Eqos gives Kingfisher a merr "e" Christmas
22 November 2000
For the first time, the Kingfisher Group has the tools to support an automated "e" approach to meeting consumer demand in the run-up to Christmas as it adopts Eqos' ground-breaking technology to innovatively drive sales during the biggest, and most unpredictable, event in the retail calendar. The move confirms Kingfisher's determination to exploit new technology to help it develop a world-class supply chain capability where collaborative processes play a major role.
For this Christmas, Eqos' e-Collaboration system has been adopted by the Woolworth's chain, working with key suppliers Nestle and Kraft. The system allows retailers and suppliers to jointly plan more effectively and have a common view of actual and forecasted sales, stock and intake data within one repository. This, in turn, delivers greater visibility in terms of stocks and on shelf availability, improvements in wastage, product obsolescence and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. As it uses the Internet as the communication medium, data collected - before, during and after the event - can be fed back fast and accurately to the benefit of everyone involved in the supply chain. Evaluation of the data can also be used both during the life of the event for dynamic production scheduling and as input to planning future events.
"One of the key opportunities for supply chain development is in Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) and to be effective in this area we need the right tools," explains Jim Spittle, group supply chain director, Kingfisher. "Although we are only in the early stages with Eqos' system we seem to be seeing some significant benefits which we will exploit further with our other operating divisions."
Earlier this year Kingfisher ran pilots using Eqos technology to handle the introduction of new products at Woolworth's, where 80% of the range is changed every year. The experience gained has now been extended into the complicated area of event management where timing is crucial.
"Getting accurate product details, prices and descriptions across the different trading formats is a big challenge. We needed to go the IT route as we could no longer rely on faxes, phone calls and verbal communication," explains David MacInnis, supply chain director, Woolworth's. "With the Eqos system we have been able to develop a speedy, accurate and flexible approach to supply chain management and by automating our processes we have taken about a week out of the lead time from design to an in-stock position."
That a leading pan-European retailer such as Kingfisher is using collaborative technology is "extremely exciting" says Mike Quinn, managing director, Eqos Systems. "It's an area that many e-marketplaces are only now beginning to explore.
"We impressed Kingfisher by just how quickly we could make changes to its business processes. We went from initial requirements meeting to pilot in just eight weeks which is what is being demanded in the Internet world and clearly demonstrates that you can achieve something very practical, very fast."
Notes to Editors:
Eqos Ltd
Eqos delivers the world's most advanced and flexible solutions for collaborative planning and event management over the Internet. By providing the technology platform and the business leadership, Eqos helps its customers achieve rapid, continuous and best-of-breed innovation for sustainable competitive advantage. Headquartered in the UK, with offices in the US, Eqos has alliances with many of the world's leading edge companies, including Microsoft, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte Consulting.
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