Scan-based trading
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Scan-based trading (SBT) or Scan based trading is a type of inventory control in which the item housed on a shelf in a store is owned by the manufacturer until it is scanned at the register during the sales transaction. The benefit to the store would be that they would not have to spend any money on inventory, because the entire inventory would still be owned by the manufacturer. Another advantage for the seller would be that the seller would never be burdened with outdated items, expired items, or items that don't sell. At various times it has been proposed by Wal-Mart, but has not been implemented for all vendors as of 2006.
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[edit] Test
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) ran a test of the concept in 2000 with Schnuck Markets in St. Louis, Missouri, and Andronico's Market of Berkeley, California and a dozen suppliers. Sales went up 3% to 4% for the retailers and between 2.5% and 5.2% for suppliers. Mispricing of stock items were decreased by 70%.
[edit] Universal Product Code
Implementation of SBT for all industries will require changes to the Universal Product Code. The current system uses 11 digits. When the codes are upgraded to 28 digits suppliers will be able to know in detail which items need to be restocked. Greeting card companies only know that a card of a particular price category have sold, not which of their 10,000 cards in that price category have sold and needs to be replaced. Some industries have already successfully implemented SBT with the current UPC system.
