The Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) initiative, driven locally and globally by a number of manufacturers, retailers and industry bodies, has as its ultimate goal the stripping out of inefficiencies and costs from the retail process. This is driven at fulfilling consumer wishes better, faster and at a lower cost.
In SA alone, ECR aims to remove billions a year in costs from retail and to return this to hard-pressed consumers.
The goals of the ECR initiative are wholly laudable, says Marc Scheepbouwer, sales director of Global Technology Business Intelligence (GBI), centred as they are on providing benefits to consumers, but they will need to be informed by enterprise intelligence if they are to succeed.
"Enterprise intelligence is more comprehensive than business intelligence as most people define it today," says Scheepbouwer. "It is the establishment of an intelligence platform that addresses data, analysis and application integration, and through the provision of a single version of the truth, empowers an organisation to articulate and execute on business strategy for competitive advantage."
ECR encourages companies to pursue continuous improvements under three focus areas: supply side, demand side and enabling technologies. Enterprise intelligence, as one of these enabling technologies, transcends the inherent operational disciplines of ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management). It moves business intelligence beyond a departmental to a holistic paradigm and mindset, ensures executive transparency and full accountability for decision-makers.
"All of these are vital requirements for effective supply chain management, which is at the heart of the ECR initiative," notes Scheepbouwer. Core to the ECR methodology is collaboration: "Recognition that the greatest consumer value can be offered only when organisations work together, work internally and with their trading partners, to overcome barriers that erode efficiency and effectiveness."
There are manifold benefits to effective supply chain management, notes Scheepbouwer:
* The first and most logical is lower costs throughout the supply chain;
* Adequate stock translates to improved customer satisfaction;
* Alongside this, reduced inventory means lower operating costs and higher margins, a Holy Grail sought by most industry players;
* Agility in the supply chain means companies can be attuned to marketplace trends and respond to them faster than before;
* It enables collaborative planning;
* There is a significant reduction in non-value-added costs: in effect, anything that fails to add value but consumes costs is stripped out mercilessly;
* The percentage of on-time deliveries is boosted;
* Fewer broken promises through accurate forecast delivery dates;
* Reduced cycle times; and
* Enhanced customer relationships.
"In addition, enterprise intelligence encourages enhanced visibility into the supply chain," concludes Scheepbouwer, "which is vital for all participants. With new-generation business intelligence tools, it is possible to narrowcast information to targeted supply chain participants, thereby enabling proactive distribution of precisely the right information, at the right time, to the right person, irrespective of where they are, or what device they are using."
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