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Major Retailers Agree to New Vendor Compliance Guidelines Format

The Retailer Compliance Council ("RCC"), sister organization to the Vendor Compliance Federation ("VCF"), in partnership with Kurt Salmon Associates, announces the Compliance Manual Convention. It provides a guideline for structuring the instructions retailers provide suppliers to ensure the right product is delivered to the right place at the right time.

Introduced at the RCC and VCF joint conference May 10-12, 2004, the Compliance Manual Convention is the culmination of a project commissioned by the RCC to identify areas in common across vendor guidelines and associated websites. The Convention includes recommended chapter and appendix structure for vendor guidelines. In addition, the RCC has offered a suggested guideline for web navigation.

Commenting on the Compliance Manual Convention, Mark Jones, Co-Managing Director of VCF said, "The vendor compliance manual is the backbone to an efficient purchase order to cash cycle. Agreeing to a common format is an important step towards easier document navigation for vendors and more accurate and timely order fulfillment for retailers."

Clark Riess, of consulting firm, Kurt Salmon Associates, said, "We are encouraged to see that four retailers have agreed to roll-out the new Compliance Manual Convention. This demonstrates a significant shift in the traditional retail/supplier relationship and provides a foundation for developing a more open and dynamic retail supply chain." The vendor friendly format will be adopted by JC Penney, Kohls, Stage Stores and the Army Air Force Exchange Services.

In addition, several retailers, who have endorsed the Retailer Compliance Council's efforts, believe the direction towards a common chapter structure is a positive development and will participate in the continuous refinement of these standards. The endorsing retailers include: Academy Sports, Sears, Toys "R" Us, Inc, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

You can review the Convention on the Retailer Compliance Council website at www.rccww.com or Vendor Compliance Federation's site at www.vcfww.com.

Retailer Compliance Council, established in 2004, brings together the nation's top retailers to maximize the effectiveness of the supply chain. With over 25 participating retailers and 60 active participants, The RCC is focused on addressing the inefficiencies in the market that may arise from retailer specific trading partner frameworks.

Vendor Compliance Federation, founded in 2000, works with vendors to help find strategies and solutions to prevent deductions. With 200 corporate members and over 1,000 active participants, VCF has become the leading industry forum for developing order to cash cycle best practices.

Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) is the premier global supply chain management and technology consulting firm to the retail and consumer products industries. KSA's business process expertise enables clients to reduce costs, implement best practices, improve customer satisfaction through better in-stock performance, and continuously advance the flow of goods through the supply chain. KSA's portfolio of services helps clients achieve significant gains by transforming their businesses in the areas of strategy and marketing, performance, merchandising, information technology and logistics. KSA achieves lasting improvements for clients in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.