Eli5 How do grocery stores around the world afford to be fully/half stocked in a product 24/7 simultaneously even in small towns where not everything’s bought?

Question

Eli5 How do grocery stores around the world afford to be fully/half stocked in a product 24/7 simultaneously even in small towns where not everything’s bought?

In: 47

Answer 1

Software. Stores use barcodes to track each individual item, and then looking at purchasing trends, buyers make decisions on what to buy and how much. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don’t (that clearance section is when they fail). The rest is just part of the amazing supply chain, of farms, distributors, trucks etc. Source: I worked in the supply chain industry.