Transora, WWRE kill merger due to lack of retailer input, AMR says
A proposed merger between retail industry Internet exchanges Transora and WorldWide Retail Exchange was scuttled recently largely due to lack of participation from retailers, says Kara Romanow, analyst with AMR Research Inc. The merger plan had envisioned greater cooperation and less operating costs by combining the manufacturer-centric Transora and the retail-focused WWRE.
Romanow also notes that WWRE appears to be falling behind in providing multiple connections to industry data pools, which would enable its members to integrate their networks with those of groups of suppliers. For example, she says, WWRE member retailers who want to integrate with product data from Procter & Gamble Co. need to connect with Transora’s catalog, which they need to do directly instead of through WWRE.
The lack of integration with data pools, which synchronizes product information for retailers and manufacturers, Romanow adds, severely limits the ability of retailers and their suppliers to engage in collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment, which is supposed to be one of the key advantages of joining Internet exchanges. “If WWRE cannot meet a retailer’s needs, then the retailer should put political differences aside and consider Transora,” she says. “It’s free for retailers and most major suppliers already have data there.”
The WWRE, however, contends that it is moving ahead with integrating with data pools. For example, late last month it integrated with Germany-based SINFOS GmBH, a data pool used by about 1,000 European companies. Cindy Cruzado, director of worldwide item management for WWRE, says the speed of the WWRE’s integration with SINHOS will set a standard for future connections with other industry catalogs throughout the world. The WWRE has 63 members, suppliers as well as retailers, including Albertsons Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
Romanow, however, says the WWRE appears to be producing too little too late in terms of data synchronization. She adds that, by contrast, Transora is moving ahead by integrating with GlobalNetXchange, another retailer-centric exchange whose members include Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Michelin.
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