Initially, the companies relied on retail stores that not only proved cumbersome to reach; placing an order through mails or by phone was equally tasking. The brick and mortar system meant that only deliverables that had potentials for compensating the cost of delivery were transported to the clients. Few orders meant the customers had to trace the stores and pick their orders physically. This system only had the advantage of producers of pet products quoting prices that were not susceptible to manipulation by dealers to bargain about and therefore these bids would be posted to clients straight away.
Shipping was manually coordinated with little electronic activity only on reporting. The trend was office; both manufacturing and distribution relied on the setting and organization of the office. This is not the case anymore.
Transformation on the supply chains started with the introduction of point of sales and supply management programs like the Oracle Transportation management. Initially, on delivering an order, a client would come to confirm if the order could possibly fit on a truck. This proved inaccurate since costs were incurred for sending empty trucks to dispatch orders that proved to add cost to the deliverables.
This eyeball check was repealed with the introduction of the automated system. The system reduced costs previously incurred from freight expenses. The transformation needed a systematic approach in which orders through the internet would be translated into quantities that could then be transported at maximum carrying capacity of the trucks and shipments. Before this era, there was no visibility of how orders coming at different times could be amalgamated to fit into trucks and sent simultaneously. The systems enabled shipment of orders as they stop on the way to different delivery destinations. The use of IT not only served to provide a solution to handling of orders, it also integrated the aspect of transport and viable delivery.
Technologies that drove the transformation included the bar code and electronic commerce (EC). The electronic data interchange was particularly very instrumental. These are forms of communication that required a great deal of standardization.
The retailers are provided with product distribution information which should be given in time. The information is required as complete as possible and should conform to the information standards. This has created responsibility and a wide range of opportunities for the technological implementation. The most used of the supply chain systems are the bar codes, that standard forms and the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems. The latter is discussed into details since it brings the greatest conformity to EC.
Through EDI being interfaced into programs like oracle, planners are able to evaluate the orders that need full truck delivery. These ones are dealt with easily since they don’t need any analysis to maximize on delivery costs. For the half truck deliveries, opportunities are sought for cost reduction. This is done through verification of location and order types. Similar order types that qualify to be transported at the same and location qualify for the first delivery cost minimization. Those that don’t qualify are pushed forward, brought back earlier or struck out to a later order compliment. Shipping or transportation dates are then scheduled.
The requirements for shipping are then pushed over to carrier services that are tendered or internally arranged. These are affected by the shipment criteria. A tenders picking schedule having been put in place, the required information is sent to the warehouse management system that directs the picking, packing and lining the orders for transport. The system that works best here is load configuration systems such as provided by oracle.
The products database is managed within the system and understands the packing and shipment requirements for all the products. Products coded in the system of Global Trade Item Number (U.P.C) and labeled using the systems such as EAN.UCC standard criteria of numbering. Serial Shipping Container Code or any other standard and acceptable code of the destination territory is also encrypted on containers. Those on the shipping container provide a very unique identification of the box container. The printing of bar codes should be acceptable to the readers. The scanning technology should be able to interpret the barcodes and input it into the EDI system that verifies the content of the shipment. The failure to decode the information means that the system will fail or work poorly.
The chain as it is now involves transactions between the manufacturers, the distributors and a point of sale that acts as the outlet. The manufacturer may receive purchase orders either directly from the point of sale/ retailer or from a distributor. This is acknowledged and a manifest or invoices change hands. The distributor may respond by changing order, or sending an electronic fund transfer to procure the goods. The point of sale my also change or modify order, make adjustments in the order or acknowledge and send a payment through electronic transfer. This may also happen between the distributor and the point of sale as appropriately agreed in the transfer chain.
The systems have incorporated information and standards to reduce costs through lowering their inventory levels but with an increase in costs of procurement and handling. This is an intricate balancing act that has to be managed, nonetheless, because of the major reductions in specific costs incurred especially in processing of orders, transportation and delivery. There is increased web participation thanks to the EDI system. Major developments in the offing include freight payment and billing modules over the WebPages for most pet supplies that promise to cut even further, the cost of transport. Through this, the cost of marketing is likely to fall further since strategies to keep bidding low are already underway.
References
Doctors Foster and Smith. (2008). Web.
Pet Shed. (2008). Web.
PetSmart Store Support Group, Inc. (2008). Web.