Integrated supply chain management and B2B e-commerce practices in Australia - a retailers perspective in implementing the EAN system

The efficient management of the supply chain has become a major issue for retailers, driven by the need to be responsive and cost effective in the context of changing business rules and facilitated by a dynamic technological environment. Mass merchants have been actively promoting the use of standard numbering, bar codes and EDI across their supplier base to facilitate these practices and are beginning to venture into the "brave new world" of internet trading. This paper focuses on the position of the mass merchant in the retail supply chain. As the result of a case study conducted in a major Australian retail conglomerate, it is apparent that there are both challenges and opportunities for companies trying to promote improvement in supply chain processes. Small suppliers often struggle to comply with basic requirements for electronic trading and at times struggle to see the full potential of implementation of integrated supply chain management techniques. For the retailer, buyer involvement, computer literacy and the need to find new ways of measuring "true channel cost" are issues that require attention for a system based on integration and cooperation to flourish. Though the benefits of using new technology for the further integration of supply chains are known and understood by retailers, there are significant organisational issues that need to be addressed. The implication is that the promotion of an integrated supply chain management methodology backward along a retail supply chain creates the need for change in both the retailers' and suppliers' systems.