and their packs on the shelf are 2 and 7 months old respectively, which pack do you think she would pick up?
Let’s take another example… passenger cars. These have a useful life of 5 years or more. Still we find that cars manufactured in the last quarter of 2021 start selling at a discount in January 2022!
Companies with a lean supply chain avoid such discounts and make higher profits. Moreover, they see an accelerated growth due to higher conversion rates at the first moment of truth, when consumers interact with their pack on the retail shelves!