India Retail News

Driven by economic trends and fulfillment demand, supply chain complexity has increased by orders of magnitude, creating a growing sense of urgency on the part of retail buyers and merchandisers to standardize and simplify their supplier interactions. This urgency is fueled by the promise of profit-saving efficiency and supply chain visibility gains that can result when retailers and their suppliers begin speaking the same language. The lack of integration between channel-specific inventory and order management systems also continues to confound retailers and exacerbate the complexities of their supply chains. Advances in the technologies that enable EDI (electronic data interchange) have breathed new life in retailers' interest in applying it as a platform for both consistent and collaborative supplier interaction and seamless integration of back end systems. This paper discusses those advances, and explores how EDI can reduce the risks and the complexities associated with the modern retail supply chain.