Kroger Item MDM/VIP: Steps to Supplier Success with Kroger

[CommunityJedi22]

PREPARE
1. Obtain a GS1 Company Prefix and Global Location Number (GLN). Learn more (here)

2. Assign Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) to all levels of your product hierarchy. All Items must be GTIN Compliant. For details go to www.gtin.info

3. Review VIP Training Resources and register for training

• Learn more about training options located in the Training & Education > User Guides/Reference Documents section of the
  Kroger page (here).

PLAN
4. Determine How Your Company Will Communicate Product Information to Kroger.

All suppliers are required to submit product information by using:

• A combination of GDSN through a Data Pool and The VIP – OR-
• Enter all Item information entirely through the VIP.
• Kroger encourages the use of GDSN, but it is not required. Learn more about GDSN at http://www.gs1.org/gdsn

5. Identify Your Data Management Contacts

• The data contact should be someone who will be responsible for:
  • Entering the Item data and knowing where the data is (e.g., package dimensions, carton weight, and nutritional information)
  • Item data sync / top-off

• Contacts can be brokers or distributors
• Email your IP GLN and data contact name(s) and contact information to ItemMDMVIP@kroger.com. Kroger will contact you for matters related to your item information.

6. Review Attribute Requirements

• Download the Kroger Attribute Sheet in the “Training & Education” section (here) to understand the required Item information for
  each class.

EXECUTE
7. Register for the VIP

• VIP registration is required for all Kroger suppliers. You will need to provide your IP GLN to register for the Kroger VIP
• If you are a 1WorldSync data pool customer, you can request VIP access at 1WorldSync Technical Support Center (see below) at no additional cost.
• If you are a 1WorldSync data pool customer, you are required to register for Kroger VIP for a nominal annual access fee.  Click on Register for VIP or reach out to 1WorldSync Business Support Services (see below) for help.

8. Submit Item(s) via the VIP!

• If you use a GDSN data pool (preferred), load your item information in your GDSN data pool and publish it to Kroger, then complete the Item Setup in Kroger VIP. Login to VIP via the Kroger page (here). You will need to top off additional attributes in VIP to complete the item setup.
• If you do not use a GDSN Data Pool, you can also submit the entire Item information data via the VIP.

9. Need help?

For Kroger business questions contact the Kroger Supplier Engagement Group:

• Email: ItemMDMVIP@kroger.com Phone: 1-844-277-6165. Hours: 7:30 AM to 5 PM ET Mon-Fri.

For VIP or 1WorldSync technical questions contact the 1WorldSync Technical Support Center:

• Visit 1WorldSync Community (existing 1WorldSync Data Pool customers only) for support, training, communication, events, and more.
• Email: TechnicalSupport@1WorldSync.com Phone: 1-866-280-4013 Opt2, Opt1. Hours: 8 AM to 8 PM ET Mon-Fri.

For VIP or 1Worldsync registration questions contact the 1WorldSync Business Support Services:

• Email: BusinessDevelopment@1WorldSync.com Phone: 1-866-280-4013 Opt1, Opt1, Hours: 8 AM to 8 PM ET Mon-Fri

[IEBrewery]

1. Your comment If you use a GDSN data pool (preferred), load your item information in your GDSN data pool and publish it to Kroger.
   1. The drop down list in IM does not show just Kroger, but a list of Kroger entities.  Which one should be selected?
2. I have one item in the VIP data base.  If I transfer from IM, will it overwrite the one in VIP portal?

Best regards

Edmund

[jcharles]

@IEBrewery 

Hi Edmund and welcome to our online community!

The GLN you want to publish to from Item Management would be 0011110000019. You can search by "The Kroger*" and it will come right up.

You can choose to publish the same hierarchy from Item Management. You will see two hierarchies afterward, one with a G to the left which represents GDSN and N which represents Non-GDSN.

The GTIN you entered directly into Kroger's portal can only be updated in the portal. The hierarchy that you publish from Item Management can be updated as you go along.

Let me know if you need us to expand on any topics.

[IEBrewery]

Jcharles,

Thank you for your response.  a few followup questionsHello,

Is there a method to delete an item in the item list.

What happens if I transfer a hierarchy from IM to VIP and I have an item already in VIP?

Thanks

Edmund

[jcharles]

@IEBrewery 

Hi Edmund,

No sadly, there is no way to remove GTIN from Product Introduction. You will always see the GTIN but it might have a withdrawn status, which means the publication has been removed.

If the existing GTIN is a Non-GDSN(entered directly not using IM) and you publish the same hierarchy over, then you will have two versions. One is a non-GDSN and a GDSN(published from IM.)

You can have two with no issue other than making sure you are working on the correct one. The screenshot is showing you the G (in green) which means it's a GDSN GTIN. You will see a capital N for an item entered directly into Korger's portal. We have this for those smaller companies that may not want to invest in a subscription to Item Management.