Transforming Traditional Supply Chain Through Digitization and Sustainable Packaging. A Case Study of Gandhara Decor

Abstract

Gandhara Decor is a retail and wholesale store in the China market of Rawalpindi, which offers fragile and oversized decorative products (lamps, glassware, wall art, plants, etc.). It employs approximately 10 personnel that are performing various functions within the supply chain. They have their retail store and warehouse in the market of China market; Rawalpindi spaced about 200 meters. The company has 7-10 regular customers who primarily are wholesalers who purchase in large bulk. In the present case, the company is keeping its stock records manually and barcodes that are not integrated with an up-to-date inventory system. Procurement occurs in a major manner of two big buying trips to China every year. Product wrapping is largely applied to ensure the safety of the products, and mostly of non-recyclable materials. This brings about such issues as spoilt materials and unnecessary wastage. Research has established that a packaging design is important. Such attributes as packaging shape, colour, and labels/typography can have a powerful impact on the way the product is perceived by consumers. This is because studies indicate that the incorporation of digital tools in the supply chain operations has more positive outcomes and removes the bottlenecks. According to Annan et al. (2024), digital collaboration, Ai-based optimization, and end-to-end transparency were substantially better in addressing sustainable supply chain performance. Stroumpoulis et al. (2024) stressed that the sophisticated IT and industry 4.0 technology increases the efficiency of operations, traceability, and waste reduction in the supply chain. The results have led us to a venture to design an integration of a cloud-based inventory system along with greener packaging of Gandhara Décor. Hence, our goal is to redesign the supply chain and packaging for Gandhara Décor to reduce these inefficiencies and guide the company towards digital transformation and a sustainable future that not only benefits the firm but also society.