If there's one thing that CG companies and retailers can agree on, it's that improved in-stock positions are a vital component of successful sales. That's one reason Procter & Gamble has been devoting considerable effort to improving in-stock positions and optimizing the amount of inventory held by leading retailers. Enabling technology that provides P&G with customizable exception-based reporting has improved P&G's productivity in this area, contributing to top-line sales growth of 8 percent last year for the $57 billion consumer goods giant.
Procter & Gamble's challenge in this effort involves dealing with huge amounts of data in managing store-level information on 3,000-plus items while applying variables including point of sale information, sales forecasts, inventory levels and in-stock performance. The Velocity application from Vendor Managed Technologies (VMT) helps P&G manage this data deluge through exception-based reporting that can be tailored to individual users' specific needs.
“We can set our own criteria for reports,” says Greg Swoyer, Product Supply Director at P&G. “For example, for a particular item, the user can say ‘Show me the top 200 stores for in-stock performance, or the stores with underperforming inventory,' so we know which stores to work on. The Velocity application allows us to manage huge amounts of information and efficiently target our improvement efforts.”
VMT uses Microsoft technology, including Windows Server and SQL Server 2005, as the basis for all its solutions, both for the ease of use of its interfaces as well as the technology's cost-effectiveness.
The use of Velocity combined with some standard work processes has “enabled us to run this continuing challenge almost like a production facility,” says Swoyer. “It's given us standard processes, standard exception reports, and allowed us to take corrective actions on a regular basis.” Swoyer adds, “To be a preferred supplier to our leading retail partners, we must continually improve their cash flow, sales and profits. VMT has helped us achieve those goals.” |
