Image source: http://www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk

I was amused to see an article being shown around the Yahoo group EDI-L, which basically was encouraging us all to throw away EDI and go back to paper invoices.

To make the most of EDI we need to move forwards, and not backwards, and get all our partners on-board, all 100%. This is especially so for companies that sell small quantities of a large variety of unique items, also known as the “long tail.” The internet and XML have encouraged data to flow in these communities. But still, EDI is not dead.

Steve Keifer, VP of Industry and Product Marketing for GXS, is quoted in this article as saying “In fact, EDI has grown more in the past 10 years than the first 20 years of its existence. Even though the internet has been around and XML has come along, EDI found ways to evolve.”

Are you having problems getting smaller ‘long tail’ partners on-board? Are you still having problems doing EDI with the larger companies in your supply chain? Do you want to learn more on how you can “lower costs, improve ROI and minimize supply chain disruptions?” Then Inovis is presenting a webcast entitled “Using Trading Partner Visibility to Manage Supply Chain Risk” on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 1:00 pm (EDT).

Register for this webcast>>

John Kearns - Alliance Development Manager at Inovis – shares his thoughts

For those interested in our alliance and association relationships, BASDA, standing for Business Application Software Developers’ Association of which we are a member and bares no relation to the Buena Vista Dancing and Fishing Club! met recently to set up a special interest group (SIG) for Logistics. After much deliberation we settled on the common stock keeping unit (sku) its place in our world and its impact on business.

Globalisation of information across trading communities continues to be the holy grail of efficiency and with everything carrying a size ten carbon footprint maybe we should look at how to make the sku a little friendlier. The group acknowledged that the common sku is the pivotal link in business solutions everywhere and as such we should focus on its impact in today’s world. After the Chairman, Jairo Rojas called, “would any volunteers’ please take one step forward,” and eight of my group stepped the other way! I was duly elected to the steering committee and we kick off the SIG proper this month followed by the Q3 meeting at the INOVIS UK Head Office. Our initial thoughts surround the importance of how the sku impacts our software development businesses and in turn how we then affect standards, processes and efficiencies worldwide. The first item on our agenda is to design a logo for the group’s edible T shirts.

Image Source: http://www.innocentvillagefete.com

Some of the Inovis gang from Guildford and Preston got their suncream, wellies, sun hats, raincoats and sunglasses together, braced the ever changing English weather and set off for the innocent village fete on Saturday 2nd!

The fete, slap bang in Regent’s Park London, attracts 1000’s of visitors who fancy a bit of old school fete action. Welly wanging, duck herding, home made cakes and as many smoothies as you can eat were just a few of the treats on offer. Not to mention the innocent band, knocking out some fantastic tunes for the Inovis gang, along with kids, to boogie to. Ben Tuppen, Logistics Manager at innocent and an Inovis Customer Advisory Board member is an integral part of the band and did a magnificent job on keys; I can’t get Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ out of my head!

SystemiNetwork was reporting this week that UK supply chain managers spend 20 per cent of their time on compliance

Image Source: http://www.butler.edu

The report states that “Supply chain managers in the UK spend up to 52 days a year dealing with regulatory compliance, according to System i ERP powerhouse Infor.” It goes on to say that “Infor’s research found that other major concerns include the need for better supply chain visibility (96 per cent), shrinking margins (90 per cent), introduction of new products (89 per cent) and escalating consumer expectations (89 per cent).”

In another article, SupplyChainStandards.com reports “problems in the Rapid globalisation is stretching the supply chain.”

Apparently “More than half the participants of a recent study show that they do not have the internal capabilities to adequately manage their external partners.”

But there is help out there. Ask your EDI provider if they can offer services to help improve Trading Partner Compliance.

Also ask if they are able to manage your partner base.

Image Credit: http://www.fotosearch.com

So the G8 summit has been discussing food, fuel and finances, but what does that mean to the rest of us?

While we are all doing what we can to make ends meet, companies could be doing their bit to reduce costs in the Supply Chain, passing those savings onto us, the consumer.

Companies could start by increasing the percentage of perfect orders and expediting the order-to-payment lifecycle. Less errors, less costs in correcting them, delivering the wrong goods or having to redeliver the right goods. Saving money, time and fuel costs. Improving the order-to-payment lifecycle will reduce costs and improve cash flow.

Chargeback Avoidance helps retail vendors and suppliers reduce the amount of deductions from their retail customers due to preventable, data-related compliance errors

This has been a busy week with plenty of trips into London town for the Retail Solutions show at Excel and the European Retail Solutions Awards.

I enjoyed my journey out of the office to the show immensely, arrived at Canary Wharf by boat then got the DLR over to Excel where I met up with our account manager from EMAP. EMAP publishes Retail Week, where we had a wonderful article placed on our Data Sync deal with House of Fraser, written by Joanna Perry.

Joanna kicked off the award ceremony the following night at Old Billingsgate - a beautiful venue on the Thames. Our table, including guests from House of Fraser (who were nominated with Tec7 for Project Implemenation of the Year), BASDA and Mosaic, had a wonderful time, what with the stunning venue, good conversation and amusing host - Liverpudlian John Bishop!

So what is all the fuss about? Surely as a Retail outlet your relationship with your suppliers can help you get the stock you want onto the shop floor, but is it enough?

I think we are all now promoting Global Data Synchronisation, which gives supplier/retailer trading partners access to data pools that hold and process trading partner product information. This allows access to accurate and reliable data from your partners, at all levels of the supply chain. Again, time and costs are improved, and suppliers see fewer discrepancies in shipments to their customers. The other benefit is that getting new products received, processed, and approved into the retail system and onto the sales floor can take hours instead of weeks.

Global Data Synchronisation can help :

·        Drastically reduce errors in your internal item files

·        Automatically deliver product images to your internal systems specific to your image requirements in a format that you want 

·        Improve data related errors on PO’s ASN’s, GRN’s and Invoices

·        Receive product data automatically from your suppliers

·        Receive automatic notifications of changes to data and images including price 

·        Reduce processing time and maintenance costs through paperless item setup

·        Improve efficiencies in merchandise planning, ordering and materials handling

·        Reduce payment times by eliminating discrepancies between invoices and purchase orders

·        Integrate into key enterprise applications, ensuring the most efficient supply chain communication process

Learn more about global data synchronisation>>

 Go to the Inovis UK website>>