Value Chain Collaboration Associates

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• Founder, VCC Associates, Inc.

• Co-Founder, Factory2Shelf, Inc.

• Senior Partner, DRS Senior Retail Advisors, LLC.

Robert Bruce is an industry leading authority on retail demand and supply chain integration, optimization and collaboration. Robert has more than 25 years in the retail industry spanning merchandising, store operations, buying, merchandising systems, inventory management, financial, merchandise and space planning, replenishment, forecasting and supply chain management. He has lead the design, implementation and adoption of major industry processes with some of the leading retailers and manufactures in the industry. Initiatives such as Customer Response, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Co-Managed Replenishment and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) and Value Chain Optimization have undergone wide spread adoption.

Robert Bruce founded Value Chain Collaboration Associates Inc. to further the understanding, implementation and adoptions of key transformational strategies and initiatives with retailers, manufacturers and account teams. Robert and his team of industry practitioners provide individualized advisory services on collaborative demand planning, inventory management and supply chain processes to enhance operating performance and results.

Robert is also Co-Founder of Factory2Shelf, Inc. along with Andre Martin known as “the father of DRP (Distribution Resource Planning)”. Factory2Shelf offers collaborative process consulting and implementation services supporting the Flowcasting product a patented software solution linking consumer at store shelf to drive factory demand planning, scheduling and coordinated supply chain execution. Additionally, Robert is Senior Partner of DRS, LLC, part of a team of Senior Retail Advisors and former retail executives offering a full spectrum of retail process consulting and advisory services domestically and internationally.

Previous to founding VCC Associates, Inc. Robert served as Partner at Benchmarking Partners (Surgency) a Boston based consulting firm focused on retail/CPG industry. Robert supported industry clients defining business strategies, demand-supply chain opportunities, process integration, optimization and collaborative applications including Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR). Working with leaders in the retailer/CPG industry, he helped lay the foundation and migration path for attaining total demand and supply chain collaboration. Robert also contributed to Benchmarking Partner's cross industry knowledge capital and methodology defining key applications for business multi-tier collaboration internally and externally with trading partners enhancing their total customer/consumer-based value proposition

Before joining Benchmarking Partners, Robert served as Wal-Mart's Vice-President for Inventory Management and Corporate Supply Chain Strategies for Wal-Mart Stores. In these capacities, he led in the definition and implementation of inventory management practices, methods and policies at corporate, distribution center and store levels. He was also instrumental in defining and driving Wal-Mart's replenishment and forecasting systems. As Vice President of Supply Chain Strategies he led a cross-functional team in defining and implementing a series of 15 coordinated strategies focused on integrating and optimizing the total supply chain from customer at store to production planning and transportation with suppliers to increase vertical account net profitability.

While at Wal-Mart, he played a major role in conceiving, defining and implementing VMI, Co-Managed and CPFR programs. Robert was also instrumental in the design and implementation of many of Wal-Mart's merchandising, assortment planning, seasonal, new item, short cycle and apparel planning processes and systems for both Wal-Mart Stores and Super Centers. He lead the effort to define vertical profit and loss statements for trading partners measuring the net profitability through cross-optimized merchandising and supply programs which measured the overall effectiveness of trading partner relationships.

Robert is also known as the “Father of CPFR” serving as the original Chairman of the VICS/CPFR Subcommittee as part of the Dynamic Information Sharing/Merchants Issues Committee, guiding the industry vision and direction on process, metrics and data standards for CPFR. In this role, he drove industry definition, guidelines and standards reflected in the VICS/CPFR published guidelines and roadmap.

Prior to Wal-Mart, he led a variety of initiatives in marketing, store operations, buying, replenishment and distribution for a subsidiary of Target Stores primarily focused on designing, implementing, and managing centralized basic replenishment and fashion apparel programs.

Robert often speaks and writes on emerging best practices in demand management and collaborative value networks. He also was chosen as an outside expert advisor to Alan Greenspan and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on Inventory Management. After helping to drive Wal-Mart's relationship with the University of Arkansas he was asked to join the Board of Directors of the Supply Chain Council at the university prior to retiring from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He has been selected and referenced in Marquis's Who's Who in America since 1994.



		Events \| Links \| Contact Us \| Mailing List \| • Founder, VCC Associates, Inc. • Co-Founder, Factory2Shelf, Inc. • Senior Partner, DRS Senior Retail Advisors, LLC. Robert Bruce is an industry leading authority on retail demand and supply chain integration, optimization and collaboration. Robert has more than 25 years in the retail industry spanning merchandising, store operations, buying, merchandising systems, inventory management, financial, merchandise and space planning, replenishment, forecasting and supply chain management. He has lead the design, implementation and adoption of major industry processes with some of the leading retailers and manufactures in the industry. Initiatives such as Customer Response, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Co-Managed Replenishment and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) and Value Chain Optimization have undergone wide spread adoption. Robert Bruce founded Value Chain Collaboration Associates Inc. to further the understanding, implementation and adoptions of key transformational strategies and initiatives with retailers, manufacturers and account teams. Robert and his team of industry practitioners provide individualized advisory services on collaborative demand planning, inventory management and supply chain processes to enhance operating performance and results. Robert is also Co-Founder of Factory2Shelf, Inc. along with Andre Martin known as “the father of DRP (Distribution Resource Planning)”. Factory2Shelf offers collaborative process consulting and implementation services supporting the Flowcasting product a patented software solution linking consumer at store shelf to drive factory demand planning, scheduling and coordinated supply chain execution. Additionally, Robert is Senior Partner of DRS, LLC, part of a team of Senior Retail Advisors and former retail executives offering a full spectrum of retail process consulting and advisory services domestically and internationally. Previous to founding VCC Associates, Inc. Robert served as Partner at Benchmarking Partners (Surgency) a Boston based consulting firm focused on retail/CPG industry. Robert supported industry clients defining business strategies, demand-supply chain opportunities, process integration, optimization and collaborative applications including Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR). Working with leaders in the retailer/CPG industry, he helped lay the foundation and migration path for attaining total demand and supply chain collaboration. Robert also contributed to Benchmarking Partner's cross industry knowledge capital and methodology defining key applications for business multi-tier collaboration internally and externally with trading partners enhancing their total customer/consumer-based value proposition Before joining Benchmarking Partners, Robert served as Wal-Mart's Vice-President for Inventory Management and Corporate Supply Chain Strategies for Wal-Mart Stores. In these capacities, he led in the definition and implementation of inventory management practices, methods and policies at corporate, distribution center and store levels. He was also instrumental in defining and driving Wal-Mart's replenishment and forecasting systems. As Vice President of Supply Chain Strategies he led a cross-functional team in defining and implementing a series of 15 coordinated strategies focused on integrating and optimizing the total supply chain from customer at store to production planning and transportation with suppliers to increase vertical account net profitability. While at Wal-Mart, he played a major role in conceiving, defining and implementing VMI, Co-Managed and CPFR programs. Robert was also instrumental in the design and implementation of many of Wal-Mart's merchandising, assortment planning, seasonal, new item, short cycle and apparel planning processes and systems for both Wal-Mart Stores and Super Centers. He lead the effort to define vertical profit and loss statements for trading partners measuring the net profitability through cross-optimized merchandising and supply programs which measured the overall effectiveness of trading partner relationships. Robert is also known as the “Father of CPFR” serving as the original Chairman of the VICS/CPFR Subcommittee as part of the Dynamic Information Sharing/Merchants Issues Committee, guiding the industry vision and direction on process, metrics and data standards for CPFR. In this role, he drove industry definition, guidelines and standards reflected in the VICS/CPFR published guidelines and roadmap. Prior to Wal-Mart, he led a variety of initiatives in marketing, store operations, buying, replenishment and distribution for a subsidiary of Target Stores primarily focused on designing, implementing, and managing centralized basic replenishment and fashion apparel programs. Robert often speaks and writes on emerging best practices in demand management and collaborative value networks. He also was chosen as an outside expert advisor to Alan Greenspan and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on Inventory Management. After helping to drive Wal-Mart's relationship with the University of Arkansas he was asked to join the Board of Directors of the Supply Chain Council at the university prior to retiring from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He has been selected and referenced in Marquis's Who's Who in America since 1994.
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