The aim of ECC is to define a business model and solution which allows the manufacturer to deliver messages to increasingly narrow segments. Four key areas can be identified:

Multiple channels to the consumer – providing the consumer with the most convenient and efficient approaches to learn about, purchase, and receive post-purchase support for products and services (including, perhaps, some manufacturer direct-to-consumer activities).

Joint Consumer Relationship Management – utilising information from multiple sources to maximize the connection to the consumer through various enhancements to the brand and shopping experience.

Next Generation Category Management – integrating consumer demographics and purchase data with traditional sales, margins, inventory, and promotion analysis to continuously improve assortment, pricing, and promotional decisions.

Synchronised Product Flow Management – achieving the physical integration of demand and supply chain – for the first time – to realize the much discussed but never achieved vision of Efficient Customer Response (ECR).

The traditional product push-focused business model of manufacturer-toretailer- to-consumer "B2B2C” is outdated. The new business model will be consumer-focused with manufacturer and retailer working to meet the needs of the consumer, often together, sometimes in parallel – more "B+B2C”. It will be characterised by the sharing of information and customer insight that informs product development and marketing decisions, and enables retailers and manufacturers to maximise consumer loyalty and demand. It will also be characterised by a highly integrated demand, or pull-driven, supply chain geared to delivering the right product at the right time to the right consumer without fail.

By having the courage to collaborate, retailers and manufacturers can finally begin to reap the benefits of the networked world that have been talked about for so long. By linking their consumer-facing infrastructure via the Internet and intranets, retailers and manufacturers can function as better business partners. By sharing information and collaborating together, they can satisfy the increasing demands of the networked consumer.