Vendor Collaboration Success Story

In the June issue of Consumer Goods Technology (read article) there is a terrific success story on how data sharing and collaboration between a retailer and vendor should work.  This is a must read for any retail or vendor operations, sales, or supply chain professional. 

Here is a clip from the article:

Smart & Final offers the same service to its key vendor partners. “We can filter the information by product line so we can tell Coca-Cola or Pepsi, or the Ice Man, what they are selling in real time by item and by store,” he says. “By sharing real-time sales information with the ice vendor, the vendor now manages its own sell-through on the ice,” says Duge. As a result, Smart & Final’s ice sales increased 40 percent in the first year.

Did you catch the bottom line - 40% increase in sales on ice!  I can't think of too many strategies that are this simple, and can drive a double-digit increase in sales.  OK, everyone, lets collaborate.