It makes complete sense for the ticket to come last in the sequence of events that allows the shipping of the goods. As a retailer, there are certain decisions that you'll want to leave as late as possible: price point, size and colour ratios and so on should all be fast, tactical decisions that are made on up to the minute market conditions. What we need is a simple system that allows this rapid reaction, but that avoids the indirect information flow that we currently tend to accept.

One of the basic tenets of data management is to make sure that you have only one set of data. As soon as you begin working with copied or duplicated information you can be certain that, sooner or later, there'll be a mismatch. This problem is inherent in the situation we see above. The ticketorder and the garment order are two completely separate pieces of information. But unless they match in every detail we risk stalling the supply chain. So the best way of making sure they match is to make sure that they use the same data.

The only sure way of achieving accuracy and transparency throughout the system is to open our IT systems to our partners throughout the chain. We must share data right from end to end, with no necessity for information to be re-keyed or manually processed. This asks daunting questions of the IT managers responsible for those systems. Security, at least, is a relatively simple one to answer. This is simply a question of controlling access by good practice in management of privileges.

More demanding is the question of standards. Most partners in the supply chain will have developed systems to suit their own requirements, and making those systems talk to one another has always posed problems. The Internet has given us an ideal tool for exchanging information; for the first time we have an information system that is inherently independent of hardware and software platforms. If only we had a powerful standard data format we could move mountains.

Fortunately we now have a flexible standard in the form of XML. Put simply, XML is an infinitely extensible mark-up language (in fact that's basically what the letters stand for). It grew originally out of the HTML standard used for communication via Web pages. The essential difference is that HTML works on a limited set of mark-up tags, whereas XML allows us to create new tags as necessary.

Using XML, we can operate within our own systems as we always have, and use the common mark-up language to share information with our partners. This begins with the retailer using an XML transfer file to simultaneously order and specify tickets from the ticket provider. The ticket provider should process this file automatically to avoid the errors inherent in manual intervention. This gives rise to a scheduled print order. At this point it makes sense to separate out the ticket printing from the management of the production process. This allows the ticket provider to route the actual printing to its own in-house machines, to a print facility based remotely, or even to the manufacturer's own printers. The diagram shows how this fits together.

This has certainly simplified the data flow from the retailer to the ticket provider, but so far it's done little to improve communication with the supplier/manufacturer. But look again at the box marked Supply Chain Data Management. It's here that we have the opportunity to work some magic. By giving the supplier access to the management system we make it possible to pass control of key parts of the ticketing to the person who really knows what's going on. Here's a typical transaction:

• The retailer places a ticket order with the ticket provider by means of the XML transfer file. This contains all of the detail to specify the order

• The ticket provider automatically alerts the manufacturer that the order is in place

• The manufacturer accesses the management system and views the detail of the order

• The manufacturer can now, depending on the privileges granted by the retailer, correct quantities, amend scheduling and select delivery addresses for the tickets

• The ticket provider can react immediately, further shortening the supply chain by directing print strategically to the correct region

The opportunities for pulling cost and inaccuracy out of the supply chain are numerous. Manufacturers can combine orders to reduce shipping costs - for ticket providers who don't impose a minimum order quantity, shipping costs can outweigh the ticket price. Errors in quantity, ratio, price and so on can be picked up before print and despatch. Mistakes caused by manual re-keying are completely obviated. Most importantly, because we're only ever dealing with one data set, the ticket order and the garment order will always match.

Strong data management is becoming the most crucial element of in-store competitiveness. Given a good ticketing management system it should be possible to order for replenishment in seconds rather than days or even weeks. Catalogue items should be available instantly, and by matching and controlling the data, brand protection should be more secure than ever before. The tools exist, all we need is to take a firm grip and use them correctly.