Data Crunch Report - GS1 Australia

Cost Implications
of Bad Product Data
9
In order to understand the impact of bad product data,
GS1 Australia discussed the findings of the survey with
representatives of large retailers and suppliers. The
most likely cost implications of the data misalignment
highlighted in the study fall into three main groups:
1. Manual Workarounds 4%
2. Administrative Shrinkage 31%
3. Lost Consumer Sales 65%
Manual Workarounds
Invoice and Order Reconciliation
Any mismatch between the goods supplied and the original
purchase order significantly affects the supply chain. At the
very least, the goods are held up until the issue is resolved
leading to stores being out of stock.
Depending on the variations, the receiver of the goods
could return the goods entirely or, having made appropriate
investigations, re-issue the purchase order so it matches the
despatch advice. In some cases the truck will be kept waiting
while investigations take place, causing a ripple effect through
other suppliers and transport firms as strict delivery schedules
are pushed out.
If the goods are accepted, it can take months to reconcile the
differences, leading to payment delays, customers being put
on credit hold and finance issues.
It is estimated these issues will cost the Australian grocery
industry around $31 million over the next five years based
on current data inaccuracies.
At every stage of a product’s journey through the supply
chain, data is required to identify, process, handle, route and
re-route these items successfully. Manual workarounds may
be categorised into two major areas of cost implication:
1. Invoice and Order Reconciliation
2. Manual Data Entry and Workarounds
Manual Data Entry and Workarounds
The Australian grocery retail sector is a low-margin, high-volume
industry characterised by a relatively small market, large
distances and low-growth population. Retailers have focused
on taking costs out of their supply lines by taking greater
direct control of product movements and economies in
logistics.
Significant investments in technology such as bar coding,
electronic messaging and data synchronisation have helped
increase automation reducing manual handling and supply
chain costs significantly.
When these processes, which rely heavily on the underpinning
data, are subjected to inaccuracies, the whole system slows
down and becomes extremely inefficient.
When bar codes are keyed in, rather than scanned, when
messages fail because the item code is wrong, the price
differs from what was agreed or the carton quantities vary,
the supply chain ceases to operate properly.