Foodstuffs announces launch of new national data management system (One Data)
Foodstuffs
Foodstuffs North Island Ltd and Foodstuffs South
Island Ltd are pleased to announce to the grocery industry the
launch of a national product information management project. Phil
Lemon, General Manager Merchandise, Foodstuffs South Island and
David Stewart, Chief Financial Officer and Acting General Manager
Merchandise, Foodstuffs North Island believe the project will
transform Foodstuffs' product information management processes.
"Traditionally, the Foodstuffs companies have
operated their regional activities independently. Project OneData
will create a single source of truth for product data across the
Foodstuffs group - nationwide. Although, the project will initially
require extra effort by Foodstuffs, our stores, and our vendors,
the long term pay off makes it worthwhile," says Lemon.
The project, One Data, will create a single system
and shared team which will be responsible for the companies'
national product information management. The team will ensure that
national product master data is clean, up to date, and fit for use
across the business. This will lead to;
- Consistent data
nationwide
- Improved order
accuracy
- Increased
visibility of vendor product range as all product data submitted
will be retained in the national catalogue
- Better
consumer insights for targeted marketing
- Support for
current and future initiatives
"As with any major change it is understandable that
there must also be changes to the business' processes," says Lemon.
"We are pleased to announce that we will no longer require vendors
to submit product changes and new products on the Universal Buying
Form (UBF) or Non-barcoded Buying Form (NBF) after 30 June 2016.
These documents will cease to exist for Foodstuffs and our
stores."
Instead there will be two options for vendors to keep
the business up to date with new products and changes to existing
products, these are;
1. Product Flow which is a service offered by GS1 that will
provide product information via the National Product Catalogue, as
well as barcode and image verification. This is the best option for
vendors who have barcoded products and make changes
regularly.
2. Data eXpress an interactive online form located within
Foodstuffs eXchange that will easily step vendors through the data
we require to list, purchase and sell products through the entire
Foodstuffs group. This option is best for vendors who have
non-barcoded products and/or hardly ever make changes to their
range.
Stewart points out that the sheer magnitude of this change is
significant for Foodstuffs. With over 100,000 products in the
combined catalogue, there will be a transition period to complete
the data merge and set up the new system with all of these
products. To assist this process, Foodstuffs will have a moratorium
on product and price changes during July 2016. The moratorium is
scheduled to run from 1 July 2016 - 25 July 2016. Price changes
should be submitted prior to the moratorium to ensure customers
receive any savings in time. After the moratorium, products and
changes will only be accepted if they have been submitted first via
Product Flow or Data eXpress.
Stewart is looking forward to the new system.
"Foodstuffs has a massive range of products, and we know that our
current maintenance process is not efficient. We are really looking
forward to the new national Product Information Management system
and having one team responsible that sets the data quality standard
for our business will give both us and our suppliers' massive
benefits in terms of consistency nationwide."
At this stage lead times to present new products and
changes will not change. But in the future, the new process is
expected to bring greater efficiencies and should allow for a
review of these requirements.
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