In this blog, we look how to increase sales in Kirana store using VasyERP’s software. Here we have take case study of shivan kirana how It helped them increase sales by 22% compared to when they were operating manually. This was done by implementing various features to help them improve their operations. This included automating their inventory management and streamlining their processes among other factors. As a result, they experienced increased efficiency, streamlining the shopping experience for their customers, and continued growth.

Kirana stores play an important role in every Indian community (city or town). They provide familiarity, convenience and trust. This is something several retailers struggle to replicate. However, with evolving customer expectations even the oldest kirana stores are looking for smart efficient ways to grow and serve their customers. With this in mind  many store owners have begun to look for digital solutions to simplify and automate essential tasks that take up much of their time each day. This includes billing, stock monitoring and customer management. 

This blog will simply take you through the understanding of Shivam Kirana Stores entire journey. The journey will cover everything right from manual processes to an automated streamlined process which contributed to a 22% increase in sales.  It will also include their challenges before and after and why they chose VasyERP. To give you a deeper understanding, we will also be taking you through how the onboarding process went and which features had the initial impact.  If you are a small retailer looking to engage in a digital transformation, this real-case success provides really good ideas and inspiration. 

The Kirana Store’s Growth Challenge

Shivam Kirana Store, located in a busy section of Pune, has had a customer base for more than 10 years. It is known for its friendly staff and wide assortment of daily necessities, making it a fun store for customers. Even with a loyal customer base and popularity, growth in revenues was a challenge for the store.

The store relied mostly on manual processes. Billing occurred on paper and stock-counts were hit or miss. Moreover the customer debts which is often referred to as udhaar were typically mismanaged. Each day, staff greeted long lines of customers, missed sales due to stock-outs, and confusion during busy times.

Mr. Sharma, the owner of the store, became aware that growth would be difficult to sustain without automating processes. He noticed competitors with modern POS (point-of-sale) systems were taking his customers due to faster processes. The store knew it needed help in order to remain relevant and competitive. The owner and staff could only be pleasant and as productive as possible when making mistakes mattered and couldn’t help much with growth. Mr. Sharma asked if he could look into some digital programs for consideration into work the future of his kirana store.

The Challenges Faced by the Kirana Store Before Using VasyERP

Before going digital, Shivam Kirana Store depended on its age-old system of manual processes. Although this method was feasible for them in the years past. Eventually, it became more and more challenging as customer expectations and daily workload surged. The more the store took on, the more difficult it was to accurately monitor sales, inventory, and credit records. As they got more and more inefficient then the business had issues keeping up with speed. They even had issues keeping up with accurate timing and the consistency of daily operations.

1. Manual Billing: 

Billing was recorded using manual pen and paper entries on a notebook. When there were many customers, this tedious service experience often slowed things down and caused math errors. Many customers get frustrated standing in line and often abandon their purchases. Long lines were frustrating for customers, and at times, they abandoned their purchases. Billing that did not produce a printing receipt made the return/auditing experience confusing. All in all, manual billing further delayed the speed of the transaction process and detracted from the overall customer experience.

2. Stock Issues: 

Without any proper system, tracking stock levels in real time proved challenging to determine actual stock levels. Some stock was over-bought and took up valuable shelf space, while customers could not purchase fast moving essentials because they were out of stock. Any variance in stock levels impacted sales opportunities. It also impacted delayed things and increased the daily stress of operations. Employees often relied upon guesswork which increased the chances and level of inaccuracies.

3. Credit Mismanagement: 

Credit served to customers through Udhaar was only managed manually. It also made it harder to manage the Udhaar to track pending payments. It was also difficult to understand what customers paid or owe in any systematic way through the record keeping. Most of the time, even with records and evidence of receipts were missing. Plus the documentation lacked quality detail, which caused unpaid udhaar and lost sales. With an increasing number of customers, it became nearly untenable to keep udhaar records organized. The process of informal tracking and the absence of visibility in the finances impacted cash flow.

4. Slow Operations: 

Everything we needed (billing amounts, inventory updates, etc.) took time, and everything was done manually. The team was spending most of its time on operational bottleneck issues. This was followed instead of serving customers or improving the store’s offerings. These lagging issues created challenges in service and overall efficiency of the business. There was no possibility of development without a better method of organizing the administration behind the business.

Why the Store Choose VasyERP

Due to operational pain points that affected revenue and the customer experience, Mr. Sharma began to look for digital tools to assist with managing the store. He evaluated a lot of different tools based on usability. He also evaluated them based on pricing and ease of completing basic daily kirana store processes. Most tools required some level of technical skill to operate or were expensive implementations that did not meet his standard. After countless rounds of evaluation and discussions with other shop owners, one platform achieved the outcome Mr. Sharma was looking for: VasyERP.

1. Ease of Use: 

Ease of use was one of the most important factors for selecting VasyERP. All features are clearly laid out, and all were designed for a kirana workflow. This enabled a fast time to value and allows non-technical workers to start using the system quickly and with confidence.

2. Real-Time Inventory: 

The real time inventory management functionality provided automation for stock updates as soon as any sale, return, or purchase was entered into the system. This took away any guesswork and more accurately monitored stock levels. The system also provided alerts for low-stock items and provided a check against running short or over-purchasing items. This ensured the store was better prepared for peak demand use. Stock control became smooth and expected.

3. Faster Billing: 

VasyERP designed the Kirana POS software to transfer the billing process to digital subspace. Handwriting a ledger was a thing of the past, with bills created in seconds, transactions shortened, and increased customer flow. The graphical interface was also user friendly and allowed for barcode scanning, all payment modes and instant printed receipt. This one piece of the overall improvement made shopping a better experience for customers. It also helped improve the retention of customers all the more important during busy periods.

4. GST Support: 

It was, and always felt, overwhelming to deal with GST compliance. The manual calculations and chance of filing incorrectly caused confusion.  The implementation of VasyERP automated billing software, tax breakdown and reporting. Similarly, the system generated ready to file invoices with little required from the shop owners. Long story short, and IF applied correctly, there is value added with the system above just days and reporting have become organized.

5. Affordable & Scalable: 

There were so many systems out there with excessive subscription fees and hardware costs. VasyERP was aligned with the small business affordability. The systems possessed the functionality needed minus unnecessary features. VasyERP’s system offered access to basic essential functions. These features came with effectively no added complexities customized for the small business. Equally as important, the system could be scaled to offer more functions in case of a store expansion planned in the future. Essentially, the implementation of VasyERP POS was a long-term investment.

Implementation & Onboarding Journey

In any business, implementing technology into a workflow is difficult, particularly for businesses that have relied mainly on manual processes.  However, the process of introducing the VasyERP system into Shivam Kirana Store was an easy process. Each step was realized in a structured manner. It covered everything from helping to establishing the system to staff training. More importantly it allowed everyone to feel confident and comfortable with the system. 

The implementation process began with the VasyERP team conducting an assessment of the current store operations, product categories, and billing method. Once this was completed software built to the store’s workflow was tailored. The existing stock data was entered into the system to set up a digital inventory. After GST configuration and base settings, the system was customized and ready for initial testing and use. This setup laid the foundation for real-time tracking and automation.

In one month, the store was fully transitioned to VasyERP for all tasks and responsibilities, from taking orders and billing to tracking stock, buying, and reporting. The staff became familiar with the system with confidence..  

VasyERP Features That Drove Transformation

The more that VasyERP became adopted, the more the change was realized through the daily function of the business. The specific features built for that environment met and aided in providing practical solutions to the staff. It also helped with the usability and accessibility that made it easy to be adopted. Each feature aided the store in eliminating manual processes, errors, and enhancing the speed of functions. Together they generated intelligent, systems that changed the way the store operated the business of serving their customers.

1. POS Billing

The integrated POS system for the grocery store changed the way bills were created completely. Rather than handwriting bills, they could be created instantly, with correct pricing and taxes. The streamline of scanning barcodes enabled faster checkout for operations and reduced human error. The printed bill/receipt also reduced confusion with returns/exchanges. This significantly reduced the amount of time spent in line. It also provided a much smoother experience for customers and a much more professional operating store.

2. Inventory Automation

By adopting automated inventory management for kirana shop, there is no longer reliance on the memory of percentage with every sale or purchase the inventory would update. Staff were alerted with smart notifications when regular consumption goods were running low. They were also alerted when over-committed items were easily highlighted. Therefore, maintaining daily inventory levels and managing the ramifications of item stockouts was all managed effectively.

3. Purchase Management

The purchase management component of the inventory management system made coordinating suppliers and reordering easier. The system algorithm tracked and reported on quantity and established a procedure for best-selling non-perishable goods. No longer did the staff of the kirana store have to guess how much to order and the time between committed availability. The best part is that even the reduced order time was streamlined!  The automated reporting function was equally great at inventory purchases. It helped keep restocking simple to navigate. Repeat orders were fast and accurate to improve their efficiency and the relationship accuracy between suppliers and product dealers.

4. Customer Loyalty Programs

To encourage customers to return to make future purchases, VasyERP developed customer tracking, a loyalty point system, and personalized offerings. Customers were appreciative of VasyERP’s systematic offers of rewards earned through the loyalty program. They were also appreciative of the system acknowledging their repeat purchases. Additionally, VasyERP implemented SMS notifications and in-store specials rewarding repeat purchases. This, in turn, further enhanced repeat purchases. The loyalty program developed positive customer relationships and increased sales over time. It was also attributed to customer loyalty.

5. Analytics & Reporting

Mr. Sharma received increased insight and awareness into the results of his sales. He also comprehensively received insights around his customers’ behavior present in the analytics dashboard. The reports showed him which products sold at a higher rate, what times of the day when the most sales occurred and areas where there was potential for improvement. Retail analytics and reporting provided insights that allowed him to make better decisions based on real data instead of assumptions. It also resulted in better planning and improved profitability. 

For Mr. Sharma, using this information, changed the way of manual, one with errors, to a seamless and automated workflow.

The Outcome: Sales Increased by 22% and Operations Improved

Within 3 months of utilising VasyERP, Shivam Kirana Store is well on its way to rapid growth. They experienced an increase in sales.  They also experienced a more streamlined process and a significantly improved customer experience. Everything that either had never seen automation or required any type of manual input was noticeably better. The store’s operations had become cleaner and were managed better.

Sales increased by 22% year-over-year, driven largely by improved speed at checkout and product availability. The store’s insights on inventory improved. Stock shortages were avoided, and best sellers were continuously on the shelf. Loyalty incentives encouraged repeat purchases and additional revenue. Billing errors, errors in udhaar, and manual management elsewhere were virtually eliminated. Because all transactions were recorded electronically and backed up, the accounting became cleaner and easier. Plus, to manage not to mention profits vs. expenses cash flow, etc were now visible. 

Customers also felt the difference immediately. Transactions were quicker and bills were more accurate. Moreover the customized offers improved their experiences. Customers who returned often took advantage of loyalty points and return visits. This, in urn, led to referrals further contributing to traffic from new customers.

Conclusion

The narrative of Shivam Kirana Store demonstrates the capabilities which the right technology can have an enormous effect on operational and performance efficiencies. The store was finding it difficult managing billing, stock, and udhaar all manually which restricted growth opportunities. By moving to a kirana store ERP software the retail operation was able to automate core operations. They were also able to create efficiencies and most importantly improve customer satisfaction.

The user-friendly interface of VasyERP and real-time inventory led to a 22% sales increase in the store within three months. Moreover the POS billing system and analytics improved the efficiency of employees garnering a strong reputation for the store in its local community. For small retail, digital transformation is very important, it is an important obligation. With tools like VasyERP for kirana stores, shopkeepers can fairly compete in the industry. They can also run their businesses in a more operationally efficient manner and nurture sustainable growth.