Johannesburg, 30 Sep 2009
Retailers require increased analytical rigour on promotional activities so as to boost margins, and they are enlisting the help of suppliers to reduce supply chain costs.
They are applying great effort to squeeze higher margins out of better category management and are seeking ways to leverage insight from the new data available to customise special offers.
They are steadily expanding their base beyond their traditional sources of information: sales, merchandising and financial data. Information is now pulled from a variety of new systems, including supply chain data and customer-specific data, to give them a more comprehensive view of their cost structures and areas of potential profitability.
Retailers are also opening up some of their business intelligence systems to vendors, enlisting them to help wring costs out of the supply chain.
Partners gain visibility into inventory levels, performance metrics and other supply chain data to collaborate in improving efficiency.
While less revolutionary than some of the changes rippling through the telecommunications and financial services markets, the changes rumbling through the retail sector are evolutionary and demand greater flexibility and analytical power from business intelligence solutions than the sector required in the past.
Changes include:
* Increased merchandising efficiency;
* One-to-one marketing;
* Promotion analyses; and
* Supply chain collaboration.
As a transformational asset, business intelligence can provide retailers with decision-making power, eliminating the need for thumb-sucks, and enhancing communication and planning abilities across the organisation. Nowhere is this more applicable than in the retail sector.
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