Background: The importance of South African small businesses, especially retailers, in improving communities’ standards of living necessitates sound business strategies to survive and remain competitive. Selecting appropriate business strategies is cardinal for the sustainable development and growth of all types of businesses, including small businesses. The supply chain strategy defines how operations in the supply chain will support the overall competitive strategy and is orientated to promote either responsiveness or cost-efficiency. It is imperative that all inventory decisions be aligned with the orientation of the selected supply chain strategy. Objectives: The aim of this article was firstly to determine how small retailers operating within the boundaries of Soweto, a township in Gauteng, South Africa, manage their inventory decisions considering the orientation of the supply chain strategy; and secondly, to investigate whether retail industries differ in terms of inventory decisions. Method: A survey was conducted among 650 formal, independent small businesses operating within Soweto of which 556 were classified as retailers based on the Standard Industrial Classification. Structured interviewer-completed questionnaires were used to obtain quantitative data from owners or managers. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were performed to determine the orientation of the retailers’ supply chain strategy based on their inventory decisions relating to the average rate of purchasing inventory, the amount of inventory purchased, as well as the quality and variety of products offered to customers. Five hypotheses were formulated to determine whether a difference exists between six industry groups with regard to the management of inventory. Results: It was established that small township retailers predominantly manage their inventory decisions responsively. It was also concluded that differences exist in terms of how small township retailers manage their inventory based on the industry in which they operate. The results showed that retail hardware stores are focused on making inventory decisions more cost-efficiently than the other industry groups, whereas retail general stores are focused on making inventory decisions more responsively than the other industry groups. Conclusion: The owners or managers of small township retailers need to be educated in terms of inventory management decisions. This article can be used as an educational platform to show how small township retailers can identify the aligned inventory decisions for supporting a selected supply chain strategy orientation. Generally, small township retailers may maintain their competitive advantage if they align all business strategies to promote responsiveness. Since the industry in which small retailers operate influences inventory management decisions in terms of responsiveness and cost-efficiency, owners or managers must consider the specific industry in which they operate before making such decisions.

中文翻译：

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Sowetan小型零售商的库存决策

背景：南非小型企业（尤其是零售商）在提高社区生活水平方面的重要性，需要健全的商业策略来生存和保持竞争力。选择适当的业务策略是包括小企业在内的所有类型企业的可持续发展和增长的基础。供应链战略定义了供应链中的运营将如何支持整体竞争战略，并旨在促进响应能力或成本效率。必须将所有库存决策与所选供应链策略的方向保持一致。目标：本文的目的是首先确定小型零售商如何在南非豪登省Soweto镇的边界内经营，考虑供应链策略的方向来管理其库存决策；其次，调查零售行业在库存决策方面是否有所不同。方法：对在Soweto内运营的650家正式，独立的小型企业进行了调查，其中556家根据标准行业分类被归类为零售商。结构化的访调员完成的调查表用于从所有者或经理那里获取定量数据。进行描述性和推论性分析，以根据零售商的库存决策来确定零售商的供应链战略方向，这些库存决策与平均购买库存率，购买的库存量以及提供给客户的产品的质量和种类有关。提出了五个假设，以确定六个行业组在库存管理方面是否存在差异。结果：已经确定，小城镇零售商主要以响应方式管理其库存决策。还得出结论，小城镇零售商根据其经营所在的行业管理库存的方式存在差异。结果表明，与其他行业集团相比，零售硬件商店专注于更有效地制定库存决策，而与其他行业集团相比，零售综合商店则专注于更快速地做出库存决策。结论：需要对小城镇零售商的所有者或经理进行库存管理决策方面的教育。本文可以用作教育平台，以展示小型乡镇零售商如何识别对齐的库存决策，以支持选定的供应链战略方向。通常，如果小城镇零售商调整所有业务策略以提高响应能力，则可以保持竞争优势。由于小型零售商经营的行业会在响应能力和成本效率方面影响库存管理决策，因此所有者或管理者在做出此类决策之前必须考虑其经营的特定行业。如果小城镇零售商调整所有业务策略以提高响应能力，则可以保持其竞争优势。由于小零售商经营的行业会在响应能力和成本效率方面影响库存管理决策，因此所有者或管理者在做出此类决策之前必须考虑其经营的特定行业。如果小城镇零售商调整所有业务策略以提高响应能力，则可以保持其竞争优势。由于小零售商经营的行业会在响应能力和成本效率方面影响库存管理决策，因此所有者或管理者在做出此类决策之前必须考虑其经营的特定行业。