Embrace Collaboration Best Practices to Achieve Supply Chain Excellence, Says Manthan Systems

LONDON, September 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

In its recent feature, 'Supplier Collaboration Portals - Doing it the Right Way', the award winning Retail solutions provider concludes that supply chain efficiency is a critical requirement for superior performance in the fiercely competitive retail industry  

In a highly competitive retail environment, effective supply chain management requires much more than streamlining inventory and eliminating excess costs.  Retailers need to focus on supplier collaboration to transform their supply chains into competitive advantage, says Manthan Systems, leading provider of retail solutions in its recent feature, 'Supplier Collaboration Portals - Doing it the Right Way'.

Investments in the right kind of collaboration technologies and leveraging analytics to best advantage will help retailers stay clear of usual collaboration pitfalls and get supply chain strategies on track with the best in the business, according to Manthan.

Says Atul Jalan, CEO, Manthan Systems; "Well-known and established retailers are making significant headway with demand-driven value networks and superior collaboration technologies. However, for the vast majority of retailers, supply chain management has remained a challenge and efforts in this direction have met with limited success."

Citing evidence of the increasing gaps in supply chain management strategies, Gartner's recent survey shows that only 15% retailers having supplier management processes aligned with business objectives. As few as 25% retailers have established electronic communication channels with their comprehensive supplier base.

Manthan attributes these facts to the departmentalized approach to collaboration in most retail organizations. Supplier technologies in use lack enterprise-wide vision and data integration across the sourcing lifecycle and offer no analytic capabilities.

"Retailers will have to transition to demand-driven supplier networks and pervasive collaborative models at every level in the procurement lifecycle," says Hiren Doshi, SVP & Product Head at Manthan. "This means listening more actively to customers and collaborating more closely with suppliers."

Walmart, the global retail leader known for its superior supply chain strategy, has made a significant move towards analytics-driven supplier collaboration with the setting up of an internal Global Consumer Insights division.  The new division will spot trends across product categories and customers and help Walmart channel these insights back to its supplier base. Other top retailers such as Kroger, Tesco and Best Buy have also established similar internal Consumer Insight groups that will facilitate greater customer insights and collaboration with supplier networks.

"Strong analytical capabilities are at the core of most such collaboration strategies," emphasizes Doshi. "Advanced, integrated portals, rooted in supply chain best practices, help retailers build ?exible, deliver-on-demand supplier networks."

For more information on fine-tuning supplier collaboration efforts to organization goals, download the special feature 'Supplier Collaboration Portals - Doing it the Right Way' at http://www.manthansystems.com/spa.

About Manthan Systems

Manthan Systems produces cutting edge solutions for global retail and CPG organizations. Manthan's award winning products span a wide range of retail segments and formats, having transformed decision making for some of the biggest names in retail across the globe. For more information, visit http://www.manthansystems.com.