COLLABORATIVE COMMERCE

Creating a collaborative network of trade partners is key to strong business growth, according to a new study by Deloitte Consulting.

Companies are undergoing a shift in the way they compete, increasingly tying their competitive advantage to a "dynamic ecosystem" of trade partners, says the report put out by New York-based Deloitte. A survey of 300 business leaders shows that sharing decision making, workflow and data boost business more than 70%.

"Collaborative commerce has enabled companies to dramatically improve the way they manage their cross-enterprise, value chain processes," says John Ferreira, a partner at Deloitte Consulting. "The successful integration of business processes and information systems of different companies provided companies with a substantial competitive advantage -- these companies are seeing better profits, better revenue growth, greater market share and better return to investors."

Collaborative commerce is gaining increasing acceptance & an important example of it is stated below:

In the US about 50 FMCG companies that include Procter & Gamble, Levers, Nestle, Coke, Pepsi: - biggest names in the FMCG industry have got together and have invested in an exchange.This exchange is a separate company by itself.Several of these companies have a stake in this exchange.The company is called TRANSORA which is a neutral market place not only for the manufactures but it extends across the entire supply chain to suppliers, to dealers and customers.TRANSORA is looking at end-to-end Supply Chain market place.PROCTER & GAMBLE has an active participation in TRANSORA.TRANSORA has active operations in North America and Western Europe and has started signing up companies in Asia

Collaborative Commerce enables retailers, suppliers, and distributors to share information with one another in a standard business language, benefiting all members of the supply chain. This initiative includes the processes, technologies, and supporting standards that allow continuous and automated communication of electronic information between trading partners.

In today’s global commerce environment, the need for accurate, standards-based information is critical for conducting business efficiently. By standardizing the way information is communicated, and by having all trading partners accessing the same information, the opportunity for errors decreases dramatically, costs are reduced, and supply chains operate more efficiently.

Collaborative Commerce is based on the GS1 System — a suite of integrated supply chain standards. The GS1 System is accepted worldwide, accommodating the needs of all trading partners within the global trade community. The standards allow for products, services, and raw materials to be sourced and sold anywhere in the world.