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Background
Integrated
Business Communications Alliance (IBCA) is a network of
companies that were assembled more than 25 years ago. IBCA
has served a number of Supply Chains and numerous companies
in the Industrial and Commercial industry sectors.
Initially, the focus was on improving efficiencies through
the definition and implementation of industry standards and
the use of automation to cut costs and increase corporate
profits. This was accomplished by bringing the transactional
benefits of bar code, RFID, electronic commerce, and other
related technologies to their members.
More recently, there is a growing need to expand the
original Standard Item Record (SIR) so that new product
content can be added such as product photos, video clips,
expanded product descriptions, and the use of mobile codes
such as QR Code.
The
Right Stuff - The Result of Trading partners Using Best
Practices Supported By Standards
Supply
Chain performance is measured in customer satisfaction based
on getting the right products at the right price, to the
right place at the right time. It takes a community and IBCA
forms the community of trading partners to serve that
purpose.
Getting it
right requires informed managers to use best practices
supported by knowledge about solutions that result from
understanding concepts, the problems they can solve, the
implementation issues and best practices to use with trading
partners. BUT a solution must be set on a foundation of
standards. IBCA provides the meeting place for trading
partners to agree on best practices and then to adopt or
develop and standards to support them.
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The right
product - People select products using media content
including demo videos, friendly catalog descriptions,
pictures and Mobile Apps including QR Codes – It also
requires product identification - U.P.C. (Global Trade
Item Numbers – GTIN). All this depends on suppliers and
retailers communicating everything from media content to
consumption and demand information. Reliable and real
time information must be available for POS to support
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)
to facilitate stock balancing and manufacturing build
requirements.
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The
right price is beyond the unit cost and MSRP. Prices
include costs associated with procurement as well as
Distribution, logistics, handling and inventory carrying
costs. This is the sum total of effective (CPFR). These
systems must be supported by synchronization that use
standards and technology to provide 100% timely and
accurate inventory and product information.
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The
right place deals with Distribution, logistics and
supply chain visibility to effectively balance stock and
related costs. Communications networks, based on
standards must be available to pass the necessary
information between companies.
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The
right time is more than just fulfillment of
replenishment orders. This includes bringing new items
to market as well as replenishment and special orders.
Timing is dependent upon the availability to
synchronized and timely product information based on
standards and communications. Moving items from dock to
shelf stock quickly, depends on knowing what is, where
and when. That relies on all forms of automatic
identification technologies (Bar Code, RFID) which
require industry compliant labels Product ID and
shipment identification.
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