Scan-based trading (SBT) is the process by which suppliers maintain ownership of inventory within retailers' warehouses or stores until items are scanned at the point of sale. Suppliers, such as manufacturers or farmers, own the product until it is purchased by the customer, with the store or venue then buying the product from the supplier and reselling it to the customer. Analysts in the grocery sector estimate scan-based trading accounted for $21 billion dollars in consumer goods purchased in the grocery industry alone in 2020, or nearly 3% of overall sales.[1]
Traditionally scan-based trading programs use electronic data interchange solutions as the key component to synchronize information on store locations (Organizational Structure 816), items (Price/Sales Catalog 832), daily sales (Product Activity Data 852), receivings (Receiving Advice 861), billings (Invoice 810) and payments (Remittance Advice 820) between a retailer and its Scan-Based Trading suppliers.
Pros and cons
In the magazine industry, the full implementation of SBT has been estimated to provide operational savings to the retailers and suppliers of $220 million per year.[2] SBT can lead to improved retailer relationships. The greatest competitive advantage for a supplier is increased collaboration and visibility in its retail-trading partner's organization, including reduced cost for sales staff to service retailers. By using the coordinated “bi-directional item information synchronization approach" inherent in SBT, suppliers have reported a 7% to 13% reduction in sales force time spent communicating basic item information to customers, following up, and resolving queries.[3] With partners agreeing on details like item, price, promotion and shrink at the onset of an SBT relationship, suppliers are able to better service accounts and reduce billing and invoice issues. The improved relationships also allow suppliers to use SBT as a competitive weapon to gain exclusivity at retailers. SBT suppliers are becoming increasingly aggressive in approaching retailers and offering to use SBT on all of their products in exchange for exclusivity in the retailer's stores.[citation needed]
Another benefit can be increased sales. SBT suppliers have estimated that their increase in sales by switching to a scan-based trading model is from 1% to 5%.[4] Despite what this industry- paid for study shows, sales are not increased by SBT. As long as sufficient product is in the store prior sales remain the same in newspapers. [citation needed]Actually given theft of the product due to non scanning sales will decrease when inventory is adjusted to reflect real sales, not just used product.
SBT may also cause improved visibility of product sales. As a part of SBT programs, suppliers receive sales by item by store by date. This information provides the supplier with an up-to-date view on the sales of product which is useful in sales forecasting and inventory management.
There is also a reduced cost of inventory. In the supply chain for supplier-merchandized product, retailers will experience a reduction in cost of inventory. With SBT, product deliveries are based on store inventory of individual items. There is a large reduction in product held in the supply chain (typically by suppliers agents/merchandisers/jobbers). It generally causes a reduction in non-sellable product: Suppliers use SBT to lower the costs associated with non-sellable products (i.e., discontinued, damaged, or out-of-code products that retailers return). SBT provides greater visibility into scan-sales data, allowing suppliers to better understand the demand chain so that they can anticipate and reduce obsolescence and improve overall profitability.
Another thing it may do is reduced time to market. SBT allows suppliers to put new products into retail outlets at no risk to the retailer, since the supplier continues to own the inventory until it is scanned at the point of sale. This allows the supplier to determine new item performance and adjust selection before wide-scale rollout. The result is increased selection of timely products which results in a better shopping experience for the consumer and increased sales for both the retailer and supplier because the "expert" on product, the supplier, who is in charge of inventory selection. On average, the time to roll out new CPG product is four weeks. Introducing new product with the “advanced” item synchronization business processes and the elimination of the item approval process inherent in scan-based trading reduces the time by at least one half.[3]
One disadvantage is the initial technological cost.[5] There may be some other disadvantages to scan- based trading, such as increased inventory shrinkage.[6] Also, employees have been known to take, steal consigner items for their own use, give them away, or even charge and keep[citation needed]; doing so can be thought to hurt their employer vendor's bottom line less than stealing vendor owned product. In addition, management could sell without scanning thereby realizing the revenue but with no cost therefore the entire sale goes directly to profit on the bottom line, but doing so is Embezzlement and can result in serious legal action and broken vendor relationships which dwarf the petty increase in revenue at the time of theft.
For retailers, the implementation of SBT has been seen as a goal as it saves money and improves customer satisfaction. There are some benefits for retailers switching to SBT:
There may be increased sales, typically driven by the supplier having more time in the store to merchandise its product, fill holes, and maintain plan-o-gram integrity. In addition, several retailers mentioned suppliers were able to make an additional stop at each store during the week to merchandise products and prevent out-of-stocks. Salmon and Associates reported that "a grocery retailer's sales increased in every product category it tested... Sales increases ranged from 1% to 5%, based on product category".[4] Schnuck Markets reported a 4% increase in sales for its SBT pilot.[7]
SBT can result in reduced invoice/order processing costs. Retailers have reported that the cost to process SBT suppliers is much less than "normal" suppliers as items, price, promotions, and allowance disputes are greatly reduced by pre-set agreements and the use of EDI to synchronize item information between suppliers and retailers. Schnuck Markets reported a nearly 70% reduction in invoice deductions with time spent resolving item and price discrepancies cut in half.[7]
There is a lowered cost of inventory; As SBT changes inventory ownership to the supplier, the retailer experiences a reduction in retailer-owned inventory.
Financial metrics may be improved too- once inventory levels were reduced, all financial metrics that incorporate inventory levels (such as working capital required, return on assets (RONA), and quick ratios) showed improvement: working capital can be reduced as much as 15%, RONA increased as much 4%, and the quick ratio increased as much as 7%.[4]
There can also be reduced stock outages. SBT forces the supplier to manage and merchandize its products to ensure that the right product is on the shelf at the right time or the supplier will see a loss of revenue. This provides a powerful incentive to reduce stock outages. As an example, during its SBT pilot, Rite-Aid realized a 32% decrease in out-of-stocks.[8]
Early history
In 1998, regional magazine and newspaper distributor Current News became one of the earliest distributors of magazines to offer scan-based trading to retailers. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) ran a test of the concept in 2000 with Schnuck Markets in St. Louis, Missouri, and Andronico's Market of Berkeley, California and a dozen suppliers. Sales went up 3% to 4% for the retailers and between 2.5% and 5.2% for suppliers. Mispricing of stock items were decreased by 70%.
Application to direct-store-delivered items
Scan-based trading is primarily applicable to products distributed through direct store delivery, commonly referred to as DSD. The most common application of scan-based trading to DSD products involves garden seeds, DVDs/Blu-ray Discs, newspapers and magazines. Nearly all newspapers and magazines are distributed to retailers by the DSD method of distribution. According to an analysis by one vendor,[9][bettersourceneeded] "most major retailers in the U.S. – including CVS, Safeway, Kroger Ahold’s divisions, A&P and its subsidiaries, Hess, Barnes & Noble and Rite Aid – conduct their newspaper business using the SBT model." According to Poff "Most [retailers] rely on a third-party partner to provide oversight.
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a hypermarket or big-box market. In everyday United States usage, however, "grocery store" is often used to mean "supermarket".
Inventory or stock refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation.
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt, as proof of transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.
A grocery store (AE), grocery shop (BE) or simply grocery is a foodservice retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries. In the UK, shops that sell food are distinguished as grocers or grocery shops
Discounts and allowances are reductions to a basic price of goods or services.
Accounts payable (AP) is money owed by a business to its suppliers shown as a liability on a company's balance sheet. It is distinct from notes payable liabilities, which are debts created by formal legal instrument documents. An accounts payable department's main responsibility is to process and review transactions between the company and its suppliers and to make sure that all outstanding invoices from their suppliers are approved, processed, and paid. The accounts payable process starts with collecting supply requirements from within the organization and seeking quotes from vendors for the items required. Once the deal is negotiated, purchase orders are prepared and sent. The goods delivered are inspected upon arrival and the invoice received is routed for approvals. Processing an invoice includes recording important data from the invoice and inputting it into the company's financial, or bookkeeping, system. After this is accomplished, the invoices must go through the company's respective business process in order to be paid.
Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is an inventory management practice in which a supplier of goods, usually the manufacturer, is responsible for optimizing the inventory held by a distributor.
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the order processing element, of the entire order fulfillment process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being demand driven. A distribution center can also be called a warehouse, a DC, a fulfillment center, a cross-dock facility, a bulk break center, and a package handling center. The name by which the distribution center is known is commonly based on the purpose of the operation. For example, a "retail distribution center" normally distributes goods to retail stores, an "order fulfillment center" commonly distributes goods directly to consumers, and a cross-dock facility stores little or no product but distributes goods to other destinations.
Retail loss prevention is a set of practices employed by retail companies to preserve profit. Loss prevention is mainly found within the retail sector but also can be found within other business environments.
Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property and retains full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, goods transfer, or putting something up for sale in a consignment store. The owner of the goods pays the third-party a portion of the sale for facilitating the sale. Consignors maintain the rights to their property until the item is sold or abandoned. Many consignment shops and online consignment platforms have a set time limit at which an item's availability for sale expires. Within the time of contract, reductions of the price are common to promote the sale of the item, but vary by the type of item sold.
Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that provide a mechanism for customers to complete their own transaction from a retailer without needing a traditional staffed checkout. When using SCOs, customers scan item barcodes before paying for their total shop without needing one-to-one staff assistance. Self-checkouts are used mainly in supermarkets, although they are not uncommon in department or convenience stores. Most self-checkout areas are supervised by at least one staff member, often assisting customers process transactions, correcting prices, or otherwise providing service.
Once the strategic plan is in place, retail managers turn to the more managerial aspects of planning. A retail mix is devised for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The retail marketing mix typically consists of six broad decision layers including product decisions, place decisions, promotion, price, personnel and presentation. The retail mix is loosely based on the marketing mix, but has been expanded and modified in line with the unique needs of the retail context. A number of scholars have argued for an expanded marketing, mix with the inclusion of two new Ps, namely, Personnel and Presentation since these contribute to the customer's unique retail experience and are the principal basis for retail differentiation. Yet other scholars argue that the Retail Format should be included. The modified retail marketing mix that is most commonly cited in textbooks is often called the 6 Ps of retailing.
A stockout, or out-of-stock (OOS) event is an event that causes inventory to be exhausted. While out-of-stocks can occur along the entire supply chain, the most visible kind are retail out-of-stocks in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Stockouts are the opposite of overstocks, where too much inventory is retained. A backorder is an order placed for an item which is out-of-stock and awaiting fulfillment.
Field inventory management, commonly known as inventory management, is the task of understanding the stock mix of a company and the handling of the different demands placed on that stock. The demands are influenced by both external and internal factors and are balanced by the creation of purchase order requests to keep supplies at a reasonable or prescribed level. Inventory management is important for every other business enterprise.
In marketing, carrying cost, carrying cost of inventory or holding cost refers to the total cost of holding inventory. This includes warehousing costs such as rent, utilities and salaries, financial costs such as opportunity cost, and inventory costs related to perishability, shrinkage, and insurance. Carrying cost also includes the opportunity cost of reduced responsiveness to customers' changing requirements, slowed introduction of improved items, and the inventory's value and direct expenses, since that money could be used for other purposes. When there are no transaction costs for shipment, carrying costs are minimized when no excess inventory is held at all, as in a just-in-time production system.
Invoice Processing : involves the handling of incoming invoices from arrival to payment. Invoices have many variations and types. In general, invoices are grouped into two types:
Merge-in-transit (MIT) is a distribution method in which several shipments from suppliers originating at different locations are consolidated into one final customer delivery. This removes the need for distribution warehouses in the supply chain, allowing customers to receive complete deliveries for their orders. Under a merge-in-transit system, merge points replace distribution warehouse. In today's global market, merge-in-transit is progressively being used in telecommunications and electronic industries. These industries are usually dynamic and flexible, in which products have been developed and changed rapidly.
Inventory management software is a software system for tracking inventory levels, orders, sales and deliveries. It can also be used in the manufacturing industry to create a work order, bill of materials and other production-related documents. Companies use inventory management software to avoid product overstock and outages. It is a tool for organizing inventory data that before was generally stored in hard-copy form or in spreadsheets.
DEX is a format for collecting audit and event data from vending machines.
Supply chain financing is a form of financial transaction wherein a third party facilitates an exchange by financing the supplier on the customer's behalf. The term also refers to practices used by banks and other financial institutions to manage capital invested into the supply chain and reduce risk for the parties involved.
1 2 A.T. Kearney, Data Synchronization Proof of Concept: Case Studies from Leading Manufacturers and Retailers.
1 2 3 Kurt Salmon and Associates, Secrets to Developing a Successful Scan-Based Trading Program, Fall 2004.
↑ IControl. "What Wikipedia Can't Tell You About Scan-Based Trading." THE ICONTROL BLOG, 16 Nov. 2016, www.icontroldata.net/blog/what-wikipedia-cant-tell-you-about-scan-based-trading#:~:text=There%20are%20few%20disadvantages%20inherent,the%20efficiency%20of%20the%20model.
↑ Choi, Min. Moral Hazard, Power, and Risk Sharing in Scan-Based Trading . Arizona State University, Aug. 2016, repository.asu.edu/attachments/175020/content/Choi_asu_0010E_16291.pdf.
1 2 eCollaboration Standards – Benefiting from the EAN.UCC System
↑ The Benefits of Scan-Based Trading by Line 56 – April 4, 2005
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