"Both sides would get what they wanted; that has always been our mantra." That sounds like a worthy goal in any relationship. How successful in real-world practice, though, is cultivation of the retailer-supplier pairing?

The nearby article on data feeds for e-tailers emphasizes the value of accurate data for good customer relations. That's far from the only potential e-tailing data has, though.

The nearby article on data feeds for e-tailers has lessons for suppliers, also. Most crucially, manufacturers need to recognize that data feeds represent an opportunity for co-operation andnegotiation.