Safeway Inc. and Unilever have completed one of the first demonstrations of global data synchronization between interoperable data pools run by Transora and the WorldWide Retail Exchange. According to the companies, this was the first time that product information has been synchronized between supply and demand side data pools.
Product information was successfully transferred from Unilever to its primary data synchronization engine, provided by Transora. It was then processed through the WWRE, Safeway's primary data exchange, directly to Safeway. The entire process utilized global data synchronization communication standards. The accuracy of this communication on the Safeway end was facilitated by its use of a collaborative product information management (CPIM) solution from Velosel Corp., which dynamically synchronized all of the messages, data, and processes involved in the four-way transfer described above.
"A crucial goal for Safeway is to be as flexible as possible when dealing with partners, while always maintaining focus on the Safeway shopper," said Roger Lekberg, senior vice president, supply chain for Safeway. "Through the successful completion of this project, Safeway and Unilever have demonstrated that by adopting industry standards, critical product information exchange between manufacturers and retailers can be achieved in a scalable and rapid manner. This rather complicated initiative was completed with a high level of accuracy, in cooperation with Unilever and our respective data pool and technology partners, and firmly establishes Safeway as a leader in the creation of mutually-beneficial and highly efficient supply chain relationships."
"We are very pleased to have collaborated with our valued trading partner, Safeway, in achieving this significant industry milestone," said Tom Barnhart, director of e-business for Unilever North America. "Unilever is committed to the [Global Commerce Initiative] Global Data Synchronization vision, and we view this project as an important step towards the realization of that vision. The establishment of interoperability between Safeway and Unilever through our respective data pools ... provides a firm foundation for electronic collaboration. This initiative demonstrates how leading retailers and suppliers working together can achieve mutually beneficial results through alignment with the Global Data Synchronization Network."
Ahold, Albertsons and Delhaize (Food Lion) also announced they would be using the WWRE as their data pool provider.
