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Athletic footwear and apparel retailer optimizes supply chain processes with online supplier catalog.

New York-based FootLocker, parent company of sporting goods retailers Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Locker, Champs Sports, and Footlocker.com/Eastbay, has implemented a new third-party, online universal product code (UPC) catalog service.

By selecting the hosted SPS Online Catalog from Minnesota-based SPS Commerce, the 3,600-unit FootLocker has been able to electronically integrate and automatically update UPC data from all its identified suppliers, specifically small to mid-sized enterprises. This has reduced UPC catalog expenses, as well as supported supplier transactions in North American store locations.

Implementation

FootLocker implemented its new UPC catalog service as follows:

• Q1 2001. Seeking to reduce UPC catalog expenses, the FootLocker re-evaluated its existing solution and began researching outsourced UPC catalog service providers that were capable of serving retailers with small to mid-sized suppliers.
• FootLocker met with SPS Commerce and detailed its needs. Specifically, the retailer needed catalog updates pushed in-house to allow its legacy item master to automatically link the UPCs with internal item numbers.
• Q2 2001. The retailer selected SPS's hosted B2B catalog service because the application met its requirements for third-party hosting and maintenance of UPC data, as well as those for electronic transfer of data to legacy systems.

FootLocker piloted the catalog and interfaced it with the in-house developed item master and purchase order systems. This allowed buyers and merchandisers to automatically link the UPC to its in-house item numbers. The retailer selected three key suppliers and tested the new catalog's functionality in a production environment and then against the retailer's previous catalog.

* Q3 2001. The SPS catalog was interfaced with the retailer's in-house-developed purchase order system and its Manhattan Associates warehouse management system. The catalog was also tied into the retailer's in-house-developed electronic data interchange (EDI) invoice and Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) solutions, as well as to its legacy POS system with built-in UPC capability. This allowed POS terminals to scan the UPC, and automatically cross-reference the code with internal product codes, thus improving the retailer's sales reporting, replenishment, and product flow. In addition, no goods required special ticketing.

During this quarter, the retailer also continued working with SPS Commerce to make its top 150 suppliers provide their UPC catalogs to the SPS catalog.

* Q4 2001. Additional suppliers will be added to the UPC catalog.

Technical Environment

FootLocker's UPC catalog service works with the following technology components:

• In-house-developed item master and purchase order systems running on an IBM OS/390 mainframe;
• An AS/200-based Manhattan Associates warehouse management system;
• SPS Commerce-hosted online catalog service running on Sun and Oracle;
• An in-house-developed POS system; and,
• A file transfer protocol (FTP) connection between FootLocker corporate systems and SPS Commerce headquarters.

Benefits

The hosted UPC catalog has eased sales reporting and replenishment. Also, the retailer is not required to re-ticket products, as the UPCs automatically cross-reference with internal product numbers. Other benefits include reduced inventory costs, less phone time for merchandisers and suppliers when tracking merchandise, and streamlined fulfillment by elimination of overstock, unnecessary re-ordering, and reduced freight costs. In addition, the retailer has leveraged its warehouse system by allowing for UPC-based tracking of a carton anywhere in a warehouse.

Future Plans

FootLocker is researching the possibility of sharing the catalog with European business locations, as several of its European stores buy products from US-based suppliers.

Takeaway

In order to reduce costs, FootLocker chose to outsource the catalog service to more efficiently integrate supply chain functions. At the same time, the company is able to access UPC data via the Web, and then download the information into its in-house systems.

Sources:

Bill Purnell, Project Manager, EDI, FootLocker, 3453 Simpson Ferry Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011 (717) 972-3118;
bpurnell@venatorgroup.com.

Eric Chaffee, Director, Marketing, 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 127, St. Paul, MN 55108 (651) 603-4200;
echaffee@spscommerce.com.

November 2001 Retail Systems Alert - www.retailsystems.com ©2001 MoonWatch Media Inc.