Special Report - September 2004

Riding the data synch river

How to manage disparate touch points on the back end of business with the smorgasbord of customer touch points available today, riding the rapids of data synchronization can seem like a tricky proposition. Sales, marketing, syndicated measurement, trade promotion and in-store promotions for instance, flow into the same data river. "Unfortunately, that data river turns into gushing rapids with little control after so many disparate touch points," says Tom Duffy, director of industry and business partnerships, TDLinx. To date, there have been a number of significant studies and reports that have documented the value of data synch as both a way to stem costs, drive efficiencies and get products to shelves faster. So what is the next step?

Kosin Huang, analyst for the Yankee Group, believes that the next logical data synch step resides within the back end of business, a segment that includes store location descriptions. "Once you clean up product info, then it makes sense to clean up store location info," says Huang. "Companies prioritize."

The Missing Link
Duffy obviously agrees with this notion, citing that an enormous amount of time and effort is spent trying to keep store location files accurate and up-to-date. "Managing the ever-changing retailer account hierarchies and supplier relationships is even more difficult," says Duffy. TDLinx allows companies to organize and manage their internal customer master file through the use of TDLinx data and TDLinx codes. In the "TD Channel Database," unique TDLinx Codes are assigned to every supermarket, mass merchandiser, drug, wholesale club, liquor, cigarette outlet, convenience store and category killer and at every level of the retail hierarchy -- account, buying office, grocery supplier, grocery distribution center, corporation and holding company. Once the customer file has been through the RetailSynch process and aligned with the TD Channel Database, the TDLinx Codes become the data organizer for reporting and the translator for data integration. With the TDLinx Codes as universal identifiers, manufacturers can integrate any other TDLinx-certified source of data or retail activity. Companies can communicate seamlessly within their own organizations, across divisions, departments, systems, within their data warehouse, and externally with service providers and trading partners. As part of the ongoing RetailSynch Process, the links are proofed, maintained and re-synchronized on a monthly basis.

The Front End Connection
Is there a direct correlation to back end data synch and front end, i.e. product info?
An obvious correlation exists, but it is not limited just to product information. "The right product at the right place at the right time is a key goal for any supply chain," says Duffy. "Manufacturer and retailer trading partners are striving to effectively market and distribute products to their consumers around the world. Efficiently managing and communicating the necessary business-to-business information about products and services to trading partners can be extremely difficult and complex."

The Location Information Management (LIM) module that TDLinx offers, enables capabilities to integrate the front end with the back end for data synch and advanced analytics such as trade promotion management. 

The Next Step
The early data synch adopters have pioneered the development and use of technology that can be used to enhance their legacy systems. Most companies have focused on understanding what data they first needed to pay attention to and then come up with a strategy to address the short comings of that data and the process of managing it. "Today the attention has turned to broadening beyond the use of the many solutions that have been designed and built to

address a wide range of critical business issues," says Duffy. "The next step in the process is to tap into and utilize the information to make business decisions." Beyond question, consistent, accurate and coded reference information in a systematic and repeatable process is a key enabler that gets products to shelves faster, a process that ultimately boosts retail relationships. Back end data synch is also the key to unlock future capabilities such as RFID.