Migros Türk serious
about cooperation
Detailed data from the outlets for major suppliers - "30 per cent of
the trading volume B2B". By Björn Weber
The Turkish retailer Migros Türk, Istanbul, which belongs to the Turkish Roc
Group, organises not only its ordering and invoicing via its extranet but it's
major suppliers such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Henkel and SC
Johnson Way also receive detailed sales an inventory management information via
the system.
They are now also able to see the POS data from their competitors in the
system. This was introduced a month ago.
By the end of 2003, Migros
Türk T.A.S., Istanbul will be able to process 80 per cent of its volume via
its own extranet platform. "Some 500 suppliers will be tied in by
then," says Cihan Deniz Esassolak, IT manager at Migros Türk.
30 per cent of turnover is currently being dealt with via
"B2B.Migros.com.tr" which works with 150 suppliers.
USD 720,000 to be saved
The electronic data transfer alone, says Essassolak, will generate enormous savings.
USD 90,000 were saved last year through the electronic transfer of orders.
Esassolak is expecting savings of USD 720,000 in 2003 which will be achieved by
lower process costs in controlling.
Most of the company's B2B volue is currently generated by Unilever, Procter
& Gamble, Nestlé, Henkel and Johnson Wax.
These companies can see their own sales on the extranet, but now they can also
what there competitors are selling. The technology was installed last month.
"We are the only company to make this possible,"! says Orcun Onat,
marketing and strategy manager at Migros Türk.
Market leader at 8 per cent
Inventory information is available with only 24 hours delay. Some manufacturers
have been able to increase their turnover with Migros Türk by USD 3 million per
year, simply by ensuring that their products are always in stock.
Migros Türk, which has nothing to do with Migros in Switzerland, has a market
share of 8 per cent in Turkey, but is market leader and the country's biggest
food retailing multiple. About 70 per cent of food retailing in Turkey is not
organised. The company operates the 289 Sok discounter stores and the
supermarket chain Ramstore in Bulgaria and a few GUS states.
Investments in technology made early
Migros Türk invested in new technology at an early stage. It has been collating
checkout receipt information in a data warehouse since 1997.
Information about 75 per cent of the Group's turnover is collated in relation
to individual customers, said Onat, from 3.6 million Migros Club Cards.
The company will make this information available to its suppliers in the course
of the year for use in tailor-made marketing projects.
For instance, Gillette will then be able to choose a group of customers
according to their buying habits and then approach them individually, maybe by
offering them presents, from an in-store kiosk.
However, Onat said that information about individuals is not given directly to
the manufacturer, instead the manufacturer's information is given to Migros
Türk, which then feeds it into its own system.
Integration with XML technology
Migros Türk does not use the standard EDIfact to transfer data. "At the
time we were starting up the system, EDIfact was not yet adquate for our
needs," says Esassolak.
Neither is the ECR system spready widely enough in Turkey that domestic
suppliers are willing to go for the EDI standard.
Migros Türk is therefore feeding the manufacturer's order numbers into its own
system using XML technology and a SAP interface. EAN and UCC numbers are
thereby also being registered.
Feb 15, 2002
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