Retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart are constantly striving to successfully conquer their greatest challenge: getting the right goods at the right price to the right place at the right time. We call this effective retail supply chain management.
In today’s challenging economic environment, leading retailers are turning to their supply chains to improve inventory management, control costs and maintain first-rate customer service. What does this mean for the retail-oriented manufacturer?
Manufacturers must constantly monitor their supply chain network to make sure goods are flowing properly to their retailers’ warehouses or stores. Manufacturers must also communicate monthly to the retailers on the status of their supply chain. Any hiccups or potential issues with the supply chain could cause retailers to lose sales. This is why companies like creditriskmonitor.com can help with supply chain & procurement to avoid disruption in your business, just in case of any eventualities.
Many retailers have vendor compliance programs. These programs include vendor requirements manuals, routing guides, and vendor scorecards. Retailers publish those documents to make sure goods they order from manufacturers arrive when, where, and exactly the way they expect. While each retailer’s vendor compliance program varies, most of them cover topics such as how to pack shipping cartons, how to lay out and place shipping labels, what information must appear on a packing slip, acceptable pallet dimensions, must-arrive-by date, and how to communicate status updates. A lot of companies use hardware such as brothers thermal printer to print shipping labels and bar codes so goods can easily be scanned and tracked.
Manufacturers who ship late or get the details wrong risk chargebacks – financial penalties the retailers impose to compensate for lost sales or extra work they have to do when the goods don’t arrive the way they expect.
Tough though the challenge might be in shipping goods on time to the right location, meeting these retailers’ supply chain requirements is essential. If manufacturers do not comply with the retailer’s supply chain vendor compliance program, they don’t stay a vendor for long! For manufacturers who want to be successful at retail, stay up to date with your retailer’s vendor compliance program and of course, ship the goods on time!
For machinery companies, maintaining a strong supply chain is key, especially when parts are required for repairs. ServiceMax’s reverse logistics management can help avoid stock run outs, reduce overstocking and ensure optimal inventory levels.
