WWRE Announces Availability of CPFR Solution to All Members
Alexandria, Va. - The Worldwide Retail Exchange (WWRE), the premier business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers, on Thursday announced the commercial launch of the WWRE Collaborative Planner, version 2.0, to all 58 Exchange members and their trading partners. This follows the successful completion of the Exchange's controlled launch, which was one of the largest web-based implementations of VICS-CPFR in the retail industry.
"The WWRE Collaborative Planner, powered by i2 Technologies Inc., is designed to allow retailers and suppliers to contribute to their bottom line by sharing information on strategic plans, sales and order forecasting and replenishment - maximizing the capabilities of the WWRE. The targeted result is a reduction in safety stock, rush orders, and the domino effect of compensating for the unknown - avoiding empty shelves during promotions," explained Don Norman, chief information officer for the WWRE. "Importantly, suppliers can view retailer order forecast data, which allows them to conduct business with superior information."
"By implementing i2's CPFR solution, the exchange is poised to meet and exceed the demands of both retailers and suppliers," said Terry Turner, i2 senior vice president, Consumer Goods and Retail. "Based on a flexible architecture that supports e-marketplaces, the i2 solution can provide support not only for standard collaborations for procurement, logistics and demand management, but also for customized collaborations for any number of business processes."
Since March 2001, the WWRE has been piloting its CPFR solution and began conducting a controlled launch in June. Twelve active trading relationships between 11 retailers and nine suppliers resulted in controlled launch participants' collaboration on the trading of 480 items over 45 distribution centers throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. A wide variety of products, including 'direct' and 'indirect' goods, were included in the controlled launch such as hygiene products, foods and beverages, electronics, over the counter drugs and apparel.
Results from the controlled launch show that participants experienced significant improvements in their business processes, largely due to the value of data visibility between retailers and suppliers. Measurable results to date include reduced delivery time by 25 percent, a 33 percent decrease in safety stock, improvements in in-stock supply by 20-25 percent, and increased forecast accuracy by 30-35 percent.
"The WWRE Collaborative Planner, powered by i2 Technologies Inc., is designed to allow retailers and suppliers to contribute to their bottom line by sharing information on strategic plans, sales and order forecasting and replenishment - maximizing the capabilities of the WWRE. The targeted result is a reduction in safety stock, rush orders, and the domino effect of compensating for the unknown - avoiding empty shelves during promotions," explained Don Norman, chief information officer for the WWRE. "Importantly, suppliers can view retailer order forecast data, which allows them to conduct business with superior information."
"By implementing i2's CPFR solution, the exchange is poised to meet and exceed the demands of both retailers and suppliers," said Terry Turner, i2 senior vice president, Consumer Goods and Retail. "Based on a flexible architecture that supports e-marketplaces, the i2 solution can provide support not only for standard collaborations for procurement, logistics and demand management, but also for customized collaborations for any number of business processes."
Since March 2001, the WWRE has been piloting its CPFR solution and began conducting a controlled launch in June. Twelve active trading relationships between 11 retailers and nine suppliers resulted in controlled launch participants' collaboration on the trading of 480 items over 45 distribution centers throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. A wide variety of products, including 'direct' and 'indirect' goods, were included in the controlled launch such as hygiene products, foods and beverages, electronics, over the counter drugs and apparel.
Results from the controlled launch show that participants experienced significant improvements in their business processes, largely due to the value of data visibility between retailers and suppliers. Measurable results to date include reduced delivery time by 25 percent, a 33 percent decrease in safety stock, improvements in in-stock supply by 20-25 percent, and increased forecast accuracy by 30-35 percent.