Perishables are a special group of merchandise that usually has a short shelf life. The products are usually offered by a number of vendors, each with limited delivery capacity. Typical examples of perishables are:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Meat and delicatessen
• Fish and other seafood
• Dairy products
• Flowers

Procuring and distributing perishables (that is, issuing them to stores) is a dynamic process that usually takes place under extreme time pressure and requires a lot of experience. The freshness and appearance of the products directly influence sales. It is therefore essential that the time between producing and selling the goods is as short as possible. Ideally, it should not exceed 24 hours.

Dealing in perishables means having to work with considerable fluctuations every day. Often the weather conditions greatly influence demand, prices, and the quantities delivered. Well-trained, experienced buyers are indispensable for ensuring that the quality of the produce and consequently potential sales do not suffer.

The special functions described here for planning, procuring and issuing perishable produce ensure that the logistics processes involved are lean and optimized. They enable you to analyze demand and the current state of the market fast, support you in making decisions and allow you to order merchandise quickly and easily.

You can use these functions for typical perishable produce, but also for other articles offered by more than one vendor.

• The perishables planning list contains key data for each article and vendor selling the article. You can use this information to obtain a good picture of the market even before demand occurs, enabling you to react swiftly and make the best possible buying decisions.

• Store sales over any period of your choice (the day before, the week before and so on) can serve as the basis for forecasting the quantities you need to order.

• You can forecast quantities, enter purchase prices, calculate retail prices, and order perishables all in the same transaction.

• You can define the quantities and delivery dates for the individual recipients in an interactive issue list or change the proposals made by the system.

• You can map push processes as well as pull processes using the perishables planning functions.

• All the data created is collected in a special information structure that enables tight internal cost accounting in the individual stores and distribution centers.