Q:

Will I lose control of my inventory?

A:

No. A good VMI solution will provide:

• Continuous access to information, allowing regular monitoring of inventory details and measurement against objectives
• Reports and exception alerts that ensure any potential problems are recognized early so they can be collaboratively addressed and avoided

Q:

Will the supplier try to take advantage of us or put their goals above ours?

A:

No. A good VMI solution will be based on:

• Mutually agreed objectives, shared information, and continuous reporting that make the process highly transparent

Note that suppliers who enter into VMI recognize the need to maintain a high level of trust with their customers - a transparent system makes it clear to both parties if performance criteria is not being met.

Q:

Will the supplier's system really handle my needs?

A:

Yes - if they have the right VMI solution. A good VMI solution will be:

• Designed by VMI specialists
• Delivered and managed by professionals with many years of VMI experience
• Used every day at hundreds or even thousands of locations
• Refined over time to handle just about any customer environment effectively and efficiently

Q:

Will the supplier's system be reliable?

A:

Yes - if they have the right VMI solution. Reliability is a key requirement for successful VMI. A good VMI solution will be managed around the clock, with data center operations that include:

• High availability features such as: redundancy, fail-over, 24x7 systems management, and environmental considerations
• Technical and VMI specialists ready to address any problem that may arise
• Reliability metrics measured on a daily basis
• A well-documented disaster recovery plan that is tested regularly

Q:

Will VMI be expensive for us?

A:

No. With most VMI solutions:

• The supplier covers the cost of the service itself, so there is typically no on-going cost to the customer
• Some customers will have a one-time cost to configure their business system to exchange information with the VMI solution
• Depending on the method selected by the customer, there may or may not be a data transmission cost

Q:

Our business system is difficult to work with - will it be able to share the information required for VMI?

A:

Almost certainly. Your system just needs to be able to regularly create a product activity report. A good VMI solution will have:

• The flexibility to handle a wide variety of data formats and communication methodologies
• Existing examples of integration with different packaged and in-house developed business systems on a variety of computing platforms
• Implementers who will work with your software provider or IT personnel to identify the best way to create the required data flow between VMI and your particular business system

Q:

Will sensitive information like sales, usage, or inventory figures be kept confidential?

A:

Yes. Information like demand and inventory is required for effective VMI, but detail information about the end customer (e.g. sales price, address) is not. A good VMI solution provider will:

• Be committed to keeping customer information confidential
• Have a number of protections built into the service for that purpose