Spring 2012 Tech Preview Guide
Modern technology is changing the way we do business in almost every way imaginable. Some would argue it’s moving too fast. But with no signs of a slow down in the foreseeable future, consumer goods manufacturers have no choice but to explore new opportunities – and that involves investing in new technology solutions. The good news is that the benefits of doing so can be powerful.
CGT’s bi-annual Tech Preview Guide introduces you to five new tools that hit the market in 2012. Read on to find out how they can empower key business processes within your organization and differentiate your company from the competition. Plus, check back in with us in November for the Fall edition, when we’ll preview even more innovative solutions set to become available in the second half of 2012.
Vision Chain OptiPro 2.0
Vision Chain, Inc.
Launched: February 2012
Filling a Need: Provides a centralized promotion repository and promotional lift analysis for compliant and non-compliant stores.
Unique Features: OptiPro focuses on consumption and impact of promotion compliance at the item/store/day level. OptiPro calculates compliant and actual lift of promotions based on promotion execution at the store level. OptiPro also provides a repository of past, current and future promotions. Key Users: Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain and Retail Operations.
Expected Benefits: Compliant lift for promotions, lost sales due to lack of promotion execution, sales opportunities based on real-time intervention during promotions.
DevEX
Selerant
Launched: February 2012 (latest release)
Filling a Need: DevEX PLM provides corporations clarity, collaboration and expediency to the NPDI process with tools to view and optimize past, current and future product lines.
Unique Features: Selerant developed DevEX with direct input from leading CPG corporations. Team members now have an intuitive design for unique searches, analysis and tools that not only complement how they work, but allow them to significantly reduce their task timeframe.
Selerant’s greatest distinction from the crowd of PLM providers is that its own vision is not crowded. Selerant’s focus has always been and continues to only be on the distinct needs of formula-based manufacturers.
Selerant’s greatest distinction from the crowd of PLM providers is that its own vision is not crowded. Selerant’s focus has always been and continues to only be on the distinct needs of formula-based manufacturers.
Key Users: DevEX encompasses the entire product lifecycle from concept to commercialization. Team members can collaborate with DevEX’s web-based interface worldwide. These may include: R&D, regulatory, marketing, legal, quality assurance, packaging and IT.
Expected Benefits: DevEX users cited the following as proven benefits: significant reduction in time-to-market; increased visibility to entire product line formula data; increased control and visibility for product compliance; increased visibility to all levels of team members for project timelines and tasks (including executive level); complete control over product data changes.
Want to know more? Download more info about DevEX.
Web site: www.selerant.com
TradeInsight?
TradeInsight
Launched: March 2011
Filling a Need: Improving trade promotion visibility, effectiveness and ROI among retailers and distributors is critical as trade dollars are the second largest expense on a manufacturer’s P&L.
Unique Features: TradeInsight simplifies and consolidates spending and sales data in one place to effectively evaluate direct and in-direct sales. The web-based tool offers powerful sales planning, sophisticated promotion and deduction management and intuitive analytics to tackle trade challenges. The solution tracks spend activity through the entire value chain and can be implemented in weeks not months.
Key Users: TradeInsight becomes an extension of a company’s accounting system, enabling sales, finance and trade marketing departments to maintain one plan in one place.
Expected Benefits: TradeInsight provides a centralized tool to proactively monitor trade spending, validate distributor bill-backs, defend against post-audits and track revenue. Users gain precise visibility into promotions and can evaluate the effectiveness of each event, determine ROI and validate deductions.
Want to know more? Download a client case study.
Web site: http://www.tradeinsight.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tradeinsight
JDA Collaborative Shelf Planning & Analytics
JDA Software Group, Inc.
Launched: December 2011
Filling a Need: JDA enables integrated planning based on demand signals at the shelf versus historical shipments to distribution centers in order to link collaborative customer execution with corporate level planning.
Unique Features: Creates reliable, time-phased orders and projections from shelf through entire network; Creates collaborative platform for retailers and suppliers to gain alignment on forecasted sell-through demand; Ability to model shelf-level planogram change impacts to projected orders; Links to JDA 3D virtual store and shelf modeling for consumer analysis; Root cause analysis for lost sales and inventory issues; Competitive advantage algorithms, including store grading, out-of-stock detection, etc.
Key Users: Cross-functional supplier teams supporting large retailers; headquarter demand/supply planning groups; headquarter category management planners; marketing teams evaluating new product/promotion effectiveness.
Expected Benefits: Improved forecast accuracy; high in-stocks at the shelf, driving higher sales; lower inventories for retailer and supplier; lower expediting; improved asset utilization.
Want to know more? Download more info about this solution.
BluePlanner.com
UpClear, Inc.
Launched: January 2012
Filling a Need: BluePlanner allows consumer goods companies to build budgets and plan sales, evaluate and execute trade promotions, and efficiently manage deductions.
Unique Features: BluePlanner.com provides mobile access to real-time, consolidated data from anywhere. Users quickly adopt BluePlanner and its advanced features around promotion evaluation and analytics. BluePlanner is deployed in a matter of weeks with no costly implementation fees. Each new client benefits from best practices learned through successful deployments to CG companies in more than 12 countries. UpClear works closely with clients to bring new and improved features to BluePlanner.
Key Users: Sales and finance teams benefit from in-depth reporting/analytics, robust processes/workflows and intelligence features. The result is control over processes around TPM and optimization of trade spending.
Expected Benefits: Clients typically see at least 10% waste eliminated in year one due to systematic measure and control. Analytics around trade spending drive improvements to promotional ROI and efficient reallocation of spend budget. Other benefits include improved forecast accuracy, greater visibility on customer and retail profitability, and outstanding reduction in payment reconciliation times.
Want to know more? Download more info about BluePlanner.com
Web site: http://www.upclear.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/upclear