Retail

VF Outdoor Inc., a subsidiary of VF Corporation, is in negotiation to acquire Eagle Creek Inc., a supplier of adventure travel gear, including accessories, luggage, daypacks and other products.

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), whose brands include Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, A&W Root Beer, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry, Mott's and numerous others, is working with MasterCard and USA Technologies to enable Dr Pepper and Snapple vending machines in Dallas, New York and Chicago to accept credit card payments.

Circuit City chooses the TradeStone Suite to help unify its global sourcing processes and expand its private label offerings.

THE MERGER AND ACQUISITION (M&A) trend continued through 2006, impacting a large number of technology providers that service the consumer goods (CG) industry.

Retailers are challenged to be ever more responsive to consumer demand. Strategies, like customer-centricity and multi-channel convergence, put pressure on instore inventory, which then pressures the consumer goods supply chain to perform flawlessly.

7-Eleven Inc. announces winners of its 2006 Retailer Initiative Awards, which formally recognize those suppliers that excelled at helping 7-Eleven meet its convenience customers' changing needs through team merchandising, demandchain solutions, cost of goods, category management and contributing to creative advertising and promotional programs.

Delivering on its commitment to help companies adapt processes and optimize revenue across the most cost-intensive global trade operations, SAP AG recently released a new transportation management functionality for mySAP Supply Chain Management (mySAP SCM).

In 2005 Gillette merged with Procter & Gamble, forming one of the world's largest consumer goods companies.