Best Buy, Samsung sign CPFR agreement in Beijing

May 18, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Best Buy Co Inc, a global consumer electronics retailer, and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday signed a Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) agreement in Beijing to share information about the Chinese retail market, sources reported.

Under the agreement, the two firms will enhance supply chain integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. They will monitor market demands, share customer feedback information and work together to reduce operating costs.

This cooperation is the first one in China's electronics industry to follow a CPFR model, according to sources.

In 2004, Best Buy and Samsung launched a CPFR cooperation in the North American market. It greatly improved efficiency by cutting expenditures for merchandising, inventory, logistics, and transportation.

Best Buy, which acquired China's Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co Ltd, earlier said it plans to open several hundred new outlets in China in the next five to ten years, and that it plans to open between seven and twelve this year.