Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple: #RightToPray and #ReadyToWait

#RightToPray and #ReadyToWait

Sabarimala allows women. Millions of women visit Sabarimala every year. But, before the age of 10 and after the age of 50. And now it's an issue. Some say, it's an anti-ladies tradition and male chauvenism. They argue that its a distinction towards ladies and has come with #RightToPray campaign. And some people campaign that they are #ReadyToWait as they follow traditions.

Sabarimala doesn’t distinguish people on the base of religion unlike other religious centres in Kerala.

But, there is a restriction for ladies between the age of 10 and 50.
It is not related to menstruation. Because there are girls getting their first periods before the age of 10 and there are ladies (or most of them) who doesn't stop menstruating before the age of 50. So.. its not related to menstruation.

Sabarimala is not a 24 x 7 and 365 days temple. It has its own traditions and rituals. It is opened for a very few days only. And every devotee visiting Ayyappa shrine are called as Ayyappa himself and they all have to wear the same kind of clothing - Black/Blue dress. It talks loud on the Vedic Mahavakya - "Thathwamasi" or "Aham Brahmasmi" which can be translated in simple words as "You are a part of that Big Soul" or "You are God" !! All devotees should take a dip in the Holy river of Pamba before climbing the Sabarimala mountain. Everyone should have same kind of bag (its actually not a commercial bag that we see around - but a cloth bag ) and similar neck chain. And hence the rich, the poor, the middle class - everyone looks the same. No Savarna, No Avarna !! There is no fast lane or VIP darshan. No distinction at all..! This uniformity in devotees is a specialty of Sabarimala Ayyappa temple and no one questions it.

There is a ritual related to Sabarimala and Saramkuthi.

1.5 km before reaching Sabarimala shrine, there is a pilgrim spot with the name Saramkuthi. The legend says that, before coming to sit in the Ayyappa shrine, Ayyappa and his friends discarded their weapons at Saramkuthi. It symbolically shows that all lethal weapons are irrelevant in human society for a better civilization and advancement in life. Hence all first time visitors to Sabarimala who are called as "Kanni Ayyappans" are supposed to bring an Arrow (symbol of weapon) and discard it there. This act shows that violence is removed from their minds and they have refined themselves spiritually before entering the temple

Next to Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, there is another temple where the devotees go. Its the temple for a goddess - Malikappurathamma. Now, there is a love story in their life.

Malikappurathamma loved Ayyappan and wanted to marry him. But, Ayyappan said - "I have already decided to be a Naishtika brahmachaari. So I’ll not be able to marry you". But Malikappuraththamma's love was strong that Ayyappan could not deny it completely. So he made a point that "I'll marry you in that year when no 'Kanni Ayyappans' (First Time Sabarimala Visitors) are there to visit me at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple". She now sits and waits for him at a neighbouring shrine near the main temple.

As mentioned earlier, during the pilgrimage, devotees and Ayyappa are the same. They are one. Because of the love and care he had for Malikappurathamma, He/Tantri (the father of deity) has taken a decision that Ayyappa will not give darshan to young women (of marriageable age? though every age is marriageable according to me) and this tradition is carried out for long. May be he doesn't want young women to be called as Ayyappa himself and hurt his sentiments and the sentiments of Malikappurathamma. May be he is respecting their romance and love and has taken this decision...!

And now, there is another ritual carried out in Malikappuram temple. The deity of Malikappurathamma is taken from the temple to Saramkuthi in a music adorned pageant every year. Malikappurathamma checks if there are any new arrows in Saramkuthi to know whether any 'Kanni Ayyappans' have visited Sabarimala that year as well. After seeing thousands of new arrows at Saramkuthi, the same procession of Malikappurathamma returns silently to symbolise the grief of the goddess. And she waits till the next Makara Vilakk Festival.

Can't we just celebrate the love and romance of Ayyappan and Malikappurathamma than fighting on smaller issues?

If someone doesn't belive in the above story of Sabarimala, Ayyappa and Malikappurathamma, I hope they will not visit Sabarimala to "pray" too... :)..

Disclaimer: The story is related to Sabarimala. But dialogues are mine.

#Sabarimala #SabarimalaAyyappaTemple

Is Mahabharata and Ramayana only for the Indian Hindus ???

Very recent comments in social media made me think about this... How can it be so? 

As far as I know, we Indians can be majorly categorized into 2* (on the basis of the 'so-called' religion): 

1. Around 80% of Indians who did not convert to any religion.

2. Around 20% of Indians who converted to other 'so called religions' (originated in India or elsewhere) including Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc.

While categorizing on the basis of religions, this 80% were called to be belonging to Hindu Religion - where as "Hindu" is a term for all of us - Indians. (Even there is a Supreme Court Verdict regarding the same).

And all of us - the 80% and 20% belonged to a set of people who practiced Sanatana Dharma. So, the Indian History is for all of us. Here, I do not mean the History of the people who came and ruled us - like the Mughals, Portugese, English, etc. The Indian History means that + history before that - the history of Vedic Society, the History of MahaBharata, the History of Ramayana, The Upanishads, etc. 

So, Mahabharata and Ramayana are for us - Indians, right ???

It is not just for the 80%. It is for 80% and 20%. - Or, why should we call and divide us as 80% and 20% ? We, 100% of India are Indians.

Most of us know what is the history described in Mahabharata and Ramayana. And could you find anywhere, that you should only pray to 'so and so' only? 

No !!! 

Whoever thinks you need an idol, pray to that idol and your prayer reaches the ParaBrahma, the Supreme Power who has no figure and face. Whoever thinks you do not need an idol to pray, can directly pray to ParaBrahma.. Even if you do not pray, it is okay as far you do not hurt any one else. 

So our Sanatana Dharma accommodate (i) atheists who don't pray, (ii) those who likes idol based worship, (iii) who doesn't like idol based worship. 

And from last year, I have started reading Bhagavad Gita understanding it through different commentaries written by knowledgeable people. Till now, I could not find a word mentioning a particular 'Religion' in it. Till now, I could not find any verse telling you to preach your religion. Till now, I could find no verse imposing any particular statement on the readers. 

So, How can Bhagavad Gita be a book for Only Indian Hindus? 

It may be a Holy book for the converted Hindus from western society. But, for us, Indians, it is our History, and we should be proud of it.

So Dear "Hindu religion followers", please do not think that Mahabharata and Ramayana are the History of Hindu religion only. It doesn't speak of any particular religion. Its all our History. 

Dear "Non-Hindu religion followers in India", 

you may have different Holy books in your religion which might have mentioned that you should only pray to one particular God, or it may mention about different messengers... Good! 

Follow them! But, your History or roots belong to India. And be proud that we have 5000+ years of civilization History. We have Mahabharata and Ramayana in our History. We have Bhagavad Gita, the scripture which talks in a clear and knowledgeable way about Dharma, Deeds, Power of Knowledge, etc. We had people like Susrutha and Charaka who were the Surgeons of ancient India (who lived in 6 Century BC) who talked about every minute detail of a Human body when there were no modern medical equipments and scanning devices. They even talked about how a baby grows in a mother's womb with details of the growth in every month. We have a history of Ayurveda. We had the worlds' first University (Nalanda University in 5 century AD) where people from different regions came to seek knowledge. Nalanda University is not a part of 'Hindu religion' history. It is ours. And even the language 'Sanksrit' is ours. We should be proud of all these!

And both 80% and 20% ..... Also, in recent India (in AD), a few regions in India practiced the Social evil named Sati practice, (it was practiced by the non-converted Indians and the Sikhs and Indian Muslims as well) - It is not our culture - it is a social evil. And we Indians fought against that. 

In Vedic Society, we had "4 Varnas" according to the profession we take - But later, like any idealistic practice, malpractices creeped into it and this was converted to the current 'Caste System'. Every malpractice has to be fought from within, and we have done it and we Indians should be proud of it. Among the Kerala Brahmins, V.T. Bhattathirippad fought for the Namboothiri Women, Ayyankali fought against the caste system prevailed then. Likewise, we should unite and fight against all the malpractices and social evils in India. Just know that all these come under our Indian History. We belong to the same blood - both 80% and 20%.

So - Mahabharata (including Bhagavad Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata) and Ramayana are for Indian Muslims, Indian Christians, the Indian 'Hindu Religion followers', Sikhs, etc. 

You cannot deny that fact. 

It doesn't ask you to change your method of prayer or worship. It talks about knowledge only. And be proud of it. Be proud of your roots. 

Though we belong to different 'worshipping methods or religions', our History is the same - Sanatana Dharma.

According to the Sanatana Dharma, you can reach ParaBrahma, the Supreme Power, through different means. Which means, you can pray to Allah, Jesus or Krishna and reach ParaBrahma. And this is the reason why the earlier Indian Kings and Indian people allowed all other religions to preach in India. Any one converted were not killed or excluded from society. 

(*There is another set of minority who came to India as refugees and later become Indians - Including Iranians, Israelis, etc. They later merged in to Indian culture after getting married to Indians.)

First Time In Pattaya - Part 2

Read Part 1 here:

Though the next day was planned to have a relaxing time in Koh Larn followed by a Traditional Thai Massage and small shopping, I decided to walk in the night with my friends through the Beach Road which gave Pattaya the title "Sin City". In the morning, Speed boats took us to the islands and I had a good time enjoying the beach till afternoon.  Koh Larn is a coral island near Pattaya famous for its beautiful beach and water activities including Parasailing, Water scooter rides, banana rides,etc. 

The Beach road and the infamous "Walking street" are alive only after sunset. Therefore, after dinner, by around 10:30, we started our walk. On one side of the Main road, there are many hotels, shopping malls, bars and massage parlours. On the other side of the main road, there is a beach road and then the sea. In the beach road, there are ladies and lady boys who try to attract the men in any group. There we saw a lot of guys bargaining with those hookers. "No Money No Honey" is their slogan. And finally, we reached our destination of the night - "Walking Street". We were very careful with our money as robbery is very common there. 

And here, I was getting a bigger picture of the sex tourism in Pattaya. 

The Walking street has dance bars and brothels on either sides playing music in high volume. They all are decorated with various colored dancing lights. In front of every bar, girls and lady-boys can be seen. Some of them were doing make-up, some of them were adjusting their dress just to get the attraction of the people passing by, and some of them were dancing to the tunes played there. I was looking at their faces and trying to make out what it really showed. Also, there were many shows in each of these buildings. There were guys standing outside inviting every person to come in and watch their show. They were even distributing the show's pamphlets. One of them read -'You can watch beautiful girls writing with pussy, throwing balls with pussy, doing that with pussy, this with pussy, blah blah blah...' What????? Pattaya is becoming rude or what?

Bars, brothels and cabaret performances on either sides of walking street...

A view of Walking Street

Anyways, we paid 400 Baht and went for one of the shows. Its a small room with an amoeba shaped stage in the middle and a bar on one side. We were sitting just down the stage to watch the show. I was really terrified to know how badly they were using their private organs. How are these girls going to have a normal life? One girl even put a sharp edged item in to her private part and called that item as balloon bursting rocket. And then she exhaled air which in turn threw this rocket to burst a balloon kept in one of the spectator's hands. I could not clap my hands when the balloon burst. I was thinking about these girls, and their miserable condition which made them a part of these kind of shows. I don't think that anyone in proper sense would enjoy these kind of shows. And moreover, I was kinda bored sitting and watching this.

Then, her friends asked a few of us to write our names in a small paper. When this small paper is handed on to the girl on stage, she took an A4 sized paper and a sketch pen. The paper was kept on the floor and this sketch pen was put inside her private part and then, she started writing the name given to her in big bold letters. She took enough time to write it down and when finished, she showed that to everyone. One person commented "It is no more hand writing. In Pattaya, it is pussy writing". We made jokes on this then. But now, when I think, there is a hard and cruel reality behind that.

There were many programs like this as a part of this "ping-pong show".  This "writing girl" put a banana to the same part and exhaled air to throw this out. One another girl was trying to catch this banana in a plate. If she failed to catch this banana, they asked the spectators to cheer them up. And the same banana which fell on the floor was put in to the private part again. Haven't they heard of hygiene? All these are just game for them. Their life is like a game in Pattaya. A game played by themselves and a lot of people and watched by a group of spectators like us. But this rocket girl didn't even smile much. She was doing her part of the job like a machine. What all they put inside their vaginal cavity !! A long flower garland, razor blades, candles, cigarettes...  Yes.. Cigarettes..! She was smoking through her vagina. Can you believe it? In the whole trip, I felt that Thailand people are not good at hospitality. They were getting angry on everyone for nothing. But after this show, I smiled at everyone even when they were rude to me.

Girls and lady boys always stand infront of the go-go bars in walking street..

Most of the bars there had small rooms on top. If anyone likes the any of the bar girls, they can pay them and take her to the rooms at the top. When we were watching this show, one girl was trying to befriend our male friends. Even if you don't want to take them to rooms, they have another "packages". Give 100 Baht, they will sit next to you for 10 minutes and allow you to touch their body. Give more, they will give you nice massages till the show gets over. These are not just Thai girls. Russians, Burmese are all there. Some of them are even trafficked and brought here. But, men should be very careful in Thailand. AIDS and STDs are very common here though the bar girls in big bars get tested every month.

The walk through the walking street was a lesson for me. Life is not easy as we think. Sometimes, we become very sad and curse everyone for the bad things happening in our life. There are people who even try to smile and make others happy though they go through worse conditions in their life. 

By night 3pm, we reached back our rooms and joined the rest of our friends. But night was lively and colorful outside. 

Even in Bangkok, we came across a smaller version of 'Walking Street'. By the time, I was thinking too much about what I have seen in Pattaya, and the miserable conditions of these young girls and guys.  It was really haunting me. Therefore, I focused on the famous Bangkok street food, fruits and shopping. And I really enjoyed it. The whole 5-day trip was a new experience and a life lesson for me. 

Yes! There is a place named Pattaya where you see a lot of things which you cannot see elsewhere.

And that was my first time in Pattaya !

First Time In Pattaya - Part 1

OMG !!!!!

I have never been to a place like this before !!!!

Okay, let me talk about my travel experience in Thailand. 

Before I went to Thailand, I knew that Thailand is very famous for ready made clothes & brands, tailoring and sex tourism. So I had a concept that there will be malls, bargain markets, lido shows (topless dance shows), massage parlours with happy ending massages and bars to booze. 

My first day in Thailand was in Pattaya. Pattaya is 1.5 hours away from Suvarnabhumi Airport. The roads in Pattaya looked like any Indian town. And later in the afternoon, I attended the Alcazar Cabaret show. Before I visited the show, the guide informed me that the performers in the show are not girls though they look like beautiful girls. They are the lady boys of Pattaya. 

Pattaya, is famous for the Lady Boys or the She Males. 

In Pattaya, there are 3 different categories of Lady Boys. (May be more categories I'm not aware of)

1. Men, with all male organs, dressed as ladies. 
2. Men, with silicon breasts, and beautiful figures, dressed as ladies. Pattaya visitors, who think these lady boys as ladies, and try to have sex with them will get a surprise ending as their reproductive organ will be the same as men. But there are many who come to Thailand to have sex with these Lady boys.
3. Men, completely changed to ladies, with silicon breasts and no penis.

But in all the above cases, they have male voice which helps us to identify them.

Outside the Alcazar theater, there were more than 2 dozen very beautifully dressed ladies posing for photos with the visitors. They were taking 40 Baht (= 4.5 AED) or more for standing in these photos. Though I didn't take a photo with them, I noticed that they were very rude in handling people. I was surprised to know that they were not ladies, but men. Oh Sorry, the lady boys. They all looked so colorful in their stunning costumes and were calling all the people standing around them for taking photos. Along with them, there were men to control the crowd.

You are mistaken !! They are men. Not ladies. .
They are the lady boys of Pattaya in their stunning costumes standing infront of the Alcazar theater.

And then we got into the theater to watch the live performance. There were many well choreographed dance performances and the stage changes between each performance was so quick and amazing. They danced to the Indian, Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Japanese and Western tunes. All were preformed by Lady-boys with stunning figures of a girl. In a few of the performances, they were showing princess, and it was tough to believe that, that princess was not a lady. There was also humour in it performed by a fatty lady-boy. She (he? I'm confused. I may say he or she) was making everyone laugh by her figure and gestures.And then she even came to the audience and made humour after making two men touch and rub her big breasts. I was feeling a little shy then, but could not control laughter. At the end of the show, a lady boy performed as both the genders - i.e. half of him was dressed as man and the other as a lady. After the show, we saw the lady boys outside posing for the photos. Then, I took a lot of snaps and even sent a few through whatsapp to my friends. None of my friends could believe that they were boys. 

The performances in the Alcazar theater

One lady boy dressed in half as a lady and the other half as a man. 

Then, we went for another show called as Big Eye Show. I went with my friends - another lady and 2 men. Prior to this, I have attended the lido shows in Paris and therefore I was a little disinterested to spend 800 Baht for this show. With an "I know all this" attitude, I told my friends that there will be a lot of nudity in this. Among us, I was the first to walk in and the first sight of the show threw me into a speechless state. Our first sight was a couple doing sex on stage. Then the bouncer boys showed us seats. When I sat down, I found that it was not one couple - there were 3 couples doing the same. I was shocked!!! Though sex is not a taboo now-a-days, it is still done in closed rooms and were not talked about much. And here, I'm watching it along with hundreds of people. I didn't even look at my friends (and they were not looking at me as well) for the next 10 minutes. Then, as I could not believe my eyes, I asked my lady friend (who  is also equally stunned and surprised) whether THEY ARE REALLY DOING IT ?????? A blank look was the answer.

It was not like a proper stage show like Alcazar show. There were audience sitting on all 3 sides on steps (like a stadium) and the performance was in the middle of everyone. The seats were completely occupied. This show was shown in a cyclic manner. It starts and never stops in between. Every hour, the performance is repeated. So at whatever time you get in, after 1 hour, you will be asked to leave. 

In the entire show, nudity show was at its maximum. Even if they came to performance area in shorts or bikini, they made sure that they removed it before they left the floor. It was the same for all men, ladies and lady boys in the show. In between a pole dance, a lady removed her top and bottom while swinging on air holding only one hand on the pole.  Another surprising factor of the show was that the girls with beautiful breasts also had dicks. Yes! They are the lady boys. The men performers in the show were lean and short, but their dick size was almost equal to their arm. And above all, these performers came to the audience and asked us to touch their private parts. Most of the girls in the audience were yelling when they came near. Thankfully, then never came to our side. By the time, we tried to hide our shyness and to overcome the shyness, we started talking about the show, performers and even joked at it.

While coming back, there were many massage parlors on either sides of the road offering traditional Thai massage, foot massage and sensual and erotic massages with happy endings. A few of them were big enough with a very good interior designed with yellow bulbs. In such parlours, there will be a big room where in you can see the pretty Thai girls dancing. Yes men, you can choose them and take them to any of the small rooms inside to get the massage done. 

Yes. Now I got a small picture of Pattaya. 

Next part: The Part 2 is about Walking Street in Pattaya.

Inventory Control - Interview Questions and Answers (Retail Industry)

What is Inventory Control ?

• Inventory Control is the supervision of supply, storage and accessibility of items in order to ensure an adequate supply without excessive oversupply.
• It can also be referred as an accounting procedure or system designed to promote efficiency. Or we can say that it assures the implementation of a policy or safeguard assets or avoid fraud and error etc.

        In Economics, Inventory Control helps in reducing the overhead cost without hurting sales.
  In the field of Loss Prevention, Retail Inventory Control management helps in preventing shoplifting and other issues.

What is Cycle Count?

A cycle count is an inventory auditing procedure, which falls under inventory management, where a small subset of inventory, in a specific location, is counted on a specified day. Cycle counts contrast with traditional physical inventory in that a full physical inventory may stop operation at a facility while all items are counted at one time.

It helps to see the difference between Actual stock and Book Stock. Book Stock is the stock available in the system. 

What is ABC Analysis?

It is an inventory categorization technique often used in Materials Management. It is also known as Selective Inventory Control. 

A ITEMS: very tight control and accurate records.
B ITEMS: less tightly controlled and good records.

C ITEMS: simplest controls possible and minimal records.

The ABC analysis suggests that inventories of an organization are not of equal value. 

Example of ABC class are: 

(1)

‘A’ items – 20% of the items accounts for 70% of the annual consumption value of the items.

‘B’ items - 30% of the items accounts for 25% of the annual consumption value of the items.

‘C’ items - 50% of the items accounts for 5% of the annual consumption value of the items.

(2)

"A" approximately 10% of items or 66.6% of value

"B" approximately 20% of items or 23.3% of value

"C" approximately 70% of items or 10.1% of value

What is Opening Stock and Closing Stock ? 

At the beginning of a reporting period, or after a cycle count, the stock available in your inventory account is the Opening Stock. It is also called as Beginning Inventory.

So, there's an Opening Stock. Then, lots of transactions happens - Items are purchased and Sold. And finally Closing Stock is calculated.

Closing stock is the amount of inventory that a business still has on hand at the end of a reporting period. This includes raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods inventory. The amount of closing stock can be ascertained with a physical count of the inventory. It can also be determined by using a perpetual inventory system and cycle counting to continually adjust inventory records to arrive at ending balances.

Closing Stock is an asset. In Inventory Account, it is under debit. In trading Account, it is under credit. Because, it is still not traded. 

What is COGS (Cost Of Goods Sold) formula ? 

For manufacturers, “cost of goods sold” (COGS) is the cost of buying raw materials and manufacturing finished products.

For retailers, it’s the cost of obtaining or buying the products sold to customers.
Opening Stock (Beginning inventory) + Purchases – Closing Stock (End Inventory) = COGS

If the company is in a service industry, COGS is the cost of the service it offers.

COGS can help companies work out how much they should charge for their products and services, and the level of sales they need to sustain in order to make a profit.

The price paid for products is particularly crucial to retailers, as it is often their greatest area of expenditure. But all businesses can benefit from an analysis of COGS, as it can highlight ways of improving efficiency and cutting expenditure. 

What is FOB Price and Landed cost?

In garment exporting, pricing of garments are mostly quoted on FOB (Free On Board). Free on board(freight on board) price means a price which includes goods plus the services of loading those goods onto some vehicle or vessel at a named location which i put in parenthesis. FOB (Source port) does not includes the shipping charge and Insurance. Where as FOB(destination) includes shipping charges and insurance cost. 

Landed Cost is the total cost of a product once it has arrived at the buyer’s door. This list of components that are needed to determine landed costs include the original cost of the item, all brokerage and logistics fees, complete shipping costs, customs duties, tariffs, taxes, insurance, currency conversion, crating costs, and handling fees. Not all of these components are present in every shipment, but all that are must be considered part of the landed cost.  

Clearly it is advantageous to reduce the cost of each or any component of landed cost. Each one will allow the seller to lower the final selling price or increase the margin associated with that sale.

Last Cost = FOB + Costs levied on landing.
Margin taken = Sales Cost - Last Cost.

What is Weighted average Cost ?

A weighted inventory average determines the average cost of all inventory items based on the inventory items' individual cost basis and the quantity of each item held in inventory.

When a business purchases items for inventory, the business may pay different prices for the inventory items. This price differential can apply to both different inventory items and the same inventory items purchased at different times.


The average cost is computed by dividing the total cost of goods available for sale by the total units available for sale. This gives a weighted-average unit cost that is applied to the units in the ending inventory.

Weighted Average Unit Cost = Total Cost of Inventory / Total Units in Inventory

For Ex: 
Lets say, we buy item A for 10 AED. We have 10 qty of Item A.
Therefore, total cost of Item A is 10 x 10 = 100 AED.
In that we sold 3 items. 7 qty left in stock. Total cost of those 7 items = 7 x 10 = 70 AED.

After 3 months, item A cost is reduced to 8 AED. And then we bought 10 more for 8 AED.
Therefore, total cost = 8 x 10 = 80 AED. 

Now, we have 7 items bought for 10 AED and 10 items bought for 8 AED.
Total 17 items.

Therefore  total cost = 70 AED + 80 AED = 150 AED.

Now, when we calculate the weighted average cost of the 17 items which are to be sold = 150 AED/17 = 8.82 AED.

What is Shrinkage Calculation in Inventory ?

In financial accounting, the term inventory shrinkage is the loss of products between point of manufacture or purchase from supplier and point of sale. The term shrink relates to the difference in the amount of margin or profit a retailer can obtain. If the amount of shrink is large, then profits go down which results in increased costs to the consumer to meet the needs of the retailer.

In retail terms, shrinkage refers to a company's percent loss resulting from damage, product expiration and theft of unsold products. Retail shrinkage can happen anywhere along the production and sale chain, including at the factory, in transit or at the retail location. 

You can calculate retail shrinkage by dividing the value of goods lost to shrinkage by the total value of goods that are supposed to be in the inventory.

Shrinkage = 
( Total value of the goods that you are supposed to have in your inventory - Total value of the goods that is physically stocked in your inventory ) 
/ Total value of the goods that you are supposed to have in your inventory.

i.e. Shrinkage =  (Book stock - Actual Stock) / Book Stock
                   = Total Value of goods lost / Total value of the goods that you are supposed to have in your inventory

Causes of shrinkage include:

·         Employee Theft or Shop lifting

·         Administrative errors such as shipping errors, warehouse discrepancies, and misplaced goods.

·         Cashier or price-check errors in the customer's favor.

·         Damage in transit or in the store.

·         Paperwork errors.

·         Perishable goods not sold within their shelf life.

·         Vendor fraud.

Supplier Credit Notes:

The supplier credit notes are issued for the variance in the shipment received. 

Let's say, the supplier invoice says 1000 qty and what received here is 900 qty. So there's a variance of 100 qty. It is noted in inventory module. Therefore, a credit note is required for 100 qty from Supplier. 

Devolution:

At the end of a season, sometimes, the outdated goods are returned to the supplier. Some are sent to warehouse. This is devolution. Depending on the agreement with the supplier, the devolution cost is calculated. 

Last Cost - FOB = Devolution Cost

OAR - Order Availability Report :

There are several types of reordering systems; in this module we discuss three. 

1. The fixed order quantity uses fixed quantities of goods ordered at various order points to replenish inventory. 

2. The fixed order period use fixed times of reorder with various order quantities to replenish inventory to preset levels. 

3. Just in Time uses a constant flow of goods to match the level of demand.

INCOTERMS 2010

Hi All !!

When I completed my MBA, I thought I'll write a study material about INCOTERMS 2000 and INCOTERMS 2010 in a blog so that it can help others who would like to learn about it. But, its been one year since I completed my MBA and I was lazy to do that. Now, its time for me to have a change in my career and was refreshing my knowledge in Supply Chain Management. And came across INCOTERMS. So I thought  of writing it atleast now. 

INCOTERMS 2000 :

• Short form of INternationals COmmercial TERMS. Also, called as Shipping Terms.
• It is updated by ICC - International Chamber of Commerce, Started in Paris in the year 1919.
• The First Incoterms were brought forward by Europeans in 1936.
• Americans came up with NAFTA Terms to compete with ICC. NAFTA terms are also trade terms. But ICC's Incoterms are more popular. 
• LC ( Letter of Credit), Incoterms and all other trading terms are under the control of ICC.
• Incoterms are fixed depending ion demand, market, trend, company's goodwill, etc.
• Incoterms is just one line in LC. 

Incoterms are updated often. Incoterms 2000 has 13 incoterms in it. Whereas, the new one, Incoterms 2010 has just 11 in it. 

As you know, for every trade, there is an exporter who sell their item. And there is an importer who buy the item. You have to read incoterms from the view of exporter - as if exporter is talking to importer. All Incoterms are abbreviated with 3 letters. And it starts with C, D, E or F. 

Before learning Incoterms, let's see what are the steps involved in selling and buying of an item. 

1. After the sale contract is done and accepted by both the parties, the exporter packs goods which are to be sold. And keeps it in their premises.
2. These packed goods are loaded in the truck (any carrier vehicle) which is the exporter's premises.
3. The goods are taken to the port. (For road shipment, this is not there)
4. Goods Export clearance is done. Export duty paid.
5. The goods are kept inside the vessel. This is called as wharfage. Wharfage can be loading goods in to the vessel or offloading from the vessel.
6. Now the goods are moving from source to destination. Or from Exporter (Seller) to Importer (Buyer).
   There are two different charges associated while carrying the goods in a vessel - 
   a. The cost of freight (does not include loading\offloading, etc), b. The cost of insurance.
7. The goods are to be off-loaded from the ship. (Wharfage).
8. Import clearance of goods done. Import duty charges has to be paid. 
9. Load the goods in truck and take it to the Importer's premises. 

Let's learn the Incoterms 2000 and 2010 now. Here, you can even see the differences between Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.. 

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1. EXW  - EXWorks :

• This term is in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• From Factory, it's the buyer's responsibility.
• The exporter packs goods and keep in his factory. All other activities are done by importer. 
• Mostly the demand for these goods are high, and the importer (buyer) takes the responsibility of freight, loading, offloading, etc.

2. FCA - Free Carrier : 

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Exporter packs goods, and loads it to the truck from exporter's premises. 
• Rest all done by the importer.

Next two incoterms, i.e. FAS and FOB are exclusively for Sea Shipment. (The exclusive Sea shipment terms are highlighted here)

3. FAS - Free Alongside Ship :

• This term is in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Exporter packs goods, takes it to the port, does the clearance and keep it near the vessel.
• The exporter does not load the goods in to the vessel.

4. FOB - Free On Board :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• This is one of the mostly used Incoterm. 
• Exporter takes the responsibility from packing till all goods are loaded in to the vessel.
• Importer need not take care of the steps (including clearance or loading) involved in exporter's country.  
• FOB = FAS + Wharfage (loading)

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Now let's see the Incoterms that start with letter 'C'. These incoterms do not talk about loading, offloading, import clearance, etc. These are just about cost of the fright and insurance of moving goods.

The next 2 terms (CFR and CIF) are exclusively for sea shipment like FAS and FOB. Sea shipment is given more importance as 90% of traded goods are moved through sea. 

5. CFR - Cost And Freight :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Popularly called as C&F.
• Used only in Sea Shipment.
• The freight charges from exporter's port to the importer's port (destination) is paid by the exporter.
• As mentioned earlier, the Incoterms starting with letter 'C' are not associated with any loading, offloading, clearance, etc.

6. CIF - Cost Insurance and Freight :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Used only in Sea Shipment.
• Exporter takes care of (pays for) the freight and insurance cost from source to destination.
• Insurance is mandatory for all shipments. In CIF, exporter pays for insurance, otherwise, importer pays.

7. CPT - Carriage Paid To :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Similar to CFR, but used for other means of transport, like, road, rail, air, etc.
• Only Freight charges are paid by the exporter.

8. CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid To :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• Similar to CIP, but used for other means of transport, like, road, rail, air, etc.
• Here, both freight and Insurance are paid by exporter.

Now, all Incoterms starting with letter 'C' are explained.
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Let's move on to the 'D' terms.
The D group describes different methods of delivery of goods and represents the arrangements with the maximum amount of responsibility (both for costs and risks) to the seller, not the buyer. In these terms, the importer is safe - he is doing the activities in his country only. 

Here, let's write separately except the last one DDP which is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.

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There are 5 terms starting with the letter 'D' in Incoterms 2000.  DES, DAF, DEQ,  DDU and DDP.
DDP is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.

9. DES - Delivered Ex Ship :   (Incoterms 2000)

• From exporter's place till the vessel reaches the importer's port, all activities are done by exporter.
• Here exporter does not take care of Offloading.

10. DAF - Delivered at Frontier :  (Incoterms 2000)

• DAF = DES + Wharfage (off-loading)
• Exporter takes the responsibility of the goods from packing till the vessel reaches the importer's port. The exporter also does the off-loading of goods.

11. DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay :    (Incoterms 2000)

• DEQ = DAF + Import Clearance
• Exporter takes the responsibility of goods till the importer's port, off-loads the goods, and does the clearance documentation at the importer's port.
  ( This is actually one of the least important incoterm)

12. DDU - Delivery Duty Unpaid :   (Incoterms 2000)

• According to this incoterm, the exporter delivers the goods at importer's place mentioned in the contract. But, exporter does not pay the duty charges.

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In Incoterms 2010, there are only 3 terms. In the 2000 'D' terms, two of them, DES and DEQ are meant only for sea shipment. 

9. DAT - Delivered at Terminal: (Incoterms 2010)

• ‘Terminal’ can be any place – a quay, container yard, warehouse or transport hub.
• Risk transfers from seller to buyer when the goods have been unloaded.
• The buyer is responsible for import clearance and any applicable local taxes or import duties.
• The place for delivery should be specified as precisely as possible, as many ports and transport hubs are very large.
• Where Terminal Handling Charges may apply, the parties should clarify who should bear these.

 DAP - Delivered at Place : (Incoterms 2010)

• DAP = DAT + wharfage (offloading)
• The seller is responsible for arranging carriage and for delivering the goods, ready for unloading from the arriving conveyance, at the named place.   
• An important difference from Delivered At Terminal DAT, where the seller is responsible for unloading.
• Risk transfers from seller to buyer when the goods are available for unloading; so unloading is at the buyer’s risk.
• The buyer is responsible for import clearance and any applicable local taxes or import duties.
• This rule can often be used to replace the Incoterms 2000 rules Delivered At Frontier (DAF), Delivered Ex Ship (DES) and Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU)

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Now, we move on to the last one - DDP. As said earlier, this is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.

11\13. DDP - Delivery Duty Paid :

• This is there in both Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010.
• According to this incoterm, the exporter delivers the goods at importer's place mentioned in the sale contract. He packs, take it to port, does clearance documentation, load, takes care of freight, off-load goods at destination, does import clearance, pays custom duty, takes it to the importer.
• Exporter pays the custom duty charges as well. 
• It is more like door to door delivery.

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More Terms: 

Freight Prepaid    : Freight Charges are paid by Exporter - CFR, CIF

Freight Recollect : Freight Charges are paid by Importer - FOB

Ego Schumachers in the Road!!

There are many stories and funny posts on Ladies' Driving. So, here is what I have to share.

It is one year now after I got my UAE Driving License. 
Prior to that, when my husband\father\brother drives, I sit next to them and watch what is happening in the road. 

When I was young itself, I used to love driving, took my brother's scooty to Main Road (ChandraNagar Highway in Palakkad, my Home town) for the first time when all at home were busy with something else. My mom was scared and asked my cousins to follow me in their bikes but with that incident, she removed the restrictions imposed on me related to the routes I have to take while driving the 2-wheeler. But, I never got a chance to drive a car though I took the Indian driving license (both 2 and 4 wheel) once I reached 18.

In 2010, when I started working in Dubai, one of my aim was to get the UAE driving license and buy a car with own money. Due to the busy schedules of MBA classes and work, it got delayed till 2012. And in 2012, I got both - Driving License and a car.

But 2009 till 2012, when I sit next to my husband, brother, father or any other friend (All male species), if any lady-driven car changes the lane without proper signals, or move slowly, I hear the same comments - like - 
"Oh Its a Lady. This is what we can expect", 
"See.. this is the problem when ladies start driving", 
"Why can't the ladies sit at home itsef?", 
"Think this grandma started driving at old age?", 
"How could she overtake me?.. She thinks she is Schumacher..!.. Grr." 
The whole blame was on "female species".

But when the same things were done my men, the same male species said, "Oh... He is blind I think!", "Why can't people drive properly?", "What? The Engine is not moving?", "Don't you know the rules?", “Who gave him the driving license?” etc.

But no blame on the "Male species” as such...

After hearing it for 5-6 times, I started reacting. Whenever a male-driven car takes a wrong round-about turn or put no or improper signals while taking a turn or changing the lane, even I started telling –

"Huh! The male species are bad at driving though they think otherwise", 
"Ego cannot drive a car man.. ha ha ha!!" etc. 
And the best part is, there are more men drivers on the road and therefore, more mistakes were done by men.

In a 10 km drive, male species may get 2-3 chances whereas I got 6-7 chances. And thus, they stopped the generalised comments on females. When your enemy is weak, we never take the weapon. So, even I stopped my comments on men. :) 

Here, In Dubai most of the Indian ladies take their driving license after their marriage or mostly when their children start going to school. And while going out for a party or a long-trip, their husbands(+Ego) or fathers(+Ego) or brothers(+Ego) never gave ladies the driving seat. And ladies mostly get a chance to drive the car to drop their kids to tuitions and go to their own Offices which are mostly near-by. Then, how do you expect them to drive a car smartly? How can you make fun of ladies' driving?

Even my family is not different. I literally have to fight for the driving seat while going for a family picnic or to a shopping destination. And then, I'm labelled as "rebel".

Now, while going from office in the evenings or on Saturdays, when nobody is at home, I take my car on a different route and go for a drive without telling anyone. I'm forced to do so..... (Now, you all know why..) 

And guys, if you think driving is a tough job and not meant for ladies, then try sitting with your kids in the back seat.. It is tougher!!! We like teddy bears and shopping but that doesn't mean that all of us dislike driving..

My dear male friends, uncles, brothers, & my dear Female Friends, aunties, sisters... Driving skills are not in-born. It improves only if we drive !!!! You learn the routes better only if you drive to that place... Mistakes happen for everyone.. Don't think it is just for ladies.... 
Do not let ego drive the car...