RVCF Link: October 2022

June 2023

Join us at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa for our 23rd Annual Fall Conference. Book your Room and Register Now !

Learn more at our Fall Conference Info Session,
Wednesday, June 14th at 11:30 AM (Eastern)

From the Desk of Kim Zablocky ...

As I sit here writing this article it is 52 degrees. What happened to June? I remember fishing for snapper in a tee shirt in May here on Long Island. Yet October and November were both warmer last year than I remember as a kid.

Oh well, the world is changing and seems to be evolving ever faster these days.

I went on my iPhone the other day and found there are many AI apps. Chat this, GPT that, apps that search the internet, answers questions, write term papers, etc. Then I saw mentioned “In app purchases”. I wondered what that meant? Pay per term paper? I thought…this AI stuff is starting to permeate both the academic and business environments. So I can sit on my phone and decide whether to spend time writing this article or simply ask my new App to do it for me. As Andy Rooney once said, I guess I’ll go fishing!

But reality set in and I had to refocus on upcoming activities of the RVCF. We have a very busy agenda in the second half of 2023. We have many open forums for retailers, brands, EDI professionals, Business Guidelines explored, webinars to be announced shortly, and most importantly the RVCF Fall Conference.
The Conference agenda at-a-glance should be out shortly. These things take time, but we’re getting close with a few more sessions to be outlined.

I do have a request for our retail friends who have the desire to meet with their peers, meet with their key brand suppliers and or host a session ... reach out to me or Susan Haupt and we’ll be more than happy to walk you through the timeline and expectations. This is the perfect time of year to start the process.

~ Kim Zablocky

Articles

Retailer Post-Audit Deductions Demand Closer Attention ... By John Metzger, Chairman, Smyyth LLC.

New Members Spotlight

Fortessa Tableware Solutions | Funko | The Antigua Group

RVCF Notes & News

Open Forum Discussions

RVCF offers Open Forum video-conferences for peer to peer discussion and sharing of best practices. Minutes are maintained and distributed.

Recent discussions focused on the “Circular Business Model” including best practices for deploying without creating brand dilution and the benefits of focusing on Direct to Consumer vs. the traditional retail sales model?

Separate Retailer and Supplier sessions are open to RVCF Members only. The EDI and RFID specific sessions are open to anyone regardless of membership status. Pre-Registration is required - contact info@rvcf.com to learn more.

Business Process Guidelines Work Group

RVCF’s Business Process Guideline Work Group is comprised of business and technical associates from retailer, supplier and solution provider companies. The Group’s mission is to create and publish a set of Business Process Guidelines for Digital Communication & EDI.

We are working on the guide for “Error Prevention, Notification and Root Cause Analysis for Shipping and Receiving.” We are finished with the guideline itself, having resolved comments from the Work Group and we are now working on an Error Code Matrix. We would like to define and harmonize the terms we use when talking about ASN and barcode errors. The Error Code Matrix will provide a name for the error, description, general category, possible causes and fixes. We will look at correlating the error codes in the EDI 824 Application Advice. Since most ASN error notifications are sent via email, using the retailer’s own language for the error, we are hoping to create a cross-reference that allows the supplier to bucket like problems for root cause analysis. For instance, Retailer A calls it “this” and Retailer B calls it “that”, but it is essentially the same error, giving the supplier the opportunity to aggregate data and identify the most common errors.

Our next meeting is July 13^th at 2:00 eastern time. Participation is open to anyone regardless of membership status. Pre-Registration is required.

RFID Initiatives

Work continues a list of RFID Frequently Asked Questions specifically for Retail.   We are working with AIM, Inc. AIM is a resource for networking, education, advocacy and standards for Automatic Identification and Data Capture (barcodes and RFID). They work in concert with GS1, the International Standards Organization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to create AIDC standards. This first document is intended for those in business operations and talks about terms, concepts and basics. We have completed the FAQ and it is now with the AIM RFID Experts Group. Once approved we will post and distribute it. The next iteration of RFID FAQ’s will be more technical in nature and intended for use by solution providers to retail, and supplier, and retail personnel tasked with implementation and troubleshooting.

Our next RFID Open Forums for Retailers and Suppliers will take place in July. Pre-registration is required.

Fall Conference Update

The conference Agenda is in process and will be published soon.   Take advantage of our Early Bird Discount to save an additional $200 on registrations through 8/1.

By popular request we are hosting a second Fall Conference Information Session on Wednesday, 6/14 at 11:30 am to answer your questions and offer guidance on how to make the most of your conference experience. Pre-registration is required. Access instructions will be provided with your confirmation.

Considering a sponsorship? Contact kzablocky@rvcf.com for pricing and availability.

Compliance Clearinghouse News

The RVCF Compliance Clearinghouse monitors and reports on changes to retailer requirements via daily email alerts to our merchandise supplier members. Compliance Clearinghouse users can customize their monitoring portfolio to include only the retailers and types of changes more relevant for them.

Store listing changes were among the most frequently published this month along with updates to Routing Guides, Carton Guidelines, Social Compliance, Raw Materials and Product Testing Compliance.

The savings realized by avoiding a single deduction for any one of these updates will more that pay for the cost of membership. Schedule a call to learn how to put this platform to work for you.

Upcoming Events

2/22/2023 » 12/31/2023 - On-Demand, Online:Global Supply Chain 101 Self Study Educational Program in Partnership with Auburn University
6/8/2023 Retailer Open Forum Call
6/14/2023 Fall Conference Information Session
6/14/2023 EDI Open Forum Call
7/13/2023 Supplier Open Forum Call
7/13/2023 Retailer Open Forum Call
7/13/2023 Business Process Guidelines for Digital Communications / EDI Work Group
7/19/2023 RFID Open Forum (Retailers)
7/26/2023 RFID Open Forum (Merchandise Supplier Members)
11/5/2023 » 11/8/2023: 2023 RVCF Annual Fall Conference

CLICK HERE for Thought Leadership Resources

Idea for an article or white paper?

Show your industry expertise: If you have an article you would like to have considered for publication in a future RVCF LINK, please submit your idea or article here. Articles should be original, under 1,500 words, and submitted in Word Document format. RVCF reserves the right to accept or decline submissions and edit content.