An
article in the current
issue of RIS News titled "Innovation
by Design" presents a positive
image of the work Dillard's
is doing to improve supply
chain efficiency and vendor
collaboration. We took particular
notice of the fact that Dillard's
is working with Inovis and
afterBOT to create what they
call a industry standard
extranet. The objective
according to the article
is to facilitate a single
sign-on to the sales and
on-hand inventory. As noted
in our previous blog entries
this is a noble goal. Unfortunately
it is misguided.
Vendors do not need another
portal to learn and manage.
Vendors need simple and
fast access to the data
so they can load it into
an analysis tool of their
choice. Vendors need retailers
to report accurate on-hand
in EDI 852 so they can
make valid business decisions.
We work with data from
over 45 retailers and we
can count on one hand the
number that supply accurate
on-hand data. Take note
that Inovis is involved
in this project. Is there
something a large EDI provider
would stand to gain from
protecting their VAN charges
and proprietary formats?
On the positive side Bill
Holder CIO Dillard's notes "If
more vendors and retailers
would experiment with better
processes, and share responsibility
for the results, the innovation
gains in our industry would
be astonishing." This
is right on the mark. What's
missing from all these
types of visions is a frank
conversation with vendors
on what they need to improve
in-stock and sell-thru.
This is business requirements
definition 101 but it never
happens this way. Retailers
almost always push out
the standards and
vendors are left to adapt.
We have not yet met a vendor
that wants another portal
log-on.
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