“When manufacturers, distributors and retailers don't have identical information it can lead to huge problems, delays and lost sales,” explains InfoBlueprint MD Bryn Davies. “Nowadays the process of getting goods from the manufacturer to the consumer is highly automated and it depends on accurate information about everything from product item codes and prices through to size, weight and handling instructions. An information breakdown anywhere in the chain can cause problems including damaged stock, out of stock situations and a massive amount of time lost in reprocessing orders and issuing credit notes.”
The PDC.za is a national initiative to avoid these problems by providing a single repository of product data for all those involved in the supply chain, from manufacturers through to retail store managers. The database has been designed to integrate with participants' internal systems, making data exchange as simple as possible. In future, it will also integrate with global product data catalogues, enabling trading partners around the world to synchronise their product data.
“Collaborative commerce and data synchronisation depend on high quality data,” says PDC.za manager Chris Havenga. “But too often attempts to work together are ruined by low quality data from systems that are not structured for easy data maintenance. We're pleased that InfoBlueprint will be able to help companies solve this problem.”
“Retailers like Pick n Pay, Shoprite and SPAR are getting serious about this and pushing their suppliers to use the PDC.za so they can trust the data they get,” says Davies. “But if the quality of the data from the suppliers is poor in the first place, the problems won't be solved. That puts the onus on them to get their data quality right.”
Davies says InfoBlueprint specialises in information management and data and is well placed to help suppliers solve data quality problems directly and affordably. “For small suppliers in particular the thought of implementing a data quality management programme can be scary, but there's no reason they can't make it work for them. Becoming established as a trusted data supplier can open many new market opportunities.”
