Business Intelligence software maker SAS
launched today SAS Retail Intelligence Solutions, a new
suite of integrated offerings that address the needs of
retailers.
The solution will enable retailers to
understand past customer behavior and predict future
buying patterns, determine the net profitability of
products, and see the effectiveness of promotional
campaigns across multiple channels.
By extracting inferences
from customer databases, retailers can formulate and
implement consistent business strategies and performance
metrics across the organization, improve customer
service and maximize profitability.
"Despite
being a $3 billion industry in India, retailing remains
remarkably inefficient and volatility is the only
constant," said Vivek Gokarn, MD & CEO, SAS India
Pvt. Ltd. "This new addition to SAS' family of retail
offerings address the issue by providing retailers with
the clarity required to optimize key profit drivers."
At the heart of each solution is SAS' expertise
in data management and predictive analytics, for
enabling retailers to reduce their dependence on gut
instinct and year-over-year histories. Underlying the
entire suite is the SAS Retail Intelligence
Architecture, a data model that contains customer,
retail outlets, supply chain and transaction information
(down to the SKU level).
The solution has
several modules. A ‘Customer Insight’ component will
help retailers understand their customers through
quantitative analysis, strategic segmentation and
behavior predictions based on customers' demographic,
psychographic, transactional and attitudinal data.
Additionally, the module will offer retailers the
ability to segment and profile stores based on
transaction history and trade area demographics.
A ‘Supply Chain Costing’ module will combine
advanced data management and a retail-specific costing
methodology to give financial visibility into supply
chains. A ‘Promotional Effectiveness’ component will
allow retailers to forecast the impact of promotions on
uplift of base volumes by SKU, retail outlet and by the
week/time of promotion, thus supplementing merchandising
and marketing decisions.
