Robert Bruce is an industry leading authority on retail demand and
supply integration, optimization and collaboration. Robert has more
than 25 years in the retail industry covering merchandising, store
operations, buying, merchandising systems (hardlines/apparel), inventory
management, 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 as Customer Response, Vendor Managed
Inventory (VMI), Co-Managed Replenishment and
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), Collaborative
Transportation Management (CTM), as well as Value Chain Optimization
have undergone wide spread adoption.
Robert Bruce is an expert in the understanding, implementation
and adoptions of key transformational strategies and initiatives
with industry leading executive teams in retailing and manufacturing.
Robert provides individualized advisory services on integrated demand
planning and supply chain processes to optimize a customer driven
value chain. Robert is a strategic advisors, industry thought leader
and subject matter expert in consumer demand and product supply
chain processes and technology.
Robert served as Wal-Mart's Vice-President for Inventory Management
and Replenishment and Corporate Supply Chain Strategies for Wal-Mart
Stores and SuperCenters. In these capacities, he lead in the definition
and implementation of inventory management practices, methods and
policies at corporate, distribution center and store levels. Additionally,
he led a cross-functional team in defining and implementing a series
of coordinated corporate supply chain strategies focused on integrating
and optimizing the total supply chain-from forecasting customer
demand at shelf to production planning and manufacturing focused
on net profit and value generation.
While at Wal-Mart, he played a major role in conceiving, defining
and implementing CPFR, as well as introducing it as an industry
standard for Closed Loop Integrated Planning and Replenishment.
In addition, he led the development of the first Vendor-Managed
Replenishment Program through a retailer/supplier partnership cross-functional
team with Procter & Gamble. He also defined the first Co-Managed
program with key suppliers in a migration path and foundation for
CPFR along with other collaborative applications. In these applications
he drove the definition and application of a net profit based Collaborative
Merchandise Assortment Planning and Optimization and Collaborative
Transportation Management 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 SuperCenters.
He lead the effort to define vertical profit and loss statements
for trading partners measuring the net profitability of optimized
merchandising and supply programs while measuring the overall effectiveness
of trading relationships.
Robert has also served as the original Chairman of the VICS Subcommittee
as part of the Dynamic Information Sharing/Merchants Issues Committee,
setting an industry standard for CPFR. In this role, he drove industry
definition and guidelines for CPFR, standards and enabling technology
that were the basis for the VICS/CPFR guidelines.
Robert often speaks and writes on emerging best practices in demand
planning, forecasting and integrated collaborative value chains.
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. He is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Council of
Logistics Management and was asked to join the Board of Directors
of the Supply Chain Council of the University of Arkansas 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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