Photo : Messenger
In Bangladesh products price are fully controlled by syndicates and consumers do not have any single idea how will be the market situation in Tomorrow. The impact of Competition act 2012 is relatively little in practical. Additionally, the Ministry of Commerce exhibits a lack of responsibility in managing market conditions. It's high time to show consumers muscle towards Syndicate by following JIT (Just in time) under Lean Management in our daily lives so that we can buy the products we need on a regular basis.
JIT (Just in time) is an extreme process of punching syndicates face. It can quickly alter the upward trend and stabilize price hike of market in a short time & the population of Bangladesh can impact at least 20% by following it, at the end of the month when syndicates will see that there are unsold Bulk stock at warehouse then they will feel the pain and have to head down towards consumers.
Now give me a moment to explain how we can control expense by following JIT. In a middle class family we usually purchase at least 20 kg rice, 2 kg Dal, 3 to 5 kg oil, 20 to 50 eggs and 5kg onion, potato in case of grocery and Fish, Meat as required. for the sake of controlling cost we can buy those grocery in four different times in month rather in once. we need not to expand our kitchen warehouse. Give the challenge toward syndicates.
Now we must alter our purchasing behavior to control the market situation and keep the market stable by following some crucial steps to defeat the Syndicates:
Alternative foods: Bangladeshi people fond of three time of rice & fish from any other food. We can convert it once or twice rather three times. Easily we can choose Bread, vegetables, puffed rice, Noodles over rice & fish. Popular fresh fruit like Banana, Guava, Mango, litchi, over Apple, grapes and other imported costly fruits.
Do not fill your kitchen warehouse: As much as our home warehouse rises by excessive stock foods as much as price will increase at market. Making stock at home creates challenge towards other consumers. when we stock food at our kitchen, warehouse become empty and price rises .so stop over buying & create overflow at market warehouse it will help to fall the product cost and solve price increase.
Avoid shopping at Weekend: In large cities like Dhaka, Chattogram raw foods such as (Fish ,meat ,curry & fruits) price increase by roughly by 20% in every Thursday to Friday. To preserve 20% of our money, we can keep an eye on the situation and avoid the market on those days.
First 15 days of month: People become spendthrift on first 15 days of the month because most of the people got paid their salary as well as foreign remittance also have a positive flow of those days.
7 days strike: At present we can observe that some products price risen overnight by 20 to 50% . We can limit our usage of those products or forgo them entirely for seven days. We should not be scared about the situation rather we have to realise that the particular product is now stock out and very soon the price will fall within a short time.
Focus on quality rather than brands: wearing branded products is not a wise decision rather quality products. Branded Products cost more than 50% than a general products but most of the time it cannot bring proper quality and fail to fulfill consumers expectations.
Avoid imported products: Excessive import duty made expensive of all imported products. We can save money by avoiding those selective productive and use alternative local goods.
Stay away from Discount Trap: Discount made us fool to buy qualityless unnecessary aged goods. Consumers feel that discount is an opportunity to buy thins but indirectly it’s a pushing sales approach.
Waste Control: We must be clear about what we need. Therefore, we need to take care to avoid throwing away food or other purchases. Not just during difficult times, but always, we need to develop a saving mindset.
Family Budget: A family budget is very important to manage our income. Family budget helps us to set our monthly, quarterly or yearly expenditure target over our income. Your plan identifies where and how your money comes and goes by focusing on income and expenses. Importantly, it also reflects your family's goals and values by how you spend and save.
Finally, observation and using best alternative can help us to get rid of this unexpected situation. we should start practice from own side & do not think in a way that one single person cannot change the whole situation. The good news is that people are now putting these concepts into practice from their sides. Therefore, don't wait and don't lose your savings.
The writer is Practicing Cost Accountant at Padma Group of converters
Messenger/Disha
