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Background: In the rapidly expanding e-commerce sector, stock-outs remain a critical failure, eroding customer trust and revenue. While lean principles are often applied to optimise internal inventory, this study proposes a paradigm shift: leveraging lean to transition the online retailer from a mere inventory holder to a dynamic logistics orchestrator. Objectives: The objective of this study is to propose a dynamic fulfilment framework, grounded in lean principles, to eliminate stock-outs in online retail by transforming supply chains from static inventories into agile, networked ecosystems. Method: This research investigated a South African case through 12 semi-structured interviews and workplace observations. It confirms that the root cause of stock-outs is systemic latency, where non-integrated systems and batch-processing create a misleading representation of available stock. Results: Moving beyond the standard recommendation for system integration, this article introduces a novel dynamic fulfilment framework. We argue that by applying lean value stream mapping to the entire supply network, retailers can pre-empt stock-outs not only by improving forecasting but by creating a resilient, multi-sourced fulfilment ecosystem. When an item is unavailable in the primary warehouse, the system can instantly offer customers alternative fulfilment paths, such as direct supplier shipping or a peer-to-peer store transfer, thereby transforming a potential service failure into a demonstration of agility and customer commitment. Conclusion: This research provides a forward-leaning, actionable model for using lean retailing to build not just efficiency, but unshakeable competitive resilience. Contribution: This article contributes to the field of supply chain and retail management by identifying and analysing the key factors contributing to stock-outs in online shopping and demonstrating how lean retail principles can be applied to improve inventory availability and operational efficiency in the South African retail context.
Mabunda et al. (Fri,) studied this question.