NEW YORK -- While Internet sites targeting consumers have been the first "web labs" for retailers, many executives are now busy leveraging the technology to streamline business-to-business communications.
Retailers are seeking to use the Internet to improve communications with wholesalers, manufacturers and suppliers of outside services. For example, the Internet's graphics capabilities allow users to review ad designs on-line. Retailers also anticipate enriching their own web pages with links to manufacturers' sites.
Several wholesalers indicated they are working primarily on developing intranet systems to improve communication with the retailers they supply. Associated Grocers in Seattle, for example, is upgrading its system to include graphics capabilities.
Currently, e-mail remains a primary use of both Internet and intranet systems. The Internet, noted some executives, easily permits e-mail communication outside the company system, for example, with advertising agencies, printers and law firms.
Here's how some supermarket executives are using the Internet and intranets for business-to-business purposes:
Richard Lester
VP, information services
Associated Grocers Seattle
We are all in the beginnings of Internet use. I feel it's a lot more likely supermarkets will find cost-effective uses for the Internet on a business-to-business basis than to communicate with consumers.
Options like electronic catalogs have a great potential to reduce electronic data interchange costs by cutting local-area network charges. The Internet also has the capability of doing graphics, so vendors could post ad slicks and new item sheets. I think that will begin to happen this year.
Wholesaler-to-store communication tends to be by an intranet system. We are already doing some of that, and are using browser technology to make our intranet look like the Internet with graphics.
Arthur Heathcote
director, information systems and
customer service Associated Grocers of
New England Manchester, N.H.
I think we will be using the Internet for dealing with vendors and stores in the future. We have some projects in test [phase] now -- sending orders back and forth, particularly with cross-docking warehouses, and it's working out well.
We plan to develop a web site for our retailer customers. The retailer could log on to the Internet and look at pre-sells -- items we haven't had before -- and order what they want.
We already use e-mail for meat and produce market-condition reports. We'd like to put those items on the Internet for our customers, listing what's in season or what we need to move out quickly.
With market conditions that change quickly, as in produce, we'd like to be able to put up pricing information every morning. I hope all this will be possible within a year or two.
Jeff Bowlin
MIS staff
Kennedy's Piggly Wiggly
Coeburn, Va.
In the information systems department, we use the Internet often. We get software accessories for various PC equipment, such as video cards and sound cards. We get some shareware off the Internet. It's a chance to try a program to see what it's like. We also use the Internet for e-mail.
But we don't use the Internet for much business-to-business communications. We have dedicated phone lines to our wholesaler; to the stores, we have direct computer connections via modem.
We do pass along documents via e-mail. For example, we collect data from the front-end system and build a file for a four-week period, then send the file to the marketing office using Internet e-mail.
The printer who prints our weekly circulars is installing an ISDN line, and the ad department will ship designs to the printer using the Internet.
Emmett Yuchnewicz
web production manager
Randalls Food Markets
Houston
We're working now to put vendor web sites within our consumer web site to give customers a direct link to manufacturers. But our category managers will also be able to use these links to get into a manufacturer's web site and preview new products or advertising, check specials that are running, get order forms on-line and preview promotions that will be available.
The Internet gives you much more graphics capability than current communications systems.
We're working on our page now; for connecting manufacturers to our site, the links are probably six or seven months out.
Jim Rau
director, information
services
Prevo's Family Markets
Traverse City, Mich.
I'm a big fan of what our wholesaler, Spartan Stores, [Grand Rapids, Mich.,] is doing. Eighteen months ago our people wanted e-mail, and Spartan came in with network software that provides it. It's fantastic what we can do -- e-mail, file transfers, project plans. We use it to work with Spartan in areas such as nutrition information and ad design.
Communication is really economical with this system, too.
Spartan is working on a model-store concept and one of our stores is a beta-site. Retailers have e-mailed me to ask how it's going, and I do a type of "electronic newsletter" periodically to update people who are interested.
With the Spartan system, we also have an option to get out to the Internet as part of the service, so I can do e-mail across the Internet, as well as with our internal system.
Jeff Dinneen
director, retail
information systems
Roche Bros. Supermarkets
Wellesley Hills, Mass.
Only three or four of us here use the Internet at all, and I'm not one of the ones who thinks it's the wave of the future. I don't see wide customer use of the Internet to find out about a supermarket.
We are trying to open up communication with the wholesaler end. Right now we have a direct link to our wholesaler. Ultimately, I'd like the capability to have our buyers on their system so the buyers can get updates on things like cost, future deals, whether an item is in reserve and how much the wholesaler has on hand.
Ralt Bohn
chief financial officer
The Fresh Market
Greensboro, N.C.
We use the Internet to deal with our law firm. We use it for drafts of leases and other legal documents. Legal documents have a tendency to get prolific, and its expensive when you're using a courier service or fax. E-mail is very slick and you can see the changes that are made each time.
The Internet is not the leading edge of technology for us in dealing with our wholesaler or with manufacturers.
It's an interesting technology and in its infancy still. There will be a lot of dreaming and experimentation, some dismal failures and some dynamic successes in using the Internet.
