The Inovis UK Blog

Image Source: http://www.monochrom.at

For once I am not going to talk Credit Crunch, but Data Crunch.

Image Source: http://www.gs1uk.org

I am not sure how many of you will have seen the GS1 UK Data Crunch Report, but whether you are a buyer or a supplier, it is well worth a read.

“GS1 UK’s ‘Data Crunch’ report estimates that UK grocery retailers and suppliers can realise savings of at least £1 billion over the next five years as data inconsistencies are ironed out across the industry and pass the benefits to consumers through better informed choices and improved shopper experience.”

The report goes on to point out that bad data is to blame.

Bad data has a severe cost impact on the industry in three main areas:
• the cost of manual workarounds to source missing data and correct errors
• administrative shrinkage costs in areas such as ordering and invoicing
• lost consumer sales through shelf stock- outs.

The solution suggested is Global Data Synchronisation (GDS), which enables product information to be shared between retailers and suppliers. However, it should be noted that implementing EDI would also improve the quality and accuracy of data flow, and must also be considered.

Page 9 of the report shows “Critical points that reduce supply chain efficiency” and in most of the functions shown here, both GDS and EDI would decrease mistakes and increase efficiency and accuracy.

So while new technologies such as GDS would give companies the advantage, they should not forget old technologies, such as EDI, that have been around for 25+ years helping the supply chain.