Supply chain prowess trumps most requirements in gaining the retailers' adoration of your brand. 

This headline caught our eye - Macy's Buying Clout Drives Supplier Consolidation from the Wall Street Journal. And I quote, "The strategy favors vendors with the scale to supply the chain and the inventory-management technology to keep up with its whims. That has forced apparel vendors to consolidate."

"It turned our entire U.S. business around," Tommy Hilfiger said in an interview. PVH (parent of Hilfiger) thinks its sophisticated inventory management systems will allow it to wring more profitability out of Hilfiger's business with Macy's. So, it's just not about the retailer's profits. Suppliers win too!

And being the biggest is not the whole issue - being the best in supply chain is. Macy's Mr. Lundgren said, "...that being big, in and of itself, is not the answer." The key, he insists, is being big and responsive to Macy's needs. "If they are big and not performing, then they will become smaller." Sounds like a warning call!

What are the top applications that help suppliers win with retailers?

Demand Management and Replenishment

Inventory Management

EDI and Compliance Solutions

Needed but not well done: Channel Management

These may seem like old stories, but it is kind of like our promise to eat less and exercise more - how many of us of are really good at keeping those promises? But we know that if we want to keep Wal-Mart and Macy's selling our product, we had better heed the warning call.

To view other articles from this issue of the brief, click here.