Delighting the Indian consumer through GDSN

28 May 2005

Narendra Ambwani*, managing director, Johnson & Johnson India, and co-chairman, ECR India, outlines the benefits of global data synchronisation services.

When was the last time you looked around and marvelled at some of the everyday things? Things that by 'just working' enhance our quality of life or the performance of our businesses immeasurably. We're talking about the way water comes out of the tap every time you turn it on, or the way in which electric lighting illuminates everything we do at the flick of a switch. It would be unthinkable for these things not to function properly on demand, and we rightly take them for granted.

Data synchronisation with reference to the retail and FMCG industry can be regarded in precisely these terms. None of the infrastructure is visible to the end user, and yet it is one of those things that, when it 'works' (and, unlike electric lighting, this is by no means a certainty yet) it just makes businesses function better, faster and smarter together.

Data synchronisation is a global, internet-based business process whereby trading partners align and synchronise master data automatically and in real-time. It helps in exchanging accurate, up-to-date and standards-compliant supply chain information. In business terms, it can be as revolutionary as the light bulb. The simple idea behind data synchronisation is that the seamless sharing of information, enabled by technology, can create value and eliminate waste on a grand scale.

In India, a decision to launch 'global data synchronisation services' (GDSN) as an initiative by ECR India, an independent joint trade and industry body to promote the use of 'efficient consumer response' (ECR) techniques, was taken in April 2005. These techniques help remove unnecessary costs from the supply chain and are designed to make the FMCG sector, as a whole, more responsive to consumer demand.

The ECR movement in India was launched in October 1999 by J&J, HLL, P&G, Godrej, Nestle, PwC, TCIL, Food World and EAN India. The movement has since rapidly progressed to include over 36 companies.