By Sahir Anand, Aberdeen Group
Private-label and branded-good retailers, as well as their suppliers and trading partners, are struggling to enhance visibility and collaboration to ensure seamless product flow to the shelf. Fifty-five percent of retailers who participated in a 2009 Aberdeen study reported that late, inaccurate, or missing data from their suppliers led to delayed delivery times and out-of-stocks. Supply chain collaboration and business process integration initiatives with suppliers were the top strategies pursued by 46% of the retailers surveyed in Aberdeen's 2010 study of retail collaboration.