In effect, retailers and their trading partners can now coordinate their supply chain as if only one company were managing it, enabling them to jointly reduce inventories and cut the costs of manufacturing, transportation, distribution centers, procurement, and selling. The gains can be substantial: for instance, Sony (Canada) reduced its supply chain inventory by 20 percent and saw its in-stock levels improve from 87 percent to at least 95 percent. Lower’s reported a significant reduction in excess inventory, and its in-stock stepped up from 92 percent to 98 percent