ECR – Efficient Consumer Response
"Working together to fulfil
consumer wishes better, faster and at less cost"
"ECR UK was established in 1996 and is managed by IGD. ECR UK provides industry leadership, education and guidance on key issues. In many cases the most contentious issues can affect the whole industry and cannot be resolved independently by either the supplier or retailer."
Major issues: OSA (On Shelf Availability) – "The last
50 yards"
Source:
ECR UK website.
To be able to fulfil consumer wishes, firstly there needs to be an absolute understanding of what drives the consumer. This is problem which has not been achieved – until now.
• Enhanced Consumer Driven Demand Forecasting
At the heart of the NAXIS System is that absolute understanding of the key drivers of consumer decision-making. Through this understanding the NAXIS System is able to forecast Consumer Driven Product Demand more accurately than has been achieved. An integral part of the NAXIS System is collaboration between suppliers through the supply chain to the retailer to ensure the right amount of the right product is in the right place at the right time.
• The last 50 yards
The NAXIS System Footfall Forecast enables retailers to more accurately predict customer numbers. By knowing expected customer numbers with a customer/staff ratio you can plan the right number of staff. Having the right number of staff along with a "priority pick list" devised from the NAXIS System Consumer Driven Demand Forecast, the problem of the “last 50 yds” can be solved.
CPFR – Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment.
A supply
chain initiative promising greater profits through improved efficiencies
and increased collaboration between trading partners.
What is planning and forecasting – the prediction of future developments, an estimation of what is likely to happen in the future.
Many have lost sight of what they are actually forecasting – most forecasters see material entities as the forecast product and use all sorts of analytical techniques to monitor the cause and effect of historical patterns to fulfil supply and demand.
In reality what we should be forecasting is consumer behaviour, to fulfil the desire of consumer demand. If you don’t fully understand what drives the decision-making of a consumer you will never accurately forecast consumer demand.
Once you can more accurately forecast consumer demand all functions of the supply chain must be involved – Collaboration. From production planning, production, supplier warehousing, distribution, retailer warehousing, retailer distribution and store operations, all must be involved with the same forecast to ensure maximum on shelf availability. The NAXIS System is based around full understanding and collaboration not just with the supplier and retailer but within all the departmental functions of the businesses.
Six-Sigma
Credit for coining the term "Six Sigma" goes to a Motorola engineer
named Bill Smith. (Incidentally, "Six Sigma" is a federally registered
trademark of Motorola).
The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement.
Key Concepts of Six Sigma
At its core, Six Sigma revolves around a few key concepts.
| Critical to Quality: | Attributes most important to the customer |
| Defect: | Failing to deliver what the customer wants |
| Process Capability: | What your process can deliver |
| Variation: | What the customer sees and feels |
| Stable Operations: | Ensuring consistent, predictable processes to improve what the customer sees and feels |
| Design for Six Sigma: | Designing to meet customer needs and process capability |
| Source: www.ge.com |
The NAXIS System was built without the knowledge of Six Sigma. The similarity of methodology is amazing; at the core of the NAXIS System is the consumer, we don't believe in averages, the consumer isn't average but unique. However the NAXIS System is based on an understanding of the consumer and the way the consumer feels which is unique.
At the heart of the NAXIS System is a methodology, process and analytical technique which incorporates all the missing components of ECR, CPFR and Six Sigma.
