The 3 Elements of a Successful Private Label Program

Globally sourced, private label products allow merchants to maximize margins while maintaining price points, ensuring a good return on investment. But sourcing product globally is complex. By focusing on visibility, intelligence and collaboration, retailers, brand owners and wholesalers who globally source private label products can ensure a successful return on investment.

Q: Today, globally sourced, private label product is being developed and sold by businesses of all sizes. What are the key elements of success for businesses to navigate the complexities of the global supply chain?

ASKIN: The current, challenging economic climate has underscored the value of globally sourced private label product for retailers, brand owners, and wholesalers. Globally sourced, private label products allow merchants to maximize margins, while maintaining price points, ensuring a good return on investment. 


Sourcing product globally is complex. Protecting brand, assuring quality, providing social and customs compliance, while managing trading partner relationships, are but a few areas where, if improperly managed, can spell disaster for the merchant. There are many critical elements that make for a successful, globally sourced, private label program; three stand out above all:

First is Visibility. Complex private label global supply chains, encompassing everything from pre-production through delivery, require aggregating data from many different sources. PLM solutions, ERP solutions, logistics providers, warehouse management systems, and others, each provide siloed data reflective of each solution’s focus. Aggregating this data with data integration tools into a single system of record provides a single version of the truth, 360 degree visibility of the global supply chain, and a data repository for analysis. Visibility of the complete global supply chain process is Critical Element #1 for businesses to navigate the complexities of the global supply chain.

Second is Intelligence. Successfully aggregating data from disparate data sources provides the foundation for private label, global sourcing analysis and analytics. Analysis includes tracking business process, calendaring, dash-boarding, alerts, what-if scenarios, and the ability to drive decision support from a homogenous, all-encompassing database. Leveraging advanced business intelligence tools provides the foundation for making educated business decisions and is Critical Element #2 for businesses to navigate the complexities of the global supply chain. 

Third is Collaboration. With the advent of Social Networking and Web 2.0 over the past several years, communication has moved to an entirely new level. Enterprise 2.0 is the use of these new collaboration technologies to improve business process and communication. Imagine the ability to text, email, video or audio conference, cam, or create unique content communities…utilizing the form and type of collaboration best suited to communicate with your trading partner. Imagine the ability to communicate in real-time, near-real-time, synchronously, asynchronously, or virtually any means short of physically shaking the hand of your global trading partner. Imagine all of that and being able to attach and archive those collaboration sessions to any transaction, purchase order, RFQ, or trading partner interaction for later retrieval. Enterprise 2.0 + Global Supply Chain Management = Enterprise Collaboration, Critical Element #3 for businesses to navigate the complexities of the global supply chain.  

Visibility, Intelligence, and Collaboration ensure a successful return on investment for retailers, brand owners, and wholesalers, who globally source private label products.  

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