2010 Editors' Pick
Their footprints may not be large enough to secure a Top 10 position, but these consulting firms are helping consumer goods (CG) companies enhance business processes and IT capabilities.
Digital Tempus
www.digitaltempus.com
Digital Tempus aims to help companies implement demand-driven business strategies, identify growth opportunities as well as realize working capital efficiencies. Digital Tempus provides consulting and business intelligence services to consumer goods companies, such as Church & Dwight Co., Inc., DuPont, and McCormick & Company.
HCL Technologies
www.hcltech.com
HCL Technologies is $5 billion global IT services company that provides Managed Outsourcing Services for Application Development & Support, Infrastructure management and BPO services. HCL focuses on 'transformational outsourcing', underlined by innovation. In 2009, HCL inked contracts worth $100 million with CPG companies including large contracts with DPSG and US Foodservice.
Perficient
www.perficient.com
Perficient is a provider of business consulting services for CG companies that are looking to increase their CRM and Business Intelligence capabilities. Perficient's Oracle product knowledge aims to enable CG companies to maximize ROI and deploy solutions for Forecasting, Trade Promotion Management, Retail Execution and Analytics. Perficient maps business objectives with technology solutions to help deliver bottom line value to CG companies supporting many global recognizable brands.
PRTM
www.prtm.com
PRTM, a global management consulting firm, works with senior CG and retail executives to help develop and implement innovative operational strategies. PRTM strives to focus on delivering sustainable revenue and profitability growth -- practically and with measurable results. In 2009, PRTM increased its ability to serve clients' global needs with the acquisition of eGate Consulting, a strategy execution consulting firm in China.
SUPPLY CHAIN SUPPORTERS
The following companies provide either niche solutions or business-to-business solutions that enable improved performance across the supply chain.
Datalliance
www.datalliance.com
Datalliance specializes in helping manufacturers deploy and grow their Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) programs. Delivered via the internet using the SaaS model, Datalliance helps to enable better VMI program results at a lower total cost than typical approaches. In 2009, new CG customers included Sunny Delight, Elizabeth Arden, Valor Brands and Thorlo Socks.
Kane Is Able Inc.
www.kaneisable.com
Kane Is Able Inc. provides warehousing, packaging and transportation services to help CPG companies like P&G, Topps and Kimberly-Clark distribute products throughout the United States. In 2009, Kane was named the Wal-Mart "Carrier of the Year" based on operational excellence in providing direct store delivery to Sam's Club stores.
ORTEC
www.ortec.com
ORTEC provides logistics optimization solutions specifically targeted at the distribution processes of CP companies. ORTEC focuses on providing supply chain solutions that are quantifiable and measurable. For instance, General Mills utilizes ORTEC's Perfect Shipment solutions to significantly reduce the number of trucks required to ship product to its customers as well as warehouses.
TAKE Supply Chain
www.takesupplychain.com
Software solutions from TAKE Supply Chain (formerly ClearOrbit) help to improve supply chain speed, visibility and control by automating internal processes and integrating trading partners to enable manufacturers and distributors to smoothly orchestrate the movement of goods through the extended supply network. In 2009, TAKE Supply Chain acquired EntComm to combine TAKE's supplier collaboration capabilities with EntComm's SaaS commerce platform.
These companies support consumer goods companies in their quest for competitive advantage through innovative products and processes.
KODAK Solutions for Business
www.automation.kodak.com
Kodak is a provider of software, solutions and expertise that helps maximize brand effectiveness for consumer goods companies by enabling measurable return on investment, eliminating repetitive tasks, accelerating time to market and facilitating distributed marketing. In 2009 KODAK Solutions for Business won a contract to optimize workflow for the largest U.S. food and beverage company, and gained significant share in the verticals it serves.
Kalypso
www.kalypso.com
Kalypso helps companies deliver on the promise of innovation with services including portfolio management, business complexity management, collaborative innovation, product traceability and product lifecycle management. In 2009 Kalypso launched PLM Vivo, a rapid deployment PLM solution for the CPG industry. The firm was also awarded Oracle's Applications Partner of the Year and Titan Award for PLM implementation success.
Planview
www.planview.com
Planview Enterprise solutions help customers make smart decisions on using scarce resources to get the right products to market faster to increase revenue, profits and competitive edge. Celebrating 20 years in the portfolio management market, in 2009 Planview partnered with Siemens PLM in commitment to the growing product portfolio management space.
OUTSIDE THE BOX
These companies cannot be "boxed" into any one category due to their unique product and service offerings or range thereof.
Acorn Systems
www.acornsys.com
Acorn Systems is a provider of profit improvement solutions that help grow profitable revenues, reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies. In 2009, Central Garden & Pet teamed with Acorn to gain a better understanding of its true profitability to inform strategic decisions related to pricing, SKU management and overall business performance.
Applied Predictive Technologies (APT)
www.predictivetechnologies.com
Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) provides advanced analytical SaaS solutions that help to enable consumer goods organizations to make decisions with greater confidence, optimizing sales, marketing and retail initiatives to maximize ROI. In 2009, APT and Kraft presented an overview for CPG executives on how Test & Learn can be used to drive improvements in Retail Servicing performance.
aWhere Inc.
www.awhere.com
aWhere helps to transform complex POS and causal data into store-level insight through location intelligence. In 2009, aWhere deployed the Kehe Food Vendor Sales Portal in order to deliver the value of store-level predictive analytics driven by geo-spatial technology.
Epicor Software Corporation
www.epicor.com
Epicor delivers enterprise business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality and services industries. With 25 years of technology innovation, Epicor's ERP software solutions help to provide the scalability and flexibility businesses need to build competitive advantage. In 2009, Microsoft named Epicor the "Global ISV Line of Business Partner of the Year."
G4 Analytics
www.g4analytics.com
G4 Analytic solutions and BI professionals help consumer goods companies like Cadbury NA increase sales through analytics. G4 Analytics integrates data and embeds facts into all aspects of the sales and planning process to drive improved business performance. G4 Analytics' predictive models are expected to allow for trade promotion optimization and on-shelf availability.
Global 360
www.global360.com
Global 360 helps consumer goods and retail companies streamline processes, such as procure-to-pay and order-to-cash, and remove costs from the supply chain. Through business process and document management solutions, companies can identify problems through real-time performance data, reduce cycle times, and improve productivity and service levels. Global 360's BPM suite was chosen as KMWorld's Trend-Setting Product of the Year.
Hybrid Intelligence
www.hybridintelligence.com
With a consumer packaged goods focus, Hybrid Intelligence creates value for its customers through providing analytics, reporting and data warehousing as a service. In 2009, the company helped the Sun Products Corporation define and implement Hybrid's Planning and Budgeting solution that enabled building and flexing an integrated bottom-up 2010 P&L plan in just 90 days.
LumiData
www.lumidata.com
LumiData's SOLYS Software is a configurable demand intelligence solution that helps CPG companies increase sales, optimize inventory and enhance their retailer partnerships. In 2009, LumiData implemented an outside-in BI architecture with several Fortune 1000 CPG companies that incorporates dashboard reporting for Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Costco, Family Dollar, Best Buy and Meijer retail sales teams, as well as an all-channel enterprise platform that provides C-level dashboard reporting on key performance indicators.
QlikTech
www.qlikview.com
QlikTech offers its QlikView self-service business intelligence tool for users to access and explore critical information from production planning and distribution to trade promotions management and customer lifetime value. In 2009 the company unveiled its interactive mobile analytics tool and added to its list of worldwide consumer products brands with customers like Gatorade, Lifetime Brands and Carlsberg.
Relational Solutions
www.relationalsolutions.com
Relational Solutions, for the second consecutive year, won the INC500/5000 Fastest-Growing Businesses Award. Its flagship DSR, POSmart, helps to automate integration, cleansing, harmonization and management of POS, syndicated and internal data. BlueSky identifies OOS, phantom inventory, etc. New applications include Promotion, New-Item Tracking, Replenishment, Forecasting and "Retail-Linked" which automates downloads of Wal-Mart reports.
SEQUOYA
www.sequoya.com
SEQUOYA delivers account specific consumption models for everyday price, promotions and competitive activity to provide the required insights to forecast better and increase return on trade. In 2009, The Dannon Company renewed its subscription to the platform to drive pricing and promotion optimization throughout the organization.
Siperian Inc.
www.siperian.com
Despite spending millions of trade promotion dollars to increase sell-through and profits, CPG companies struggle to track the specific promotion and retailer combination that impacted brand performance. Siperian's multi-domain Master Data Management (MDM) platform helps to provide a unified and classified view of critical channel partner, product, supplier and pricing data. Siperian was recognized as the MDM Product of the Year by SearchDataManagement.com.
TABS Group
www.tabsgroup.com
TABS' Total Store Analytics service aims to provide space optimization, shopper-centric category adjacencies, and determines which categories should be placed in the most highly visible locations. This "beyond the category" management is expected to benefit many of the largest retailers and manufacturers who strive to bring their customers innovative insights and recommendations.
Telligent
www.telligent.com
Telligent is an enterprise collaboration and community software company. The company's fully-integrated platform and portfolio of applications aim to transform how organizations listen to, engage as well as measure interaction with customers, partners, prospects and employees. In 2009, Telligent released Telligent Community 5.0, Telligent Enterprise 2.0 and Telligent Analytics 3.0.
ThinkVine Corporation
www.thinkvine.com
ThinkVine Corporation aims to help companies make better marketing investments. In 2009, the company launched "The Emerging Marketplace," a marketing simulation and planning software that lets marketers test detailed marketing plans before spending against them. The technology strives to be forward-looking, to capture the impact of marketing at the consumer level and to actually explain sales.
MOBILIZERS
Mobilizers is a new category this year for companies that provide mobility solutions that range from employee cell phones to retail execution, DSD support, data collection, and more recently, communication with end consumers.
AT&T
www.att.com/builtforbusiness
AT&T strives to combine networking capabilities and practical expertise to create significant advantages in operating cost, asset utilization and business process performance for its consumer goods clients. AT&T has been listed as "America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company" by Fortune in 10 out of the last 13 years and "World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company" in 11 out of the last 14 years.
Motorola
www.motorola.com
Motorola offers barcode scanners, RFID and voice technologies, mobile computers and wireless network infrastructure that help to seamlessly and securely link people, assets and information in stores and across the supply chain. In 2009, Motorola led industry initiatives such as item-level RFID tagging and next-generation retail solutions to improve associate productivity and enhance the consumer shopping experience.
Quofore Inc.
www.quofore.com
Quofore (formerly O4 Corporation) is an international company in mobile software solutions for field representatives in the consumer products industry. Quofore's solutions are used on handheld devices in order to maximize sales, merchandising, promotion and DSD activities. In 2009, Quofore secured a $15 million growth investment by ABS Capital Partners.
Spring Wireless
www.springwireless.com
Spring Wireless works with some of the largest consumer goods companies to help improve key field sales and marketing business processes such as: retail execution optimization, trade promotion planning, direct store delivery, and more. Most recently, Spring has received the Motorola Partner Award for the Most Innovative Enterprise Mobility Solution, the Mobilizer Award - Best in Class Supply Chain for its work with Anheuser-Busch InBev, and the Microsoft Mobility Partner of the Year for its SFA solution at L'Oréal.