Intermidiate EDI--CPFR

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)

CPFR is a concept that allows collaborative processes across the supply chain, using a set of process and technology models that are:

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	Open, yet allow secure communications
	Flexible across the industry
	Extensible to all supply chain processes
	Support a broad set of requirements (new data types, interoperability with different DBMSs, etc).
	The mission of this initiative is closely tied with similar efforts that have preceded it - such as ECR, Quick Response and VMI. Its objectives are consistent with the objectives of the Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standards Association (VICS), - a voluntary, nonprofit organization, which takes a global leadership role in the ongoing improvement of the flow of product and information (about the product) throughout the entire supply chain in the general merchandise retail industry.
	The goal of CPFR is to change the relationship paradigm and create significantly more accurate information that can drive the value chain to greater sales and profits.

[/align] While CPFR isn't yet widely adopted throughout the industry, there are a large number of pilots in progress and demand is projected to heat up in the short-term. For more information on CPFR, please visit www.cpfr.org. For a detailed description, you may access the CPFR white papers.