Inventory & Supply Chain Solutions

Transcription

1 Inventory & Supply Chain Solutions

2 ECRS Inventory & Supply Chain Solutions Inventory and supply chain management pose the greatest opportunity for top line business performance. Unfortunately, those who ignore this potential can find their operations in a negative downward spiral with decreased customer satisfaction, loss of sales, and increased cost. This is true because both areas are inter-dependent and directly affect so many critical areas of your business such as customer service, customer retention, sales, labor, margin, and supplier pricing. ECRS offers solutions for inventory management that range in automation level to fit the specific needs and comfort level of your retail enterprise. While some enjoy the benefits of full automation with ECRS s advanced DemandFill, others feel a combination of replenishment and shelf scanning best suits their needs. No matter your level of automation, you will notice dramatic improvements in accuracy, time-savings, out-of-stocks, inventory turns, and margins when using Catapult and ECRS Gateway to manage replenishment and supply chain communications. The Way Things Are The Way Things Could Be with ECRS Undetected internal/external theft Quickly and easily detect theft issues through accurate inventory management, powerful reporting tools, and an executive dashboard; all accessible anywhere with Internet access. Simple, but costly, human errors Combination of human and computer intelligence produces consistent, accurate orders. Too much personal influence reflected in buying decisions Complicated, time-consuming manual processes Proprietary business intelligence insures you have the items in stock that your customers want, when they want them. Simplified processes through the consolidation of POS/inventory/back office/ordering systems into one complete, unified technology and business platform. Automatically generates optimal orders and electronically exchanges data with suppliers in the press of a button. Missed sales and lost customers because of out-of-stock product Improves customer service and prevents lost sales by automatically generating suggested orders based directly on consumer shopping patterns and demand. Saves hours in manual labor, allowing employees to directly interact with customers on the sales floor where it matters the most. one

3 The Way Things Are The Way Things Could Be with ECRS Overstock items absorbing profit and valuable shelf space ECRS s DemandFill orders what your customers are buying. Because this is an automated system and orders based on a variety of business analytics, you can keep inventory lean while stocking the products your customers want. Re-ordering dead stock Supplier mis-ships, mistakes, & DSD fraud Pricing errors; margin loss Often Buyers will order an item that looks to be low in inventory when, in fact, the item in question has been sitting on the shelf for months. This is a common mistake with manual counts. Because Catapult knows what is selling, it knows what to reorder. Quickly detect order discrepancies Automatically generate a Price & Cost Change worksheet based on supplier invoice and shipped quantity. Prices can be updated with the click of a button, taking into account your set margins. Updated shelf labels can be printed directly from this worksheet. Valuable resources are being wasted Managing multiple ordering platforms Low inventory turns Employees are your biggest resource. Use them to maximize your business instead of spending hours counting stock levels, writing orders, and calling in orders to suppliers. Reduce operational cost and hassle by consolidating all systems into one streamlined store automation platform By stocking the products your customers are buying, you will reduce inventory costs while improving inventory turns. Poor sales growth Increase bottom-line profits by keeping inventory costs down, improving supplier relationships, managing inventory efficiently and accurately, optimizing shelf space, and keeping customers from shopping with competitors. two

4 Catapult Inventory Management What are your options? We didn t want to continue ordering based on what managers thought was selling or what we felt customers would probably like. There was too much subjective personal influence over inventory items that were going on our shelves. Orders are now based on actual, objective sales data and forecasting. Fruitful Yield To build suggested orders through Catapult, users have four methods of replenishment available. These parameters include: Min/Max, Replacement, Maintain Constant Level, and ECRS s field proven proprietary DemandFill formula. Users can rely on one method or assign any combination of the above to specific items. Any of the aforementioned methods can also be used in conjunction with ECRS s mobile WebCAT hand held ordering system equipped with Order Assist technology. DemandFill - Intelligent demand-based ordering A powerful formulation based on years of trial-and-error and infield research, DemandFill is the most technologically advanced inventory auto-replenishment option available on the market today. This powerful, demand-based order generation tool calculates multiple data points such as historical, seasonal, current stock levels and realtime consumer-demand to produce the most accurate order possible each and every time. The advanced inventory replenishment method insures your customers will always find what they are looking for, while you maintain a lean, cost-effective inventory. ECRS customers who use this proprietary technology achieve the fastest and most dramatic bottom-line results. WebCATAPULT - Flexible Mobile Inventory and Pricing Management As part of the ECRS inventory management solutions suite, the go-anywhere WebCAT takes all of the inventory management functionality packed into Catapult and brings it to your fingertips via a compact, rugged hand held unit and intuitive web-based interface. With WebCAT technology you can Build Purchase Orders on-the-fly by scanning or auto-replenishment Get real-time feedback on each item, such as past sales history movement, and even advice on how much you should actually order, powered by the simple to use OrderAssist feature Perform spot price checks and change retail prices in real-time or in batch, depending on your preferred process and assigned authorization level. Make inventory adjustments and track each adjustment by reason Receive new items Perform physical inventory counts by item, department or the entire store. Automatically send orders directly to your suppliers from anywhere in the store via the ECRS Gateway system with no docking station or manual data transfer required. three

5 WebCAT is much more than a hand held ordering device. Prices can be updated on the mobile terminal and automatically pushed to the network server, all connected POS terminals, and back office workstations. Inventory adjustments are also quick and easy using WebCAT. Produce spoilage, broken items, or store use items can be removed from inventory in a matter of seconds, and accurately accounted for, in your store or HQ database. So, instead of remembering to remove that jar of spaghetti sauce broken on aisle six whenever you happen to make it to the back office, you can do it before leaving the floor. This ease-of-use and real-time accountability will help maintain accurate inventory counts across your enterprise. Scanned items can even be automatically associated to the correct supplier Purchase Order via Catapult s Auto-Default system. You simply scan the items you want to order, or review and accept a suggested order generated through Catapult Order Assist, and Catapult intelligently routes items to the correct vendor-specific Purchase Order. This functionality allows you to scan by department or aisle instead of by supplier. From this point, the order can be sent electronically through the ECRS Gateway directly to the supplier with the single click of a button. This works for both LogicSync enhanced distributors and non-logicsync directs. It is complete inventory and supply chain automation in the palm of your hand. OrderAssist - Suggested orders at your fingertips If you would like to implement a strategy of inventory management that utilizes both Catapult auto-replenishment functionality and inventory scanning with a Hand Held Terminal, then OrderAssist is the answer. Store employees can walk the floor, scan an item, press the Order Assist button located on the hand held device, and Catapult will build a suggested order based on pre-set parameters. The Buyer then chooses to accept, or not accept, the OrderAssist generated order. This functionality is based on customizable re-order methods including: Min/Max, Replenishment, Maintain Constant Level, and even the powerful DemandFill order forecasting system. Powerful Data Available whenever and wherever you need it Dash by Catapult A powerful executive dashboard, with go anywhere access, for the critical information that matters most four

6 Dash delivers a powerful, fast, high-level executive dashboard with on-the-fly drill down capability. ECRS s intuitive executive dashboard displays a variety of vital metrics, as configured by the user, with extensive comparative capability. Whether the user wants to compare specific stores, departments, or items, business intelligence comes alive with visually appealing graphs and charts, providing access to a retailer s most critical data in an easy-to-read format. This portable, web-based approach to enterprise management provides the power of ECRS s award-winning CATAPULT retail automation solution to run on a Tablet device, such as Apple ipad or Motorola Zoom. The new CATAPULT applications will also run from within all major Internet browsers, such as Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Apple Opera, and Google Chrome. 360 Degree View The 360 Degree View within the Catapult Inventory Maintenance allows you to see every way your on-hand quantities change without running multiple reports. With the click of a button, you gain insight into an item s receiving, sales, inventory adjustment, credit, inventory transfer, and current physical inventory information. This is displayed in one report using multiple tabs for each designator. ECRS Gateway The final piece in complete inventory automation We have 100+direct vendors, 85 of which are connected through ECRS Gateway. I add new vendors to the Gateway almost daily. Tunie s Natural Grocery & Supercenter LogicSync - powered ECRS Gateway connects your store(s) to each of your suppliers through a seamless communication network that keeps you updated every step of the way. How it works Once a Purchase Order worksheet is built within Catapult (using any of the methods mentioned above), the user clicks Submit and the order is electronically sent to the designated supplier. Orders can be submitted directly from the ECRS hand held terminal or a back office workstation. Because ECRS uses both LogicSync and non-logicsync technology to transmit and receive orders, orders can be electronically sent to any of your suppliers, no matter the vendor s size or technical ability. Once the supplier receives and confirms your order, you will receive an alerting you that the order has been received. Because we all receive so many s, many users elect to turn off the notification and simply track orders through the intuitive web-based ECRS Gateway dashboard. five

7 LogicSync Turbo-charged ordering & receiving For more advanced suppliers, LogicSync turbo-charges your business by communicating directly with the suppliers ordering systems, completely automating your receiving process and price management. Here s how it works: once the supplier s system receives your order, it will, depending on the supplier, immediately send an Order Acknowledgement, which is then displayed on the Gateway Dashboard. This means you can rest easy knowing your order was received and is being processed. Once the order is shipped, depending on the supplier, the supplier s system will then send a shipping notification, which is also displayed on the Gateway Dashboard. Best of all, the supplier s system will send an electronic invoice, which is used by the Gateway to automatically update the original Catapult Purchase Order, so you know what was actually shipped, and the price of each line item, before the delivery truck even arrives. At this point in the automated process, the magic really begins. The system will alert you to price and quantity discrepancies and can even be programmed to generate a Price and Cost Change worksheet, staging nearly all of the data input required to keep prices adjusted in line with changing cost conditions. All of this automation adds up to dramatic cuts in receiving time, insures your margins are maintained with accurate supplier costs, updates prices within the Catapult database, and alerts you to supplier error. ECRS Gateway, backed by LogicSync technology, is proven to save hours in ordering and receiving labor, prevents manual errors, improves communication with suppliers, provides reassurance through the order process, and insures inventory data is kept up-to-date in your point of sale. There is simply no other system like it. Order Transmitted through the ECRS Gateway to Supplier > Order Acknowledgement > Shipping Notification > Electronic Invoice > Original Catapult PO Updated from Invoice > Price & Cost Change Worksheet Generated ECRS Warehousing Multistore Demand Fulfillment System ECRS Multistore Demand Fulfillment (MDF) provides retailers with a powerful enterprise automation component that centralizes and synchronizes the vital processes in the demand fulfillment infrastructure. Whether you have ten stores or hundreds of stores, one warehouse or many, ECRS MDF leverages modern web technology and proven EDI standards to allow chain retailers to reduce labor overhead and operational complexities while simultaneously optimizing warehouse inventories and streamlining demand-related processes across the enterprise. Centralized & Decentralized Purchase Orders Warehouse Inventory Optimization Bin Management & Auto-Routing Powerful Data for Complete Situational Awareness Works in conjunction with ECRS Gateway six

8 Award-Winning Consulting and Service Getting your business where it needs to be We just finished up our on-site visit with an ECRS Consultant. In a word, the presentation was awesome! His retail roots, sensitivity to the needs of the client and his mastery of the CATAPULT software made the experience very productive and enjoyable. He has a great ability to read people and know whether their questions and concerns are getting addressed. He came prepared and armed with information, derived from our database, which allowed him to see where our weaknesses were and address those problems. - Majoria Drugs ECRS understands that taking on an inventory and internal process overhaul is no easy task. But if your data is not accurate and your employees are not on board, it simply will not work. To this end, ECRS has a variety of ways to assist you through this process and get you on track to achieving the results you expect. From pre-installation project management, to on-site consulting, award-winning customer support, and a variety of flexible training options, ECRS will be there to insure your success. #1 in Customer Service for Grocery Retailers RIS News Leaderboard 2011 Merchant Success Stories Bi-Rite Market It is much more reassuring when the order is generated by ECRS s DemandFill technology and transmitted to the vendor through the ECRS Gateway. You can see when the order is received by the supplier and you re alerted if there is an issue. It just gives you a secure feeling. DemandFill consistently provides a clean order, eliminating human error from manual entry or incorrect counts. When ordering from our main vendor, it used to take up to 4 hours, and we did it 3 times a week. Now it takes about minutes per order and that includes spot checking and review. Receiving is much easier because Gateway transfers the completed order information to the Catapult point of sale and a Price and Cost Change worksheet is generated based on the shipped order. It has also helped us easily detect no shows from vendors. We average about $200 in product no shows every week now we can easily detect those order and delivery discrepancies. Tunie s Natural Grocery & Vitamin Supercenter It cuts down the time spent managing inventory and vendors dramatically. Before ECRS, we were walking the floor and manually writing orders or using multiple hand held units supplied by the individual vendor. Direct orders were called in or faxed. With Catapult, orders are generated based on demand factors, and after approval, electronically transmitted to the supplier, even directs. For our LogicSync vendors, we also receive automatically generated Price and Cost change worksheets for new orders. Our inventory is updated with what shipped and prices updated based on our margins. This manages price updates more efficiently and takes significantly less time than manual entry. Before this system, ordering processes were a full-time job, 40+ hours a week. It is now down to about 10 hours a week. seven

9 Nature s Green Grocer Market & Café The ECRS system gives me time; time to spend with my family and time to focus on the things that seed new ideas and business growth. As business owners, time is our most valuable asset and is irreplaceable. Critical store processes are now automated, which opens the door to give new initiatives a chance, such as creative marketing to customers. If I m constantly occupied with tedious processes and mistake-fixing, I can t achieve my long-term business goals. I was blind to my inventory before implementing DemandFill replenishment and ECRS Gateway. It has provided me with control and insight to make smarter business decisions and better detect and explain discrepancies. It has almost eliminated human error and poor decision making influences. This doesn t happen overnight, but if you invest the time and effort to properly set up your system, it [the system] will love you for years. ECRS automation has already paid for itself through increased efficiencies, marketing, business analytics, and inventory accuracy. Lloyd s Pharmacy This system keeps out-of-stocks down, and it s a big help in keeping prices and margins correct. It is so much easier and faster; you just scan an item when the customer checks out, and it s there in the system with the correct price. Sunrise Natural Foods (Multi-Store) Using this system has made our inventory much more accurate with less time invested. Previously, for our main vendors we were spending hours a week ordering and that time has been reduced to about 20 minutes. It has also saved us a lot of time in receiving. It used to take at least one hour to receive a typical large order and now it takes only 5-10 minutes. Our sales were up 10% in 2011 compared to 2010 (even with increased competition) because we consistently had product in stock. I attribute this business growth directly to implementing this system and new processes. Kimberton Whole Foods (Multi-Store) Using auto-reorder in Supplements alone, we managed to reduce inventory by $60K company-wide, reduce out-of-stocks from 6-10% down to <=5%, and are currently experiencing 20% growth in this dept. I prefer to use DemandFill; but will occasionally use min-max. eight

10 Lee s Kar-Go Convenience Stores (Multi-Store) Lee s We would receive product weekly from a major chip and snack food brand. As the potato market fluctuated, so would the weight of each individual bag. When Kar-Go the potato market was good the weight would increase, when the market was bad, the weight would decrease. As determined by government regulations, the bar code for that product must change every time the weight fluctuates. This means that every time the bar code changed, we would have to enter it as a new item in the database. This was usually caught at the POS when the item was scanned and not recognized. The cashier or manager on duty would have to manually enter the item. This happened at least twelve times in one year with one type of chip. With the ECRS system, it s no longer an issue. The new bar code is entered and price updated automatically when the truck arrives and the product is scanned. It saves time, alleviates customer frustration and eliminates human error. Fruitful Yield (Multi-Store) Managing ten (10) stores with full-perpetual inventory is not easily achievable without Catapult and ECRS Gateway. Currently 70% of our inventory is ordered through ECRS Gateway from our two main suppliers. We were able to open a new store just from what we saved in inventory related costs since implementing this system. Young s Pharmacy After installing Catapult with ECRS Gateway, the reduction in inventory value was about 20%. This came out to be around $20,000 saved each year. It also saves us time and resources. We save an estimated 5 hours per week in ordering with this system, and it insures inventory accuracy even if someone is out. To learn more about ECRS enterprise automation solutions, please visit us at nine

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