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Scan-Based Trading

Why You Should Not Start Scan-Based Trading by Yourself as a Retailer

Learn why consignment inventory software simplifies and optimizes your scan-based trading partnerships, so you can achieve faster, greater results.


At the tenet of the scan-based trading model is a buyer who is willing to give up control of their inventory. Done right, what's considered letting go of the reins of this invaluable asset has a host of benefits.

The first advantage is reduced risk since; as a buyer, you do not have to make upfront investments in inventory. Instead, you only pay for what you sell at the point of sale. Seeing as money isn't tied up in inventory, you can remove cash flow restrictions. Scan-based trading models allow retailers to raise retail sales and improve inventory management, without the risk.

Like with any contract, scan-based trading partnerships require strategic planning and often necessitate a third party to mediate the agreement. Understandably then, choosing which third-party consignment inventory software you should use to facilitate the program's execution can be daunting. While you might consider starting a scan-based trading agreement with one of your suppliers by yourself, here are a couple of reasons to reconsider.

Scan-Based Trading Agreements Require a Strong Supplier Data Partnership

Data synchronization is the foundation of every successful scan-based trading agreement. As a retailer, you are expected to provide your supplier with real-time, accurate data. This data provides your suppliers with visibility into sales patterns, stock level, and demand forecasting, which informs them on how they can meet  your inventory needs.

This is important because most suppliers will not have strong data analytics to guide their strategy unless you give them the tools. What's more, they might not have the systems in place to ensure security and confidentiality since they are dealing with sensitive data about your business. These factors make it necessary to bring on a third-party consignment inventory software to ensure an easy transition.

Scan-Based Trading Can Impact the Supply Chain

Let's consider a scenario whereby as a retailer, you end up dissatisfied with the supplier with whom you have entered a scan based trading  agreement. Alternatively, what if you end up finding a supplier that is more cost-effective or whose offerings are considerably better? Under a scan-based trading contract, you might not have the freedom to make the change.

As a retailer, you've got to anticipate both these scenarios and have a tool in place to help your business navigate either if they arise. Having consignment inventory software alleviates these challenges by ensuring that as a retailer, you maintain visibility of your supplier's performance and strategy. This way, it becomes easier to identify the success of the scan-based trading agreement, which should inform either the decision to expand or extend the contract, or end it at the earliest convenience.

How Third-Party Consignment Inventory Software Aligns Retailers with Their Suppliers

Strategic retailer-supplier alignment is essential to the success of scan-based trading partnerships. Steps in aligning this relationship include: 

  1. Automating POS and inventory data sharing
  2. Improving visibility into key data
  3. And facilitating easy communication between the two parties

That's where the third-party consignment inventory software comes in. iControl provides suppliers with real-time inventory, sales and trends data to inform their strategy, while helping you maintain visibility and keep your suppliers accountable. With this consistent and reliable exchange of information, your scan-based trading partnership will be able to accurately forecast and match demand with your inventory supply. And you'll have effortless oversight and little upkeep to do with automated scan-based trading payment capabilities. 

While you could consider initiating a scan-based trading agreement yourself, bringing us on as your partner of choice ensures that your scan-based trading agreement is facilitated with best practices. We deliver a strong supplier data partnership while helping you save time and costs. Our business model is centered on the idea that unreliable or bad data leads to bad business decisions and inefficient inventory management that could affect your profitability. 

Request a demo today and be on your way to automating payment, inventory and shrink reduction processes. 

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