New SAS® Retail Forecasting helps predict and meet customer demand

Leading Finnish grocer S Group implements new SAS^® retail software to maintain high customer satisfaction scores 

The Premier Business Leadership Series, ANTWERP, BELGIUM  (15 Jun. 2011)  – S Group dominates the grocery market in Finland, but the group cannot rest on its laurels in this highly competitive segment. S Group has identified improved supply chain productivity as key to maintaining its leadership position. SAS, the leader in business analytics and services, today launched SAS Retail Forecasting, which will help S Group ensure product availability and drive growth across its more than 900 stores.

SAS Retail Forecasting will help retailers predict demand and shape consumer response across a marketing-driven, multichannel retail enterprise. It analyzes consumer response to price, promotion, marketing and operational activity to assess impact on demand. In addition to price and promotion, SAS can also assess cannibalization and halo effects, and causes for lost sales, as well as forecast new product sales.

"Analytics are essential today for retailers to remain competitive," said Diana McHenry, SAS' Global Retail Marketing Manager. "Forecasting, whether done well or done poorly, is the foundation of retail business operations. With SAS, retailers gain over 35 years of predictive analytics and forecasting expertise to drive better customer understanding, engagement and results." 

"S Group tends to gain the best customer satisfaction scores among Finnish grocery retailers," said Sanna Timola, Director, Space Management and Forecasting at SOK Grocery Trade Chain Management. "To maintain and improve our customer satisfaction, we need to ensure shelf availability continuously. At the same time, we have to improve supply chain productivity. The most important processes are store replenishment, procurement and retail pricing. The best results can be achieved by sharing sales forecasts between business partners within the value chain and building transparency in the trading ecosystem. Implementing SAS Retail Forecasting will be one of the most important and challenging development programs we have ever started." 

Today's announcement came at The Premier Business Leadership Series event in Antwerp, Belgium, a business conference presented by SAS that brings together more than 600 attendees from the public and private sectors to share ideas on critical business issues. 

About S Group

The S Group consists of 22 regional cooperatives and the SOK Corporation, which is owned by the cooperatives. The S Group  has more than 1,600 outlets ($15B US). Based in Helsinki, Finland, the S Group provides services for a variety of businesses including supermarkets, fuel and service station stores, department and specialty stores, tourism and hospitality businesses and retail banking services. The S Group’s purpose is to provide services and benefits for customer-owners in Finland, the Baltic States and Russia. Cooperative memberships total nearly 2.0 million – 44% of the market, and S Group employs more than 39,000 employees.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 50,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.

The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation for 21 years. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS employs 240 people across the country at its Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montréal offices. www.sas.com/canada

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