The company says that to drive better customer and business interactions, all manufacturers involved in the retail sector - and specifically food manufacturers - must first focus on solving their data synchronisation issues. Retail companies must continue to drive implementation of data standards and item registry to take costs out of the supply chain, improve collaboration among trading partners, and achieve the vision of a true Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN).
In a recent Forrester Research report entitled, "RFID: Icing On A Half-Baked Cake," Noha Tahomy states that companies that view RFID projects as the panacea for their lack of visibility will be disappointed with the outcome of their investments. Before any RFID deployment, companies must invest in data synchronization. Industries like hard-goods retailing are following the CPG industry's footsteps in data synchronisation - creating, maintaining, and broadcasting product information to trading partners.
In a survey conducted at QRS Retail Connect in March 2004, more than half of the 34 retail company respondents said they are evaluating or considering RFID projects - but a surprising 86 per cent said they have no budget allocated for such a project in 2004. In addition, a full 93 per cent listed data synchronization as 'important' or 'very important' to their current business.
"This data implies that while RFID is on everyone's mind, the market is still 12-18 months away from seeing traction in RFID initiatives," said Liz Fetter, President and CEO of QRS. "Before the RFID vision of better matching supply to demand can be realized, retailers and suppliers must first complete basic data synchronization initiatives. Lack of quality product data, or worse yet, the presence of bad data, costs money and makes a successful RFID strategy impossible."
"Today, retail manufacturers are faced with how to address data incompatibility problems while trying to move toward a shared vision of a GDSN," continued Fetter. "While RFID has great potential and should be on the minds of retailer executives, they will be much better served by improving the quality of their product data first."