Collaboration essential for South African retail supply chains

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At the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa 2015 Summit, it was revealed that, faced with a range of country-specific challenges, South African retailers should collaborate to get maximum value from their supply chains.

The consensus at the summit was that South African retailers’ supply chains held back by high costs, non-optimal inventory, poor demand forecasting, and unreliable and volatile service levels.

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At the summit, Resolve Solution Partners strategic solutions lead Paul Dickson said: "South African retailers have the ability to optimise their competitive advantage, but currently bad forecasting makes for an unhappy customer experience. This has consequences for the brand, as well as the bottom line."

Collaboration, particularly on non-competitive issues within the supply chain, would allow companies to derive at least some kind of financial benefit, while not having to compromise on the spirit of competition.

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He added: "In the First World FMCG market, companies in the US grocery business, for example, are connected in one network. They can streamline aspects in the supply chain. They have invested a lot of money and their forecasting accuracy is about 70 percent or more."

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SOURCE: [BusinessDayLive]