IBM and Industri-Matematik Announce Next Generation
E-Replenishment Solution Dramatically Increases On-Shelf Product Availability
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Industri-Matematik International Corp. (Nasdaq: IMIC) today announced e-Replenishment, a breakthrough solution to significantly increase on-shelf product availability for retailers. The joint solution provides a new replenishment model where retailers re-stock store shelves based on actual consumer purchases rather than forecasted demand. This replenishment model allows retailers to improve customer service and increase top-line sales through improved product availability while minimizing inventory investment and operating expenses.
The initiative represents the first major new product deliverable as a result of the strategic supply chain management partnership announced between IBM and Industri-Matematik in September 1999. The e-Replenishment solution embodies the significant retail customer experience of both companies and combines components of Industri-Matematik's VIVALDI(TM) supply chain software suite and IBM's Application Framework for e-business.
The IBM/Industri-Matematik solution leverages point-of-sale system investment by using consumer sales data to drive real-time replenishment through the supply chain onto store shelves. The solution is designed for high-volume, highly automated retail environments and requires minimum human intervention. It uses Web technology to provide retail decision-makers with timely, easy-to-access information to monitor and manage in real time the replenishment process. These capabilities enable retailers to align replenishment activities with the unpredictable, high velocity world of promotions, competitor activity and changing consumer demand.
"Having invested in point-of-sale data capture, retailers have had the data needed to automate store replenishment to the point-of-sale," reported Greg Girard, service director, Retail Application Strategies at AMR Research in the January 10, 2000 AMR Alert on Supply Chain Management. "But they lack systems to automate high-volume, item-on-shelf replenishment in an exception- driven environment. Few retailers have leveraged this information asset into improved on-shelf product availability and reduced channel inventory at distribution centers and suppliers. The new IBM and Industri-Matematik offering should improve in-store daily item availability through increased responsiveness and exception management."
"Faced with an ever-increasing competitive environment, leading retailers are placing strategic focus on differentiation through customer service," said Christian Nivoix, worldwide general manager, distribution sector at IBM. "Our joint e-Replenishment solution addresses one of the most important drivers of customer service: ensuring high product availability for shoppers at the point-of-sale - on the shelf, at the store and in front of the customer. In the new environment of multi-channel retailing, maximizing product availability in whatever channel the shopper chooses becomes even more critical to sustainable customer loyalty."
According to John Geraci, senior. vice president, worldwide sales and marketing at Industri-Matematik, "Research shows that despite initiatives, such as forecast-based replenishment and vendor-managed inventory, out-of- stock product levels on store shelves remain high at about 10 percent. The IBM/Industri-Matematik e-Replenishment solution will enable retailers to better manage supply chains to improve responsiveness and have products available whenever and wherever the customer shops. This innovative solution represents the future of retailing and is a direct result of the increased customer demands being created by e-business. Faced with increasing levels of customer choice and increased competition, every retailer will have to evolve to this higher velocity business model. Industri-Matematik and IBM will continue to develop leading e-business applications in this space."
Retail market studies have shown that recent improvements in product availability at a distribution center level have not translated into product availability on store shelves because more than half the time a store is unaware it was out of stock of a particular item. In one study involving 160 retailers, three out of every four estimated that poor product availability lost them more than five percent of total sales - with one in three retailers putting the figure at more than ten percent. For these retailers, better product availability on the store shelf will improve sales and enhance customer loyalty while increasing gross profit and reducing inventory.
The IBM/Industri-Matematik e-Replenishment solution provides a scanned- based store replenishment model for both direct-to-store and warehouse environments. It is designed to handle the very large volumes of transaction data generated in retail environments and provides the messaging infrastructure needed to create a real-time environment. The solution uses components of Industri-Matematik's proven high-volume VIVALDI Advanced Order Management and Fulfillment Center capabilities with a messaging backbone of IBM's MQ Series middleware products. It also leverages IBM business intelligence and WebSphere technology to provide Web-based monitoring of replenishment activities.
Additionally, IBM and Industri-Matematik will provide consulting services and a process methodology to ensure retailers maximize their return on investment in the e-Replenishment solution. The initiative has wide potential application, but initially the companies will focus on grocery and hard goods retailers.
About IBM
IBM is a global leader in the development and implementation of e-business solutions in strategic areas such as supply chain management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, business intelligence, product design and management, and e-commerce. For more information please visit www.ibm.com.
About Industri-Matematik
Industri-Matematik International Corp. (www.im.se) provides high- performance fulfillment and customer service software solutions for e- business. Its VIVALDI software suite enables companies to move to a Zero Inventory/100 Percent Visibility business model by replacing inventory with information to speed the movement of goods through the supply chain. The Company has implemented applications worldwide at market-leading organizations such as British Airways, Campbell Soup, Canadian Tire, Canon, Carlton & United Breweries, Ericsson, Hakon Group, Hartz Mountain, Kellogg, Starbucks and Warner/Elektra/Atlantic. For more information please visit www.im.se.
IVALDI is a trademark of Industri-Matematik International Corp.
SOURCE Industri-Matematik International Corp.
CO: Industri-Matematik International Corp.; IBM
ST: New York
IN: CPR MLM REA
SU: PDT
01/25/2000 08:29 EST prnewswire.com |
