Suppliers need a direct, real-time view into customers' inventory and planning systems. SV gives authorized suppliers a direct, real-time view into customers' inventory and order data for their items. With SV, suppliers can closely monitor how items are being consumed and determine the timing and volume needed to replenish stock. To connect customers with suppliers, SV employs a small code module, a poller, which is downloaded from the SV Web site. Customers use a management console running on a standard Internet browser to control which suppliers can access their inventory data.
Customers can control supplier access to inventory information down to the item and location level.
Once suppliers have access to SV, they are granted a unique user name and password that determines which inventory levels they are allowed to see. The core of SV is a screen that summarizes the total relationship between a customer and a supplier. Suppliers see the inventory level per location of the items that they supply to the customer and that the customer has authorized them to see. The display includes current inventory, minimum and maximum levels that are based on customer-supplier negotiation, average usage, and the expected inventory level when the next shipment arrives. SV provides a visual metaphor to alert viewers to problems in inventory levels.