EDI changes retailer/wholesaler relationship

AINCE the introduction of com9 outers to the lumber and building materials industry about l0 years ago, automation at the retail level has taken off. Today, over 5006 of the retailers have automated business operations.

Now, telecommunications is the latest change in the way retailers conduct business with wholesalers.

Telecommunications is the ability for two parties to communicate electronically via computers, a modem and/or telephone lines.

For the lumber and building material retailer this includes the ability to transmit purchase orders and receive price changes, promotion pricing, order confirmations and file maintenance information from wholesalers like Central Builders Supplies Co., Cotter & Co., HWl, Ace and ServiStar. Over 1600 of their members are using telecommunications in daily operations.

Tim Ritchie of Scarborough Lumber, Scotts Valley, Ca., has been using telecommunications for over a year to communicate purchase orders and price changes. According to Ritchie, this saves a lot of time. "lt's even faster than with the Telxon unit we used to use." he said. Because he bases his orders on the levels suggested by his system, he improves his ordering accuracy by eliminating keypunch errors. "All I have to do is accept or reject the line items on the purchase order generated by the system and push one key to send the order across," he explained.

Ritchie also communicates price changes via telecommunications. Whenever he decides to change the price on an item,he sends the changes via computer to Ace which updates his prices for his next shipment.

At Rancho Ace Hardware and Nursery in Los Altos, (1a., owner Troy Underwood has been taking advantage of telecommunications for over two years.

"When I started using P.O. transmission. I couldn't believe the effect it had on my productivity," he said, "but once I started receiving price changes, it just got better." Underwood receives price changes dailY from Ace. When he gets in at 8 a.m. the changes are already in his system and by 9 o'clock all the products are repriced and on the shelves.

In Eugene, Or., Stephanie Risbrough, inventory manager for Jerry's Building Material Center, finds electronic purchase order transmission saves almost four weeks per year. "ln the old days, I used to print out the purchase order, key in the information to the Telxon unit and then transmit the order to Ace," she explained. "Using the electronic P.O. transmission eliminates all that work." Risbrough also receives price changes or "Hot Sheets" electronically.

A fourth west coast retail oPeration taking advantage of telecommunications is Silvera Lumber and Home lmprovement Center in Antioch, Ca. Linda Brown, who conducts most of the transactions with Cotter & Co., said that since she has been able to communicate electronically "my purchasing is laster and more accurate. "

"Now, before I send an order across, the system prints out a coPY and lists the items in numerical order by SKU number, with a description of each," explained Linda.

Story at a Glance

How electronic communication gives a dealer a comPetitive edge. retailers praise sYstems for increased productivity, accuracy and speed in transactions with wholesalers.