Special Announcement

The FMCG Retail industry has undergone significant transformation since 1999 when Efficient Consumer Response Australasia (ECRA) was established in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The meet the changing needs of the sector it is time to evolve ECRA and re-energise our organisation to continue to meet the needs of the retailer, supplier and ultimately our joint consumers.

From today ECRA will be represented as the Trading Partner Forum.

The Trading Partner Forum (TPF) is the meeting place for suppliers and retailers focussing on end-to-end value chain efficiency.

A recommitment from Australian Food and Grocery Council, New Zealand Food and Grocery Counil and leading supermarket retailers: Coles, Foodstuffs, Metcash, Progressive and Woolworths will establish the platform for a broader reaching, stronger and more cohesive body as is required to deliver efficiency and improved availability across the shared end-to-end value chain, and that will ultimately provide great outcomes for our shared customer - the shopper.

We recognise that we work in a challenging and highly competitive environment and need a strong and cohesive body to address many of the issues and pursue opportunities we face across the value chain.  The Trading Partner Forum will become the new meeting place for suppliers and retailers focussing on making this happen.

In markets the size of Australia and New Zealand we strive to align and standardise processes on non-competitive issues to provide the most efficient value chain operations possible, delivering benefits to the industry participants and to the shopper.

The Trading Partner Executive

ECRA Convention a Great Success

Each year since 2009, the ECRA Supplier and Retailer Convention has brought together leaders from across the fast moving consumer goods retail and supply industry to examine, discuss and debate the current and emerging issues impacting our industry both locally and globally.

This year the Convention examined the changes to the business environment, the disruptive influences, the changing consumer and the competitive market.

A focus for the event was the theme of trust.

• Why is it that consumers trust each other more than retailers and brands?
• How do our businesses better meet shopper needs and answer the question "who can I trust?"?
• How do we as trading partners deliver real value by collaborating to deliver real benefits within a framework of trust? 

The 2015 ECRA Supplier and Retailer Convention explored these themes and much more. Convention delegates gained insight to the challenges and opportunities ahead, and to real world strategies through interactive discussions and content rich sessions addressing the critical industry issues. 

Whether you were able to attend or not the Convention Report for 2015 provides a summary of the essential key takeaways and insights into the passion to do well that was evident to all of those who attended. 

Click here to download the 2015 Convention Report.

Express Receipt Roadmap

During 2015 an ECRA Working Group consisting suppliers, retailers and GS1 has undertaken work to develop and deliver to industry.  The ECRA Express Receipt Roadmap, a guidance document to assist industry in preparing for successful engagement in, and implementation of, express receipt programs.

Express receipt has been an area of interest to retailers and suppliers alike in recent years, supported by the increased levels of B2B E-commerce capability applied within the industry.  The ECRA Express Receipt Roadmap supports industry through the establishment of guidance to clarify expectations and assist trading partners to prepare for success as and when retailers seek to roll-out Express Receipt programs.  Click here to download a copy of the report.

Winning in January 2015 Report

In January 2015, ECRA undertook its 6th annual review of service levels to stores across key categories to track performance in this traditionally difficult period.

The 2015 Winning in January report can be downloaded from the website by clicking here.

Joe Berry Retail Executive Award Winners

The 2015 winner of the prestigious Joe Berry Retail Executive Award was announced last week at a Gala Industry Dinner.

The award went to Sarah Hughes (Coles) and Adam Mourad (Woolworths) the receipient of the ECRA Scholarship Award.

If you would like to join Sarah Hughes on the growing list of winners of the prestigious Joe Berry Australian Retail Industry Executive Award, the 2016 title is up for the taking.  Again in 2016, the Award is offering the winning entrant the opportunity of a lifetime.  Entrants are asked to submit a 2500 word essay, proving how industry savvy they are.

From the selected finalists, an overall winner will be chosen for the Joe Berry Australian Retail Industry Executive Award 2016. 

The winner receives an escorted tour of the major world retail markets including Paris, London, New York, Milan and Hong Kong or the option of supported tertiary education.  For further information click here.