Retailers are turning to vendors for web-based supply chain solutions

There is an overwhelming movement among retailers to find their web-based supply chain solutions from outside vendors rather than develop them in-house, reports PricewaterhouseCoopers’ The State of Retail Technology 2001 study, released today at the Retail Systems 2001 show in Chicago.

The report shows that while the tendency to outsource is greatest in areas that are not core competencies for retailers, such as transportation, even such functions as demand planning and forecasting, merchandise allocation and store replenishment will be outsourced by 50% or more of retailers.

Among the findings:
--domestic transportation planning and management: 65% of retailers would outsource
--collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment: 63%
--warehouse management systems: 59%
--merchandise replenishment in the warehouse: 58%
--demand planning and forecasting: 58%
--merchandise allocation: 57%
--global transportation planning and management: 50%
--merchandise replenishment in the store: 48%
--import management: 41%
--product development: 36%

Retailers prefer vendor-developed products primarily because they want speedy solutions after not investing during the Y2K period, vendors are better able to create robust and scaleable solutions and protocols for data exchange over the Internet are gaining broader acceptance.