Winning At The Shelf

Since being acquired by HALO Technology Holdings in 2005, Kenosia Corporation has been assembling demand-sensing technologies, like RevCast, to help account teams better use downstream data, replenish the store and develop category strategies. I sat down with Kenosia CEO John Boccuzzi to discuss how consumer goods firms can leverage and analyze disparate sources of data to win with the consumer at the shelf. Plus,Boccuzzi shares details about Kenosia's acquisition of RevCast.

 

 

BOCCUZZI: Very critical. For years we have all watched the consumer's time-instore shrink, leading to less time to browse an aisle, see a new item or take advantage of a promotion. We've also noticed the shopper becoming intolerant of out-of-stock issues. In response to an out of stock, the consumer will either select an alterative brand or, worse, move to a new retail outlet that is more reliable. Lora Cecere of AMR Research recently wrote a paper entitled, "What we have learned from three years of retail RFID pilots," in which she discusses the fact that CG manufacturers have more control than they thought with regard to out of stocks. The issue is they need to be sensing downstream data daily at an SKU and store level. Cecere wrote, "Based on eight pilots, the data supports that 25 to 27 percent of out of stock problems can be fixed by improving the CPG companies' supply chain response." This is exactly what Kenosia, in particular our forecasting and replenishment product RevCast, helps solve. At Kenosia, we focus our efforts on assisting CG companies to access and make sense of the various data sources they have available. We are able to help them significantly improve their out-of-stock situations at store and SKU level, not only combating the consumers' distaste of not finding what they want, but also protecting your brand from a substitute.

 

 

BOCCUZZI: Today you have much more than just syndicated data available. Companies can acquire direct point-of-sale (POS) data from retailers, shipment information from internal systems, as well as demographic, census, advertising and survey data from a host of vendors. Since data is so readily available, simply providing general reporting and insights from that data is no longer enough to raise you above the competition. Instead, companies have been taking their data analysis to the next level by pooling their data to form that 'cohesive view' you asked about. This addresses a two-pronged need: The first is that single data views are not broad enough to make conclusive statements, being from only one source. It's when you're able to combine and cross reference multiple data sources that you begin to deduce insights that would rarely, if ever, be found. The second need is that syndicated data is so readily available for the buyer, that CG companies have turned to data sources outside the normto help them truly differentiate themselves in the market. I am regularly impressed when clients tell me about new data sources they are incorporating into their analytics using DataAlchemy. Unusual data sources that have really driven opportunities for clients are tax information, crop acreage and weather, to name a few. The real value of the various data sources, standard or outside the box, is only realized when the sources are combined for analysis and are able to tell the "whole story."

 

 

BOCCUZZI: Executives are interested foremost in the overall directional indicators of their business. Each of the data types you mentioned in the previous question can lend insight to what those directions are. They each have different scope, and therefore different needs for analysis frequency. However, cross referencing those data sets amplifies those directional views and sets the stage for simpler and more consistent reviews. Daily, demand-based POS data is the most powerful and useful information. This is where stock problems, ineffective promotions, fulfillment problems, etc., can skew the directional indicators of the business. The right tools can quickly identify issues, allowing them to be acted on and archived for root cause analysis. To summarize, weekly and monthly reviews are optimal for industry and loyalty data. For POS, daily analysis of shelf-level replenishment is imperative to capture historical events to identify and aggregate the root cause of successes and failures at a corporate level.

 

 

BOCCUZZI: The "owner of the data" prompts me to consider which internal group should own the data. In my opinion, the business users should own the data, not IT. IT has a responsibility to provide data sets to the business, but the business user is ultimately responsible for making sure insights are gleaned from the data. The challenge of sharing data across many job functions and departments is that each has its own needs and views on how the data will be used. For example, a single company may need to view the data with infinite dimensional iterations, such as time or geography aggregates (by month, week, day, region, store or SKU). Additional issues may be restricting access to some of the data or normalizing time periods. In order to provide data to different groups when the data is from different sources, a flexible, agnostic analytical solution is needed. It allows the business users to own the data. Only then will you be able to implement a manageable solution that each group can work with.

 

 

BOCCUZZI: Kenosia was founded on the idea that we could positively and measurably impact CG companies' objectives and revenue through the insights gained from their disparate data sets. Eight years later our objective has not changed.

When we learned about RevCast and the significant impact they had on their clients' business, the rationale for the acquisition and integration was easy. With our combined solutions a client can now analyze daily data, at any account and shelf level through powerful exception-based models. These models feed our clients their most important business issues or opportunities each morning. While RevCast provides a sophisticated interface for the everyday user, that same information can then be rolled into executive dashboards or presentations via DataAlchemy

The combined solution allows a client to rely on one vendor to meet the needs of sales, category management, supply chain, account teams and general executive reporting using all of the data available at the most granular level. We are excited about the integration of RevCast. More importantly, our clients are excited.

 

 

BOCCUZZI: At Kenosia, we've found that a key factor to our success is assembling a team of passionate employees. Their drive, coupled with cutting-edge technology, creates a winning combination. We present every employee that starts at Kenosia with a copy of Jack Mitchell's book "Hug Your Customer." Jack Mitchell is the CEO and President of Mitchell's of Westport, Conn., and Richard's of Greenwich, Conn., two of the most successful retail outlets in the Northeast. Jack's energy and passion around his customers, employees and the industry is something I aspire to reach. We also gave every attendee at our user conference a copy. It felt great to receive thank you notes from clients that read the book. In fact, I would be happy to provide signed copies of Jack's book to the first 25 executives that e-mail me ([email protected]).

In closing, the best advice I can give managers and executives in the CG space is to find those passionate people inside your organization and put them on your most challenging projects and important accounts. CG