The Smart Shed, Africa`s independently operated household goods electronic marketplace, has taken another step towards realising its promise of "significant" savings for the South African household goods industry by signing a strategic technology deal with global supply chain solutions provider i2 Technologies.
The Smart Shed is a B2B electronic marketplace created late last year by an alliance of founding members, Comparex, through its South African subsidiary PQ Africa, Unitrans and leading furniture manufacturer Steinhoff, in addition to major retailers Lewis, Profurn and Relyant.
It will enable participating players, in a market of approximately R12 Billion, to conduct business with one another in a highly secure environment, via the Internet. It is estimated that the founding retailers jointly account for nearly half of the South African household goods retail market.
The first phase of the rollout, which touches each of the current players, is being deployed in March, with significant ramp-up of additional functionality and participants planned for the rest of this year.
The Smart Shed`s managing director Keith Roberts, who believes that "the joint venture represents the only truly comprehensive, vertical e-Business initiative currently underway on the continent", will be looking to i2 Technologies` Trade Matrix software to enable real-time collaboration between all participants to unlock the benefits of increased efficiencies, improved service levels and reduced costs over the entire supply chain.
Key technology issues for consideration when developing the e-marketplace included the adoption of a standards-based solution, as well as buying in proven, best-of-breed applications rather than building a solution from scratch.
"After an extensive evaluation, i2 was chosen as the software partner," says MD, Roberts. "i2 has the only fully integrated solution which will allow The Smart Shed to achieve its objectives in terms of optimisation and resultant savings across the entire supply chain."
Phase one of the project will see the delivery of buy-side & sell-side transacting, as well as a comprehensive catalogue facility. Buy-side functionality includes automating requisition approval and order placement, as well as automating the communication processes. Among the benefits are improved order tracking, reduced risk of error, lower operating capital requirements, improved effectiveness and efficiency, enhanced customer service and lower procurement costs. The solution will enable substantial collaboration between participants from day one.
Sell-side functionality will see the automation of incoming purchase orders and integration of order details into the sales order system. Advantages include elimination of the need to duplicate information, reduction of margin for error, promotion of customer self-service for re-orders and the provision of an appropriate platform for product information.
In the long-term, the project will entrench collaboration throughout the supply chain spanning its entire length from raw material suppliers and component manufacturers, to finished goods manufacturers and finally the retailer.
"i2 will deliver transparency throughout the supply chain, boost supply chain speed from manufacturer to end-customer, and reduce operating costs for all marketplace participants," says i2 Technologies SA country manager Trevor Roberts.
"Technology projects tend to take some time before yielding return on investment, but i2`s software and PQ Africa`s business implementation methodology enables projects to go live exceptionally quickly and for business benefit to be felt and measured equally swiftly," says Roberts.
"Another crucial factor is that i2 focuses on processes that add value directly for marketplace participants, in this instance promoting direct collaboration between all the e-marketplace participants from suppliers to manufacturers to retailers. The reduction of costs for every player through greater efficiencies is the primary driver in this vertical marketplace.
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