Trading Partners Synch Up

By Bill Bittner, President, BWH Consulting


Nearly 1300 people descended on Nashville, Tenn. this week to learn about the fundamental technical requirements for a successful B2B implementation using the global standards supported by GS1.


GS1’s UConnect Conference brought together users and experts from GS1-US, 1SYNC, EPCGlobal and RosettaNet to discuss how to synchronize data, identify logistics units, implement radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and bring business processes into line.


Data synchronization seemed to generate the most excitement at the conference. In May, GS1 announced the number of companies implementing global data synchronization increased from 200 to 5000.


Supervalu announced it has synchronized item data with 500 vendors, representing 60 percent of its volume, through their Data Pool Provider, 1SYNC. Supervalu joins Wal-Mart and Wegmans as one of the top retail implementers of data synchronization. 1SYNC is one the technology companies providing data pool services to retailers and suppliers.


Moderator’s Comment: Data synchronization has been a twinkle in the eye of retailers and suppliers for almost ten years. It seems to be finally taking
hold. What have been the hurdles and do you think now is the time for data synchronization to succeed?


Attempts to implement data synchronization in the past have presented challenges for manufacturers using multiple internal data sets. Companies had to resolve
internal issues before accepting the challenge to provide data to retailers. Now that new processes demanding even more data precision are being implemented, it is more important
that this information be correct. The technology is certainly ready to support data synchronization; now it seems businesses are in synch, as well.

Bill Bittner – Moderator

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

Poll

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Ron Margulis
Ron Margulis
17 years ago

I agree with Bill that the primary hurdle has been the requirement that individual retailers and manufacturers first get their internal data in order before trying to synch up with their trading partners. This has been a challenge because of rapidly changing technology and a rapidly changing marketplace. Companies have had to update their systems to get into the 21st century and while they were trying to do this, the Internet happened causing additional tech issues. And the blurring of channels happened causing additional marketplace issues. While there may be unforeseen impediments blocking the road to near-full industry-wide data synchronization, the future looks good for all of the benefits the process promises.

Mark Lilien
Mark Lilien
17 years ago

The ultimate step in retailer-supplier relations that’s being delayed: pay by POS. Retailers could hold supplier merchandise at no initial cost, paying an agreed-upon fee based on POS data. The ultimate retailer objective: transfer all inventory risk to the supplier. No extended dating, no markdown allowances, no investment. The tools are all there, but the adoption is rare.

W. Frank Dell II, CMC
W. Frank Dell II, CMC
17 years ago

The reason Data Sync has not become standard practice in 10 years is that has no payback or safeguards. Retailers still have to check and verify supplier information. My experience is suppliers simply don’t see the need for the data accuracy that retailer requires. Not every supplier manufacturing plant is set up exactly the same. So when product gets trans-shipped, differences occur. It is unlikely that Data Sync will ever be more than a dream of the people selling this service.

M. Jericho Banks PhD
M. Jericho Banks PhD
17 years ago

Data synchronization is wonderful, and just enough of a zephyr that we’ll be chasing it for decades. To “succeed,” of course, means more than synchronization alone. Applications and uses must sprout in order to keep this movement salient, and a community of ancillary providers will emerge. Programmers will develop a whole new family of data-use applications.

Right now, developers are working on just-in-time delivery programs which use data synchronization as a foundation. Developers specializing in transportation and logistics algorithms are working on a set of breakthrough applications that they expect will reenergize the railroad industry as a major carrier, based on the product of data synchronization. Etc., etc., etc.

Jonathan Foster
Jonathan Foster
17 years ago

Data synchronization is alive and thriving in many countries. The US marketplace is lagging behind in embracing these standards. Countries like Canada and Australia have reached critical mass several years back and currently have in excess of 80% of grocery retailers participating in data synchronization.

The fact that the US lags behind should be no surprise as their adoption of other globally accepted systems (like the Metric system) has historically been next to impossible.

The push for global standard setting does have benefits for manufacturer as they will no longer need to supply customized [datat] to each of their trading partners. They will also be able to consolidate the management of their master data into centralized facilities.

The benefit of data synchronization is not unlike the difference between a restaurant with wait staff and a buffet. In a non synchronized environment, each customer’s order (the set of data that they require) is managed by an individual (the account rep) who relays these requirements back to the kitchen (the company’s EDI department or IT department) who then serves up a customized order to the customer (the EDI cross reference table for that customer). This process must be repeated for every customer. In a synchronized environment, the kitchen serves up all possible items and the customer selects what they want.

The added benefit for customers is that they only need to communicate any changes in their needs to one service provider rather than to every supplier. The data pool, using standards, will ensure that the data supplied is consistent so that the customer knows that what they get is what they wanted. This is not unlike knowing if you order a particular dish that it will be the same thing no matter what restaurant prepared it.

At one point in time, people thought the UPC was a neat idea that would never really save time or money. That thought lasted for a bit until Wal-Mart mandated it. Now it is almost impossible to find products that do not have UPCs in a grocery store (excluding produce and such).

Manufacturers will need to clean up their systems and settle on one version of the truth. Global standards will help with that, but it is not an easy task. At the end of the day, companies will realize that they have the same or similar data in multiple systems and that it is costing them money to maintain this data. By eliminating the duplication and simplifying their processes, they will end up saving money in the end.

Ken Kubat
Ken Kubat
17 years ago

Having just returned from the U Connect event, I can report ‘first hand’ that enthusiasm is high, and the industry appears ready to tackle the challenge of data synchronization with renewed vigor. Along with this optimistic observation, I offer a cautionary axiom as well … the “trough of disillusionment” is a direct function of unmet expectations. So, a reasonable question is: “What SHOULD the expectations for data synchronization be?” Short of knowing the concrete, metric-based answer to that question, I will just say I think Michael is headed down the right track with his comments. Data synchronization IS a journey, more like a “practice” or “behavior” to be pursued than a specific task or milestone to be reached/achieved. Even as the industry improves its ability to get “in synch,” challenges wrought by increased complexity will obscure the perception of progress. In that sense, it brings to mind the notion of a “100% service level” … a goal that drives fundamentally vital behavior, but a goal that will never be FULLY achieved because of the dynamic nature of business and inherent “trade-offs” between cost and benefit.