Operations & Systems

setting up EDI accounts with retailers. Once the transition to ISBN- 13 ends, it will simplify retailer-supplier communications by eliminating cross-referencing to UPCs. Retailers will have more POS compatibility for diverse product categories and won’t have to sticker products with retailer-derived product numbers for internal processing. Eventually only one product code will be on books.

Clarkson said using the SSCC carton-level “license plate” will help overcome challenges of stock-receiving inefficiency at B&N stores and distribution centers. Stores will know what’s in a shipment, where it is in the supply chain, and where specific products in the shipment are at any given time. Random House’s advance-ship notice notifies him of what’s coming and how, giving him greater flexibility to manage shipments and receiving, lower out-of-stock rates, and reduce operational costs.

In the Christian Retail Channel, broad-based use of the container codes is a ways off. Large publishers such as Zondervan and Thomas Nelson have instituted advance-ship notice capability, essential for automated receiving. However, some have the capability but don’t use it because trading partners can’t or they don’t ask for it. Spring Arbor Distributors and parent company, Ingram Book Group, also can send ASNs, as can GL.Services. STL division FaithWorks has been testing ASNs, which would open the door to sister company Appalachian Distributors to deploy it.

For most independent Christian retailers, use of this technology is constrained by POS capability. While smaller independents may not need it because orders are infrequent and small, mid- and large-size retailers may reap significant cost and time savings.

data registry, auditing product information submitted, and providing technical capabilities for electronic synchronization.

GS1 US’s 1SYNC system is part of the Global Data Synchronization Network, a worldwide, Internet-based initiative to en-

or communities—regardless of individual participants’ technical capabilities.

VANs could eventually enable supplier-in-ventory visibility, synchronize product data, deliver key EDI documents, and provide POS sale and inventory visibility. Pubnet has been

Barnes & Noble aims to improve its bottom line through increased operational efficiency rather than raising prices.

able companies worldwide to exchange accurate, up-to-date supply-chain data using international business standards. At the end of 2005, there were eight active data pools involving 554 trading partners and 525,892 registered items.

At the UConnect sessions involving Wal-Mart’s data-synchronization efforts, suppliers asked “how to” and “what if” questions about their data-synchronization efforts. Wal-Mart has about 10% of its supplier base in a synchronization program representing 22% of sales since starting with eight partners in 2002. The program saved the company more than $1.2 million with just one supplier. Inaccurate supply-chain data is costing the consumer packaged-goods and retail industries $25 billion to $50 billion annually.

The Christian Retail Channel’s Back Room Study found that large retailers are spending about $7,000 each annually just to input product information into POS systems.

testing EDI sales and inventory document exchanges between Christian retailers and suppliers as part of the VMI Working Group. The group also has been testing various levels of assisted inventory management.

CRSC STANDARDS ARENA

The Christian Retail Solutions Committee offers information to help Christian retailers and suppliers use more efficient trading processes. Key objectives are to develop and support EDI standards, identify priority areas where common practices or systems can solve trading-partner problems, and serve as a forum to discuss issues of concern, such as gift-product transactions and receiving, credit best practices, and other issues.

For more information on the comittee and its work, visit www.christiansupplychain.org. AR

CBA Retail Technology & Strategy Manager Eric Grimm is chairman of the industry’s Christian Retail Solutions Committee.

DATA SYNCHRONIZATION

Global trade item numbers (GTINs) help identify packaging configurations as they travel through the supply chain. Retailers can receive cartons, case-lots, or pallets and then automatically transfer individual item or retail-packaging quantity into POS systems to accurately update inventory counts.

GTINS are essential to data synchronization, which coordinates retailer and supplier product information through a single data source (data pool or registry). Generally, retailers outline what product information they need from suppliers and where to register that information. GS1’s 1SYNC provides synchronization services for that data, including certifying people to use the

VAN ROLES CHANGING

The Value Added Network (VAN) may transform its standards and business-process areas from just a conduit for EDI transactions to full trading-community management. This is what the Christian Retail Channel has seen with the evolution of Pubnet, a GXS VAN broker. The VAN increasingly is becoming the electronic service hub for business communities.

Future services include expanding trading-partner management, automating transactions and data exchange processes and reconciliation, plus providing business analytics and data reporting.

Bobby Patrick of GXS said VANs are investing significant research and development dollars in this area—GXS alone is spending $40 million in product and service upgrades this year. The idea is to provide “end-to-end” business-process automation that integrates entire business “eco-systems”

Questions for Eric Grimm? Please e-mail publications@cbaonline.org

Correction:

UPCs STILL HERE

In my last column I said the universal product code (UPC) was going to be called an EAN.UCC. Actually, the agency that assigns UPCs will continue to assign 12-digit UPCs until it runs out of unique numbers. Then it will assign 13-digit UPCs.

U.S. publishing will use EANs through its ISBN- 13 codes, which are constructed like EANs but with a “978” company prefix to signal the next 10 digits as an ISBN.

The Official Magazine of CBA

August 2006 | AspiringRetail | 15