Tesco and Asda are relaunching their online technical information sites to get new products to market faster.

The new Tesco due diligence information system developed by software supplier Ramesys will allow suppliers to validate their own product specs on the web in minutes instead of waiting days to hear back from Tesco, according to trading law and technical manager Paul Dearman.

Speaking at a traceablity conference hosted by Ramesys, Dearman said the revamped site would enable suppliers to access all the relevant technical and legal documents in one place: “This means products get to market more quickly.”

Asda’s own label suppliers would also see a big change in Asda’s Web-Traqs due diligence system in the summer, when they would have to submit
detailed information about allergens when creating product specs, said head of European technical services John Clague.

However, Safeway had taken the Ramesys system one step further with a NPD workflow tool, said Ramesys business development director Kieran Forsey. This had added £3.9m to Safeway’s top line in 2003 by getting own label products to market three weeks earlier than usual, he claimed. The tool allows everyone involved in the NPD process to plug into a site that manages the product development cycle online.

This also houses online product specs and technical information, he added. “The project made a contribution of £3.9m in 2003 - three times what Safeway was hoping for.”
Elaine Watson

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