Seven-Eleven Japan’s Distribution Network in the Usa

When considering a distribution network design for 7-Eleven in the United States one must consider the measures that influence the structure of that network. These measures are: response time, product variety, product availability, customer experience, time to market, order visibility, and returnability. The latter three are of less relevance when consider the function of a convenience store chain.

A chain like 7-Eleven aims to provide it's customers with a small variety of essential items (motor oil, over the counter drugs, maps, etc.) at a higher cost along with a wide variety of convenience items (drinks, snacks, cigarettes, etc.) at a reasonable cost. This implies that when choosing a distribution network design one must select one or a combination of a few designs that provide high response time, reasonable product availability, and high customer experience. Since most companies are better served by a combination of distribution network; it seems that the most appropriate distribution design for 7-Eleven in the United States is a combination of Retail Storage with Customer Pickup and Distributor Storage facilities. This combination allows for good response time and product availability because items are stored locally or are replenished daily from the distribution center. The distribution center acts as the main storage facility so the retail facilities