Background

Integrated Business Communications Alliance (IBCA) is a network of companies that were assembled more than 25 years ago. IBCA has served a number of Supply Chains and numerous companies in the Industrial and Commercial industry sectors.

Initially, the focus was on improving efficiencies through the definition and implementation of industry standards and the use of automation to cut costs and increase corporate profits. This was accomplished by bringing the transactional benefits of bar code, RFID, electronic commerce, and other related technologies to their members.

More recently, there is a growing need to expand the original Standard Item Record (SIR) so that new product content can be added such as product photos, video clips, expanded product descriptions, and the use of mobile codes such as QR Code.

The Right Stuff - The Result of Trading partners Using Best Practices Supported By Standards

Supply Chain performance is measured in customer satisfaction based on getting the right products at the right price, to the right place at the right time. It takes a community and IBCA forms the community of trading partners to serve that purpose.

Getting it right requires informed managers to use best practices supported by knowledge about solutions that result from understanding concepts, the problems they can solve, the implementation issues and best practices to use with trading partners. BUT a solution must be set on a foundation of standards. IBCA provides the meeting place for trading partners to agree on best practices and then to adopt or develop and standards to support them.

The right product - People select products using media content including demo videos, friendly catalog descriptions, pictures and Mobile Apps including QR Codes – It also requires product identification - U.P.C. (Global Trade Item Numbers – GTIN). All this depends on suppliers and retailers communicating everything from media content to consumption and demand information. Reliable and real time information must be available for POS to support Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) to facilitate stock balancing and manufacturing build requirements.
The right price is beyond the unit cost and MSRP. Prices include costs associated with procurement as well as Distribution, logistics, handling and inventory carrying costs. This is the sum total of effective (CPFR). These systems must be supported by synchronization that use standards and technology to provide 100% timely and accurate inventory and product information.
The right place deals with Distribution, logistics and supply chain visibility to effectively balance stock and related costs. Communications networks, based on standards must be available to pass the necessary information between companies.
The right time is more than just fulfillment of replenishment orders. This includes bringing new items to market as well as replenishment and special orders. Timing is dependent upon the availability to synchronized and timely product information based on standards and communications. Moving items from dock to shelf stock quickly, depends on knowing what is, where and when. That relies on all forms of automatic identification technologies (Bar Code, RFID) which require industry compliant labels Product ID and shipment identification.