Blockbuster is obviously the world’s largest renter of movie DVDs and VHS tapes. But it’s also quietly one of the five largest renters of videogames, which accounts for 8 to 15 percent of the chain’s overall revenues.

It’s Rod Murray’s job as senior director of rental games to keep track of the games headed for Blockbuster’s 4,300 stores, as well as its 2,000 outlets where it also sells games.

Murray will be sharing his insight with the company at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy panel session on games.

He joined the company 10 years ago when Blockbuster moved from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Dallas, TX, which resulted in a new supply chain process.
“When I first started here (as the senior buyer for games) our stores received all the games from third-party distributors. Once we moved to Dallas we set up [one] DC (distribution center) in McKinney, TX,” he said, adding that he came to Blockbuster from Ingram Entertainment, a distributor.

The single DC began receiving product directly from all the game manufacturers.  All the merchandise is allocated through a centralized MPS (merchandise planning and strategy) department.  Buyers work with the game manufacturers and place orders based on such factors as hot titles, marketing support, sequels to popular franchises, etc.

One of Murray’s supply chain pet peeves is that Blockbuster receives games from manufacturers in shrink-wrapped packages that have to be torn apart manually and put into Blockbuster’s special security cases. “I’d much rather have the discs come to us on a spindle, and the receive art separately. They can go through automated machines at the DC,” Murray said, noting that movie product is handled that way.