Solutions

Through the survey, we can see that in addition to many strengths, Big C still has some existing difficulties required to be solved, of which price and service quality are the two crucial factors for the loyalty of the customers. This is also our issue of concern. On that basis, our study group has specific following solutions.

5.2.1 Solutions on products

Regarding price: price is the determining factor of the survival of a product.

Therefore, when adopting the motto of the supermarket, Big C is committed to “low price for everyone”.

The result of the survey on the importance level of the price of the customers reveals that most customers consider price one of the important criteria when choosing supermarket to do shopping. This means that this factor cannot be ignored in the maintenance of the loyalty of customers.

One of the biggest strengths of Big C is commitment tactic on the price implemented through:

Big C supermarket commits that the price of Big C is always lower than or equal to the price on the product package of the manufacturers.

If the price of Big C supermarket is higher than the price on the product package of the manufacturers, Big C will apply the price of the manufacturer together with a coupon worth 10,000 VND for every mistake on pricing (It does not depend on the quantity of products the customer has bought)

Big C commits that the unit price will be attached on labels to help customers easily compare or choose products.

Big C supermarket designs the yellow promotional stamp to help customers easily recognize the promotional items at Big C supermarket.

The expiration date of the promotion program is also on the stamps.

Big C supermarket supplies products of WOW brand which is 10% to 70% cheaper than other domestic brands.

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However, though the survey shows that despite the low price commitment with a clear objective of Big C, there are still ideas that the price at Big C is often higher than that of other supermarkets such as Co.opMart or MaximarK. This puts a question that whether the price commitment of Big C has been actually implemented or not. We request a further clarification of this commitment! The price of products should be clearly displayed and comply with the commitment. For the promotional items, the PR strategies should be strengthened to provide every customer with the easy approach to them through television advertising, flyers, posters, etc.

The supermarket should help customers understand clearly why the price for the WOW brand is only at Big C supermarket and it cannot be found at most of other supermarkets. This does not only make customers believe in this brand but also help the supermarket affirm its position in the mind of its clients to increase the loyalty of customers.

For food safety and hygiene, nowadays food safety and hygiene is crucial to most meals of every family. However, it is a noticeable fact that the food quality remains a problem for society. In order to meet the demand of food safety and hygiene, people come to supermarkets with the hope of finding more safety for themselves and their family.

Additionally, the biggest challenge faced by Big C is to have a safe and perfect supply system to meet the demand of both quantity and quality. Over the years, when working with the clean food suppliers such as safe vegetable suppliers in Da Lat, there are still many problems in food selection and transportation, which lead to the increase in prices of clean food without guaranteed quality. Thus, Big C needs to improve the food quality and safety constantly, simultaneously puts more emphasis on the food preservation and ensures the best products for customers.

Some solutions to solve the problems of Big C:

The division in charge of food safety and hygiene of Big C supermarket is responsible for protecting the health of consumers with four objectives:

To ensure all the products displayed at Big C supermarket to be in compliance with the laws of Vietnam

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To keep strict control in factories with the support of a leading company operating in the field of checking, verification, testing and certification

To apply the standards of food safety and hygiene into the operational processes To organize training courses for Big C employees

Infrastructure.

The design of supermarket guarantees the openness and modernity.

The fresh food is preserved in special refrigerated systems of which the temperature is adjusted appropriately.

The specialized equipment are imported from France and periodically maintained.

Training

To conduct medical exam for employees periodically to ensure the eligibility to work

Various training courses are suitable for different levels of employees in order to improve the awareness of food safety and hygiene.

Process

The process of hygiene – disinfection are set up and applied in all the stages of food processing to ensure a modern and safe production environment.

The supermarket guarantees personal hygiene, hygiene in food processing area, hygiene in equipment of hygiene – disinfection.

The supermarket complies with food preservation process, input quality assurance process, chemical safetyprocess.

Products

The supermarket establishes necessary requirements for the quality of various items.

Regarding the fresh food, the suppliers must meet the requirements for quality, packaging, preservation and transportation.

Regarding the industrial commodities, all the products must have quality publication records, meet the requirements for labeling, preservation and transportation.

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Regarding cosmetic goods, every product must have quality publication record (quality and safety criteria etc.) to meet the requirements for labeling.

Inspection

The supermarket periodically brings products to independent laboratories to test the suitability of the products to the standardspublished.

The supermarket regularly assess the environment for food processing such as water, air, food contacting surfaces, etc.

5.2.2 Solutions on service quality

For meeting the need of the nearest supermarket, currently there are ten locations of supermarket and above across the country which are mostly in the center of big cities. The purpose of this is to attract a large number of customers.

However, the expansion of supermarket system at some other locations is still the issue of concern of Big C in order to increase revenue and the number of customers and more importantly, to have the coordination among these locations which facilitates the price and response to the demands of customers. Besides, Big C should also organize mobile sales events to introduce goods to the areas far from the city center. This helps to meet the demands of customers better, increase the revenue as well as strongly promote the brand of Big C.

The coupons: the supermarket implements the programs such as Personal coupon: practical gifts for the one you love

Attractive price discounts to encourage consumers - Free delivery:

This is one of the services which receive pretty good assessments from customers of Big C. However, at the moment, the supermarket applies free delivery in the following cases only:

Free delivery for the orders with the value of 200,000 VND and above in the Big C supermarkets in the South and the center.

Free delivery for the orders with the value of 500,000 VND and above in the Big C supermarkets in the North.

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Free delivery for the orders with the value of 300,000 VND and above in the Big C supermarkets in VinhPhuc and Nam Dinh Provinces.

Non-delivery of fresh food, ready-made meals, frozen goods, buttermilk (because such products need to be stored in special conditions)

Therefore, in order to improve the effectiveness and the ability to meet demands, Big C needs to loosen its conditions of delivery for customers to facilitate the supply of products.

- Free buses:

This service brings Big C a significant amount of customers from the neighboring areas of cities. However, actually, it still does not meet all the needs of customers.

Thus, Big C needs to expand its bus routes to more areas and increase the number of bus lines.

- Human resource policy:

It is necessary to have a recruitment and training process which is reasonable and has clear standards in terms of costumes, communication with clients and a proper respect to customers. After making regulations, it is required to monitor carefully its staffs to ensure the compliance of the employees and give reasonable rewards and punishments.

Establishment of loyal customer program:

Currently, the supermarkets like ThuanThanh or Co.opMart have had their loyal customer programs which provide many incentives to their loyal clients. Such programs do not only build customer trust but also promote their brand that attracts more customers. Therefore, if Big C would like to be able to compete with the others, it should make a reasonable strategy to retain long-term customers and attract new customers. The survival and the development of Big C shall depend on it.