Inside This Issue |  |
QLogitek is a Microsoft 2009 IMPACT
Awards Finalist | Read more | | | | |  |
How To Ensure Superior In-Store
Customer Experience?|
Read more | | | | |  |
Retail Executive Supply Chain Q & A |
Read more | | | | |  | Why Should You Care
About Bill C-6 or CPSIA?|
Read more | | | |
| |
QLogitek
is a Microsoft 2009 IMPACT Awards
Finalist |
QLogitek’s Supplier Order Management System (SOMS)
and Hosted EDI platform implemented in
conjunction with Microsoft’s BizTalk Server is a
2009 MS IMPACT Awards finalist. “IMPACT Awards
celebrates top technology partners who have
demonstrated their leadership and shown true
dedication through their tremendous support and
service to customers,” said Corinne Sharp,
National Director, Microsoft Canada.
QLogitek and Microsoft are deploying
best-in-class retail application infrastructure
to streamline and enhance supply chains for
Canada’s large and mid-sized retailers.
Microsoft’s BizTalk Server is a world-class
integration platform that works in conjunction
with QLogitek’s supply chain products for B2B
integration with suppliers and customers.
Organizations like HDS RNA have deployed this
solution to transform their retail supply chain
operations. HDS RNA is a North American culture
and entertainment retailer with 350 stores that
include prominent retail banners like RELAY, USA
TODAY, and Virgin Books & Entertainment. The
award recognizes QLogitek’s supply chain
integration solutions for its positive business
impact in the Canadian landscape.
As noted in a recent Microsoft case study, this
solution provided HDS RNA with the following
business benefits: 1- reduced supply chain
complexity and increased visibility, 2-
automated 90% of supplier transaction data, 3-
increased operating margin by eliminating
standard margin in favor of actual margin, 4-
minimized errors caused by manual processing of
data, and 5- improved supplier relations thru
faster invoice processing.
VP Finance at HDS RNA, Jose Stein said,
"QLogitek has helped us achieve measurable
benefits in the productivity and visibility of
our supply chain and we expect this trend to
continue in the future." QLogitek’s COO, Isa
Qureshi said, “we would like to thank HDS RNA
for supporting us through the award nomination
process and look forward to our continued
relationship." Top | | How
To Ensure Superior In-Store Customer
Experience? |
Demand-Driven Supply Networks (DDSN)
The holy grail of retail operations is to
deliver a world-class in-store and on-line shopping experience.
Customers expect to find the right products on store shelves at the
right price, every time they enter the store. Achieving this
requires astute strategic and operational decision-making capability
based on a steady flow of clean and harmonized data connecting
demand and supply side processes. Demand Driven Supply Networks (DDSN)
is a framework to achieve this retail excellence, according to AMR
Research, Aberdeen and Gartner. Although there are several
approaches, we posit that a good starting point to build your DDSN
is from the supply side.
Like other IT frameworks, DDSN's follow the GIGO rule - "Garbage in,
Garbage out." Therefore, it is vital to ensure flow of clean and
comprehensive data thru the DDSN. QLogitek has been successfully
helping large and mid-sized retailers across Canada over the last 10
years to deploy DDSN frameworks to improve and enhance supply chain
operations. DDSNs can be extremely complex to design, develop, and
maintain without the right approach, tools, and experience.
Successful retail leaders like The Bay, Zellers, HDS RNA, Sears,
LCBO, and Best Buy have all relied on QLogitek to integrate their
supply side data with their best-of-breed and legacy ERP systems and
enterprise data warehouses.
Using a combination of deep domain expertise in retail B2B supply
chain integration and Microsoft application server technologies,
QLogitek connects retailers with their trading partner communities
with cost-efficacy and speed.
Take the recent case of Best Buy, which has connected 250 global
suppliers to its retail ERP system using QLogitek's
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based Inbound Management System.
QLogitek has successfully deployed supplier order management
solutions to integrate hundreds of suppliers in months as opposed to
years. Our experience indicates the following: retailers can embark
on and/or accelerate their journey towards a consumer-driven retail
operation by building a Demand Driven Supply Network, beginning with
its supply-side processes.
Best-in-class retailers know that there are many factors influencing
superior in-store customer experience. They recognize that clean and
harmonized data from suppliers ensure shelves are stocked with items
customers demand on-time. Streamlining third-party procurement &
logistics data leads to decreased ordering lead times getting
product to store shelves faster. In other words, clean supply side
data is a precursor to superior customer experience.
To learn more about Demand-Driven Supply Networks, QLogitek and
Microsoft hosted a webinar in December 2009 which is available for
on-demand viewing here: http://bit.ly/6X5sNI
Top | | Post Holiday
Season Retail Supply Chain Chat with
John Bostock
| 1- What are the top strategic retail
supply chain initiatives being talked
about in the industry for 2010?
Looking ahead into 2010, I think many
retailers will be holding off making any
significant supply chain commitments
until after the holiday sales, year-end
inventory accounting and availability of
their 2009 financial results. As Q1 2010
unfolds, having an adaptive supply chain
network will be of strategic importance
and a key enabler to business success.
2- Could you please elaborate on the
strategic advantage of an adaptive
supply chain network in the current
scenario?
Typically retailers would have submitted
their purchase orders for spring 2010
merchandise back in the fall of 2009.
However, given the current economic
uncertainty, buyers will be conservative
in placing orders this far in advance
and may delay final commitments until
the last possible moment. Initial
purchase orders (PO) might be changed
several times before the merchandise is
shipped. Imagine the negative impact if
retailer-initiated PO changes can’t be
automatically synchronized with
suppliers’ systems and the effort
involved to reconcile resultant
discrepancies, after the fact. An
adaptive supply chain between retailer
and supplier will efficiently handle
purchase order changes, reduce errors
and provide better visibility across the
supply chain. This results in more
effective and timely decision-making in
forecasting demand and responding to
changes in uncertain market conditions,
in as close to real-time as possible.
3- So what are we most likely to see
take place within the retail supply
chain landscape in 2010?
My sense is that retailers will hedge
their bets and focus on short-term,
tactical supply chain cost reduction
efforts until at least the middle of
2010 when there is likely to be more
certainty and stronger indications of an
economic recovery.
4- What is the time and cost commitment
to developing an adaptive supply chain
network?
Supply chain strategies are multi-year
programs, traditionally requiring
significant capital investments, and may
include an ERP implementation. The
strategy should best fit the
requirements of the organization,
however, there are alternatives emerging
within the marketplace for retailers who
can’t wait and do not have the capital
funding available.
5- What are the alternatives?
The emergence of Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) delivery models for EDI/B2B
collaboration, as offered by QLogitek,
is a viable alternative to transform
retail supply chain. I believe more and
more retailers will consider this as a
viable option as part of their 2010
supply chain strategy.
6- What kind of framework can retailers
rely on when developing an adaptive
supply chain network?
Retailers are adopting a demand-driven
supply chain management strategy
including proactive strategic actions
such as: increasing collaboration and
business process integration with
suppliers, improving customer demand
sensing and forecasting capabilities,
and developing
multi-enterprise/multi-site visibility
across the entire supply network. For a
more comprehensive insight, I suggest
referencing the Aberdeen Group benchmark
report, sponsored by QLogitek, published
in September 2009 entitled: The 21st
Century Retail Supply Chain: Three Key
Imperatives for Retailers. | John Bostock is a Retail Technology
Consultant. John has acquired extensive
knowledge of Information Technology and
the Retail/Distribution Industry. In
senior executive roles including CIO
experience, John has been responsible
for leading strategic, innovative,
business transformational initiatives at
some of Canada’s largest retail
companies such as Hbc, Canadian Tire and
HDS RNA. John is also an Advisory Board
member for QLogitek. | Top | | Why
Should You Care About Bill C-6 or CPSIA?
Consumer Product Safety & Compliance | By
Bob Milette, Supply Chain Compliance
Specialist
Eliminating the rhetoric and the political
posturing, Bill C-6 and the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) are designed
to improve consumer product safety in Canada
and the United States. It is difficult to
argue with the intent of these pieces of
legislation. The CPSIA focuses on products
for children and introduces specific
standards for lead, cadmium and phthalates
while Bill C-6 addresses most consumer
products and does not introduce specific
standards in any area. Common to both pieces
of legislation are punitive penalties for
flagrant offending companies and their
executives.
The acts affect domestic manufacturers and
distributors as well as importers. The
former group is or at least should be in
control of their manufacturing and
distribution processes and therefore able to
demonstrate compliance. Importers on the
other hand, have less control over the
manufacturing processes of their suppliers
and therefore are at greater risk under the
act.
To remain competitive and profitable,
consumer product manufacturers, distributors
and importers must continually plan beyond
the current standards. The recent
announcement that toy cookie baking sets
have been recalled because paint contains
barium (a toxin that does not have any
visibility in the CPSIA) that exceeds
allowable limits indicates that the
standards are moving targets. In Canada, a
baby crib manufacturer is struggling with a
major recall that highlights that the laws
that oversee consumer safety haven't been
reviewed in about 40 years (the reality that
spawned Bill C-6).
In the United States most retailers are
demanding certificates of conformity (and
often actual test reports) which is more
effective than legislated enforcement. Once
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
is positioned to enforce the act, import
shipments will be delayed and may even be
subject to confiscation. Importers who don't
have control over their foreign suppliers
and manufacturers will have the largest
challenges going forward. Canadian exporters
to the U.S. face the same challenges and
must commit to full compliance with the
evolving standards in the CPSIA . The Toy
Industry Association (TIA) has introduced a
compliance program that is intended to meet
all CPSIA standards. It is an ISO 9001 style
initiative that requires full participation
from the foreign supply chain. It also
assumes fairly large production runs to
support the test sampling strategy.
In Canada, Bill C-6 is very light on
specifics: toxins being tracked, processed,
etc. But it is reasonable to assume Bill C-6
will parallel the CPSIA , at least for
children’s products.
The consumer product supply chain strategy
with respect to CPSIA is simple: products
must be compliantly designed and engineered,
rigorously tested and the results must be
maintained and available for distribution
and reporting.
At QLogitek, we have experience and are
available to help you develop a system that
will be effective for your organization!
Please contact us at supplychain@qlogitek.com
to learn more. | Bob Milette is an experienced
IT and supply chain specialist who
helps organizations design and
implement compliance systems such as
CPSIA. | Top
The President’s Award is given annually to the
top performer and contributor at QLogitek. The
2009 winner of this prestigious award is
Lindsay
Reynolds, Team Leader and Senior Systems
Architect. Lindsay has 28 years of technical and business
systems analysis and implementation experience.
She has led a variety of large-scale projects in
the capacity of either a Technical Project
Manager or a Lead Application Architect. Most
recently, Lindsay was the team leader for the
design and development of the very successful
Vintages Shop Online web store for LCBO. While announcing the award, Latiq Qureshi,
QLogitek’s President & CEO said, “we all owe a
tremendous gratitude to the ownership,
leadership and accountability that Lindsay
demonstrates in her work day-in,
day-out…Lindsay, you are example to us all.” On
behalf of QLogitek please join us in
congratulating Lindsay for her efforts and
outstanding achievement. As part of her
recognition, Lindsay and guest were awarded an
all-expense paid trip to a sunny destination.
Congratulations Lindsay!
Top
Congratulations to
Savita Kanwar
for having won
a $50 Indigo-Chapters gift card by participating
in QLogitek’s October 2009 Newsletter Quiz. The
Hain Celestial Group, headquartered in Melville,
NY, is a leading natural and organic food and
personal care products company in North America
and Europe. Hain Celestial Canada is a
subsidiary of the Hain Celestial Group, with
operations in Vancouver, B.C. and Toronto, ON.
The Hain Celestial Group is using QLogitek’s
Inbound Management System (IMS) for on-line
dock-door scheduling and pick-up & delivery
appointment booking. | Featured Products |  Inbound
Management System |
Top | QLogitek Quiz Play Now & Win a $ 50 Gift
Card
Answer 4 simple questions and enter for a chance to win a $50 gift card. QLogitek Updates
QLogitek President’s Award presented to
Lindsay Reynolds
Read more Hain Celestial
Group's Savita Kanwar– Winner of the October
2009 QLogitek Newsletter Quiz
Read more |