Woolworths Woolworths Vendor Capability News Issue # 7, July 2011

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1 Woolworths Woolworths Vendor Capability News Issue # 7, July 2011 Shelf Ready Packaging Shelf Ready Packaging (a.k.a Shelf Friendly Packaging) is making a resurgence in Australian retailing, with many manufacturers and retailers looking to implement packaging that transforms quickly and easily into a merchandising display unit. Woolworths is supportive of well-implemented SRP/SFP initiatives that deliver clear benefits at store level, but it s absolutely essential that those packs are still robust enough to reach the store in the first place. Conveyability through the supply chain is an integral factor when evaluating trade unit design, and a pack cannot simply be made easy to open at the expense of stability and safety. To ensure that proposed new packaging will meet our DC s requirements, a Vendor Capability team member - Mike Paa - has responsibility for inspecting and evaluating all new Shelf-Ready Packaging, any New Lines and any Range Extensions. Mike will examine the suitability of the carton itself, the impact of perforations, it s ability to withstand the Woolworths supply chain etc, and he will also verify that the trade unit meets standards for barcoding, labelling and product declarations. SRP with easy open tab and perforations Please contact Mike to arrange an inspection, to ensure that your new pack will flow safely and efficiently through our DC network and out to our customers at store level. mpaa@woolworths.com.au or Phone: (02) Trade Partner Training MLDC Tour MLDC Training Room Receiving Office Our Woolworths Vendor Capability Training Series sessions continue to grow in popularity and are a great way to learn more about Pallet Labelling, Pallet Stabilisation, Pallet Quality, Trade Units, Barcoding, GS1 & wowlink. The full-capacity May sessions that we mentioned in our last newsletter were very well received, and the July 14th sessions - in both Sydney and Melbourne - are now fully booked also. If you haven t yet attended one of these sessions, or you have Operations/Logistics/Production team members who would benefit from this training, make sure you book your place at the next opportunity. Upcoming training sessions are announced on the wowlink site and bookings can be made via the same wowlink interface. We look forward to seeing you there!

2 Val Richardson Vendor Capability is pleased to welcome Val Richardson to the team. Val will be working as a Merchandise Logistics Coordinator - based out of our Brisbane RDC in Larapinta - and will be responsible for site audits, training & DC support throughout the state. This is the first time that a dedicated Vendor Capability resource has been available for Queensland DC s and trade partners, and we re sure that Val will provide excellent support in these areas. Val has a great deal of experience in retail administration and replenishment, starting out as a costing clerk in Having worked for Woolworths in many different roles, Val has spent the past 15 years in Replenishment, so she ll be a familiar name for many trade partners. Brisbane RDC Val can be contacted on (07) , or or vrichardson@woolworths.com.au GS1 Australia Education & Training GS1 Australia conduct regular education and training days. The training covers barcoding, allocation of GTIN s, use of GTIN s at all levels of packaging, achieving quality barcodes, logistics labels and more. The GS1 training sessions emphasise active engagement, interactivity with the material presented and hands-on participation, therefore attendees are able to obtain practical experience in the application of GS1 standards. Sessions are held in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane, with forthcoming sessions scheduled as follows: Melbourne: Sydney: Brisbane: June 16th, July 26th, August 18th June 21st, July 19th, August 23rd July 21st Melbourne Offices For more information and easy online registration, head to:

3 Melbourne NDC Following a major recent upgrade, Melbourne National DC (MNDC) now utilises trade unit GTIN barcodes for all sortation of store orders. Products are batch picked to a series of conveyors, then pass through a scanner array that reads the carton barcode and identifies the product, directing the carton to be sent down the appropriate chute for a store requiring that product. MNDC & Vendor Capability have been working with vendors to ensure that products with GTIN issues (eg. no GTINs, incorrect or insufficient GTIN s, poor quality printing) are identified, and that the issues are addressed promptly. We have had a great response from most vendors so far, and GTIN compliance has significantly improved in the past few months: thank you! There is more work to be done, however, and we ask that you move quickly to remedy any GTIN problems within your business. Remember: without a valid, scannable GTIN barcode, the system cannot send your product to the right store. Top Loading Double-stacking of pallets is a very common practice when transporting FMCG product, in order to maximise cube utilisation. Likewise, as our DCʼs are receiving thousands of pallets each day, it is common to double-stack pallets in order to maximise floor space and to minimise congestion on Receiving docks. If your product is such that pallets must not be double-stacked, we encourage you to clearly indicate this through the use of ʻTop Load Onlyʼ labels, affixed prominently to all relevant pallets. This way, we can help ensure that your products are transported and stored safely and can reach our stores in the best possible condition. (Above) MNDC GTIN Scanner Array (Below) MNDC Sortation

4 Know Your Trade Units Continuing on from our last two newsletters, we re featuring different types of packaging and barcoding types to increase understanding of Woolworths requirements for Trade Units. Print & Apply In the last two newsletters, we covered the requirements for cartons made from Kraft Board or Brown Corrugate and also the requirements for cartons made from White-lined board: in those cases, barcodes and product/vendor details were printed directly onto the carton itself. Here we ll review what s needed when cartons utilise Print & Apply labels in place of - or in addition to - direct printing onto the carton. Examples: Blank carton, so label carries all information Print & Apply labels can be used to supply ALL of the information on a carton (as per the example to the left, where the carton is otherwise completely blank) or may be used in combination with a generic pre-printed carton to denote the specific variant - and other variable information - of the product inside that pack (as per the examples below). Generic Information Generic Information Specific Information Specific Information One benefit of barcoded labels is that they can generally achieve a higher ISO grade, better symbol contrast and better overall decodability than barcodes printed directly onto cardboard. Two risks, however, are that label print quality and/or label application will deteriorate over successive production runs. It s important to have a maintenance program in place for both your label printers and label applicators, and to perform a pre-despatch check of your carton labelling. The following page lists our requirements when using Print & Apply labels on your product...

5 Know Your Trade Units Minimum Requirements for Trade Units Using Print & Apply Labels: GTINs (barcodes) Brand & Product Description Flavour or Variant Quantity of Consumer Units Within Consumer Units Size Gross Weight or Total Weight Rounded up to nearest 250g Use By/Best Before Date If printed on the Consumer Unit Batch Code or Production Date If printed on the Consumer Unit Temperature Marking For temperature sensitive product Dangerous Goods Warning Symbol If applicable Caution Lift Symbol Required if Trade Unit has a Gross Weight between 10kg 16kg Recycling Logo x 2, on two adjacent vertical sides x 2, on adjacent vertical sides x 1, on any side Note: Where using preprinted, generic cartons in combination with Print & Apply labels, the labels need only carry the information that the cartons do not. For example, a carton may be pre-printed with Vendor & Brand information (and perhaps also Consumer Unit Size & Quantity if this is common to multiple variants), while the labels would contain the Barcode, Flavour/Variant, Use By etc specific to an individual SKU. (If you are using blank cartons, the Print & Apply labels need to carry all of the information). Questions? Comments? Want a specific issue covered in a future Vendors@Woolworths newsletter? Contact Vendor Capability on vendorcapability@woolworths.com.au or call

6 Q&A Head with Peter Elms of Replenishment - Food & Liquor As "Head of Replenishment - Food & Liquor", what does your role involve? First thing every morning!!i check how we serviced our stores on the preceding day.! This involves in-stock position, promotional programs, special events and so on.! The day invariably throws up challenges that may require some attention but there certainly is an element of planning!each day - both tactical and strategic. I do try to spend time with my team!as well as visit key stakeholders!- stores, distribution centres (DC), trade partners, our trading teams and other logistics support areas. What roles have you had previously? Prior to my current role, I was a Senior Replenishment Manager looking after several ambient and international portfolios. Most of my career has been spent in I.T., with many!varied functions.! Total time with Woolworths? More than 30 years. What is the scope of your department? Australian Food and Liquor (including some components of New Zealand). Essentially, our job is to ensure our stores have the appropriate levels of stock to support our customers needs each and every time they enter a virtual or bricks-and-mortar store. We manage domestic and international ordering (Replenishment), forecasting (base line, promotions and events),! DC in-bound management, DC Rostering, store and Replenishment technical support, product ranging, development and implementation of new Replenishment and associated systems.! We rely heavily on - and work closely with - our trade partners to achieve our goals. Any there any recent achievements in the area, of which you're especially proud? Replenishment works best when retailer and supplier work together. We all need to work to remove the 'surprises'. Communication and planning is key. On time, in full deliveries are crucial. Basic needs such as pallet labels, pallet dags and other non conformances that impede efficient movement through the network should be eliminated. Apart from potential loss of sales and increased handling costs, it distracts both retailer and supplier from focussing on other initiatives. The recent floods, cyclones and east / west rail link closure severely impacted our communities and businesses.! This also brought about enormous challenges for retailers and suppliers in supplying essential food and basic every day needs. Many of our suppliers, transport companies, our DC's and Replenishment teams worked very hard to restock our shelves when transport routes were made available to us.!we were very grateful, proud!and appreciative of the suppliers that went out of their way to assist in the recovery. How has Woolworths' Replenishment changed in the last few years, and where do you see things moving next? Our!Replenishment systems continue to evolve and mature. We are in the middle of a large program of work to enhance our systems that will improve on shelf availability and further streamline the supply chain. We re also working on the blue print for our 3rd generation Replenishment systems. Its no surprise that the focus will be on improving the customer experience.

7 Want to receive your Woolworths Purchase Orders and Purchase Order Changes online? Want to upgrade from manual paper Invoices to electronic? If you are not already trading electronically on webforms, register today to receive benefits that Woolworths Trade Partners are currently using to their advantage. webforms, an exciting web based application which has been introduced FREE of CHARGE for Woolworths Trade Partners. webforms provides Trade Partners with an opportunity to trade electronically and enjoy similar benefits to those currently engaged in EDI with Woolworths, such as: Replace the unreliable transmission of fax and s Trace transactional documents Increase security of your key business information Reduce manual intervention Reduce duplication Process automation Access anywhere in the world via the internet Delivery or Product Category Document Description Source Distribution Centre Direct to Store Fresh Produce (Fruit & Veg) Purchase Order Woolworths YES YES YES Purchase Order Response Trade Partner YES n/a n/a Purchase Order Change Woolworths YES n/a YES Advance Shipping Notice Trade Partner Express Receipt or RCTI * Trade Partners Only n/a n/a Electronic Invoice Trade Partner YES YES n/a * RCTI Recipient Created Tax Invoice To register online, head to the Vendor Website with your Woolworths Parent Vendor Number Navigate to: Topic Centre / ebusiness / B2B- webforms Overview / webforms Online Registration