Order & Logistics
Today’s high rate of new product introduction and high volume of product sales throughput has made managing the retail supply chain an increasingly tense and dynamic challenge. With a large number of products being sourced from overseas it is critical to keep lead times and delays to a minimum, ensuring that products are available on shelf when the customer wants them, helping to reduce the possibility of lost sales or high markdowns.
After products have been designed, suppliers selected and buyers have made purchase decisions, the order-to-delivery process becomes the focus of attention. It is here where lead times can become lengthened and key deadlines missed due to the time it can take to raise purchase orders, manage inevitable amendments and provide the supplier with the commitment required to trigger the start of production and booking of freight forwarders.
But with the increase in global sourcing come more complex and longer supply chains, even lower visibility and poorer communication between trading partners. With the pressure on to meet demand and seasonal or promotional launch dates, some companies resort to desperate measures, purchasing materials and manufacturing products before receiving orders.
This lack of visibility for buyers, logistics professionals and other participants throughout the process can prevent the identification and rectification of these problems and delays.
Using Eqos Order & Logistics to create purchase orders, collaboratively manage amendments and revisions and have full visibility into order, production and logistics processes, retailers can avoid these unnecessary delays. Knowing the status of an order or the whereabouts of a container - and being automatically alerted if these critical milestones are in danger of being missed - provides retailers with the ability to effectively resolve issues and keep orders on track.
Key Benefits Include:
- Reduce lead times by implementing a more efficient and collaborative order management process
- Provide a ‘single version of the truth’ order to all parties from pre-SKU through purchase order creation and shipment to the retailers’ distribution center
- Minimize the impact on critical in-store dates using proactive alerts for earlier identification and resolution of production and logistics issues
- Improve supply chain visibility for buyers and other professionals involved in the sourcing process with tracking of key logistics milestones
