Walgreens finds success in Operational Data Share

Sunnyvale, Calif. and Deerfield, Ill. More than 120 suppliers have signed up for the Walgreens Operational Data Share program since the the program was launched one year ago. The program was designed by Retail Solutions, a solution provider helping consumer goods companies create value from operational retailer data.

"We are delighted each time we see a supplier join our Operational Data Share program," said Becky Bly, manager of Walgreens vendor supply chain relations. "We clearly view this program as one of the cornerstones of our vendor collaboration initiatives and its adoption level demonstrates suppliers see the benefits as much as we do. Using daily point-of-sale and inventory data is fast becoming business-as-usual for both Walgreens category managers and their interlocutors at suppliers."

Walgreens officially unveiled its near-real time point-of-sale (POS) and inventory data sharing program on March 3, with the intent to roll it out widely across its supplier base. Retail Solutions is responsible for on-boarding suppliers, for providing them with access to Walgreens data in a user-friendly software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, and for training them on how they can best use the data to create value for both their organization and for Walgreens.