Conclusions
This paper has evaluated the implementation of FGP within the grocery sector in the UK, evaluating the strategic rationale, tactical deployment and operational benefits. In doing this, a case study approach has been adopted, based around empirical research conducted with a leading grocery retailer.
From the retailer's perspective, progress towards the goal of competitive strategy has been made by exploiting the developments in ICT and adopting a FGP approach for the majority of inbound flows. This has provided greater economies in control, coordination and information from their inbound distribution network, ultimately providing for better value for their end-consumers. Beyond this, it has strengthened their competitive position within the grocery industry across the five dimensions of competitive hurdle for distribution for current and prospective competitors to compete against. As the competition amongst rival retailers is intense, the opportunity to translate this into delivering better value for their consumers and strengthen their competitive position among their rivals can be taken