By Bill Bittner, President, BWH Consulting
The first day of the Uconnect 2007 Conference in Orlando, FL was dedicated to in-depth discussion and training on the various technologies and business practices that enable companies to thrive in the 21st century. While much of the discussion is oriented toward technology and how to make it work, Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS) is a refreshing combination of practical business approach supported by the technology necessary to implement it.
VICS emphasizes a perspective of the supplier-manufacturer-retailer relationship that defines standard business processes which enable all the players to contribute. Shared forecasting and event planning techniques lead to collaborative store level execution. By agreeing on how they will work together, making plans for exception handling, and improving visibility through technical integration, VICS participants are able to minimize their operating costs and maximize revenues.
Much of the challenge with business integration has involved people, not technology. It has been difficult to convince traditional adversaries that they can all benefit from cooperation. But two factors are coming together at this time to make the benefits of cooperation clear.
First, transportation costs are making everyone sensitive to the wastefulness of "empty miles". Suppliers, manufacturers and retailers are all feeling the impact of higher energy costs on their transportation budgets. An easy way to reduce transportation costs is to capture some revenue against the trips needed to reposition equipment. This has led businesses to use many of the VICS initiatives on transportation planning as a way to better allocate their resources and reduce the empty miles.
At the same time, the internet is ready to expand into network-based services. This makes online applications that are hosted by independent service providers available for integrating business processes across company borders. Service Oriented Architecture supports the development of business processes that can be offered on a subscription basis.
Discussion Questions: Can companies get over their traditional suspicions and collaborate to reduce high transportation costs? Will new web-based technologies make overall collaboration easier?
[Author's commentary] I think this is a perfect time for greater cooperation across the supply chain. Rising transportation costs will make individual companies willing to share loads and improve back haul utilization. Ultimately, this will lead to more service oriented technology solutions that support communities of users collaborating on common needs. VICS will finally get the participation it really deserves.