LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.-The Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association announced the winners of the 2008 VICS Collaborative Commerce Achievement Awards at its annual conference. The Awards are designed to identify and reward excellence in supply chain collaboration. The awards honor outstanding companies for strategic thinking and leadership, as well as the implementation of GS1 standards and VICS collaborative commerce guidelines that have resulted in more effective supply chain practices and partnerships.
For Retail Side Excellence: Dillard's Inc. Dillard's traditional information systems was not designed to support the global collaboration currently required. It needed an information system that supports and enhances the product development process, so merchants can focus on the creative process and provide a competitive advantage in the global market.
Management determined the Internet was the best platform for this project. Dillard's Product Sourcing Application provides centralized storage and 24x7 access to all information about the product development process to internal and external users.
And on the Supply Side Excellence there was a tie. CadburyAdams has established the dramatic value and importance of speed-to-market, at least for product categories in which new products play a critical role. In a study involving VICS and Edgewood Consulting Group, Cadbury Adams found that best-practice companies are 13 weeks faster than competitors in achieving full distribution of new products--and that results in higher sales and consumer perception of the retailer as superior. Sales increased by 2.5% category-wide. The study also demonstrated that best-practice retailers and suppliers use CPFR, especially for long-lead-time planning for new product introductions and lifecycle planning.
Also, Procter & Gamble helped develop tiered business cases, including EPC Advantaged, EPC Testable and EPC Challenged so that value propositions and a path to adoption could deliver early benefits and a positive value proposition to the widest range of supplier companies. The framework helps any company, regardless of product category and business situation, to identify the most effective route to implementing EPC with trading partners. This has diminished industry-wide skepticism about the business case for EPC/RFID and helped retailers identify the most productive approach to working with trading partners.
Companies using P&G's rigorous testing and best practices have identified ideal RFID tag placement and integrated EPC data into buyer/seller decision-making processes. They have used EPC to achieve increases in sales from improved in-stocks, non-productive inventory, monitoring dwelltime, improving execution of promotional displays.
For additional information about the awards or VICS, visit www.vics.org.
