Elaine Watson
Sainsbury has embarked on a radical overhaul of its b2b systems in a bid to drive on-shelf availability to new levels through closer collaboration with suppliers.
Over 100 suppliers have signed up to Sainsbury's Alerts and Resolution Management (ARM) system, which automatically emails them when on-shelf availability, or depot stock cover, fall below pre-set boundaries. This effectively puts suppliers in control of on-shelf availability and transforms Sainsbury's b2b web portal from a passive repository of information that suppliers must plough through to find out how sales are progressing, to a proactive system that identifies potential problems.
Suppliers can choose the SKUs they want to focus on usually those with the most volatile demand history and set their own parameters. For example, a confectionery supplier might ask to be alerted if stock levels of its top selling SKUs fall below 80%.
Collaborative alerts have also been set up whereby both parties are made aware if availability or service levels on key products fall below certain parameters, enabling both parties to address problems.
The system, developed by b2b specialist Eqos and Accenture, also enables managers to pull off information and analyse key performance data.
Eqos CEO Mike Quinn said: "Instead of simply dumping data on suppliers and saying You decide what to do with it', Sainsbury has taken the initiative. The fact that over 2,000 suppliers should be on board over the next 12 months is a fair indication of how popular it is."
Separately, more than 600 suppliers are using a collaborative promotions management tool also built into Sainsbury's b2b systems.
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Sainsbury has embarked on a radical overhaul of its b2b systems in a bid to drive on-shelf availability to new levels through closer collaboration with suppliers.
Over 100 suppliers have signed up to Sainsbury's Alerts and Resolution Management (ARM) system, which automatically emails them when on-shelf availability, or depot stock cover, fall below pre-set boundaries. This effectively puts suppliers in control of on-shelf availability and transforms Sainsbury's b2b web portal from a passive repository of information that suppliers must plough through to find out how sales are progressing, to a proactive system that identifies potential problems.
Suppliers can choose the SKUs they want to focus on usually those with the most volatile demand history and set their own parameters. For example, a confectionery supplier might ask to be alerted if stock levels of its top selling SKUs fall below 80%.
Collaborative alerts have also been set up whereby both parties are made aware if availability or service levels on key products fall below certain parameters, enabling both parties to address problems.
The system, developed by b2b specialist Eqos and Accenture, also enables managers to pull off information and analyse key performance data.
Eqos CEO Mike Quinn said: "Instead of simply dumping data on suppliers and saying You decide what to do with it', Sainsbury has taken the initiative. The fact that over 2,000 suppliers should be on board over the next 12 months is a fair indication of how popular it is."
Separately, more than 600 suppliers are using a collaborative promotions management tool also built into Sainsbury's b2b systems.
{{NEWS }}
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