Walmart Retail Link
Walmart Retail Link was introduced in 1991, when Wal-Mart built a system with help from General Electric that let suppliers see store-level sales and inventory data, among the first times a major retailer shared such data with vendors.
What happened and why it matters
Retail Link made point-of-sale data a shared tool between retailer and supplier, the basis of today's vendor-managed inventory and collaborative replenishment. Suppliers could log in to track how each item sold by store to plan production and replenishment. Walmart paired the data with EDI ordering, cross-docking distribution centers and strict vendor compliance rules. Brands that sell wholesale to big-box retailers still work this way: they monitor sell-through in retailer portals, respond to replenishment orders and face chargebacks when shipments break routing guides or arrive late.
People
Related events
Sources
- Data Asset in Action: Technology and the Rise of Wal-Mart (Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology) saylordotorg.github.io
- A new supply chain forged (Computerworld) computerworld.com