The ability to execute mutually profitable trade promotions continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the retail industry. Although there has been some progress, many retailers are feeling the heat of new formats, such as Amazon.
Wyckoff, New Jersey (PRWEB) August 25, 2016
The Promotion Optimization Institute (POI), the leading resource for trade marketing and merchandising executives, today released its 2016 POI TPx Vendor Panorama, a detailed analysis of the trade promotion management/optimization market to help consumer goods companies to successfully execute trade promotions at the headquarters level.
The POI 2016 TPx Panorama also identified 21 best-in-class vendors across 12 functional areas that are helping retailers and consumer goods executives manage trade promotions effectively. The 2016 POI Trade Promotion best-in-class vendors include: Accenture, Adesso, Exceedra, Kantar Retail XTEL, Nielsen, Periscope, Sequoya, TABS Analytics, T-Pro, RI, SAP, Upclear, Visualfabriq, and WPAS.
“The ability to execute mutually profitable trade promotions continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the retail industry. Although there has been some progress, many retailers are feeling the heat of new formats, such as Amazon, on their top and bottom line,” said Dale Hagemeyer, partner and board member of the POI. “The 2016 POI TPx Vendor Panorama was developed to help retailers improve their ability to manage trade promotions through the use of enabling technologies with the ultimate goal of improving revenue and profits.”
The TPx Vendor Panorama builds upon the research of the POI 2016 Retail Execution Vendor Panorama, a detailed analysis of the Retail Execution market and the technology vendors that support it. In previous research, POI found that 79 percent of consumer goods companies surveyed that they are not satisfied with their ability to manage trade promotions.
Key Insights from the 2016 POI TPx Vendor Panorama
The 2016 Panorama reported the following four key insights for executives at consumer goods companies to consider:
- The right personnel must be in place before proceeding with any technology investment. In a previously cited POI survey, a total of 77 percent of respondents said that they have “challenges finding qualified personnel who can use and understand existing solutions.”
- Consumer goods companies and retailers continue to have issues around executing promotional plans. Eighty-five percent of survey respondents said that they have issues with getting retailers to execute promotional plans as agreed upon. Improved tools that can exhibit promotional outcomes and their financial impacts on both parties can assist in reducing this level of noncompliance by increasing retailer “buy-in.”
- There is little differentiation between trade promotion management (TPM) solutions at the transactional level.
- Technology is only one component of addressing opportunities around promotion and distribution of consumer goods. Other factors include change management, providing best practices, and having appropriate support available in local markets.
Recommendations from the 2016 POI TPx Vendor Panorama
In order to execute trade promotions effectively, the TPx Vendor Panorama has five key recommendations:
- Seek to enable all trade promotion related processes. Currently, a large number of activities are done in spreadsheets instead of through an automated system. Evaluate all processes when choosing a TPx solution. Adding spreadsheets to compensate for inadequacies in your system of choice only adds cycle time, complexity, and the possibility for errors.
- Prioritize functionality above delivery method. The lines between SaaS, managed services, hosted private cloud, and public cloud are blurrier than ever.
- Select capabilities that will help users to be more effective and efficient. The user experience should trump all other considerations, including low price points and promises of easy integration.
- Ask for best practices from vendors and find out the background of those who are expected to deliver them.
- Don’t underestimate the need for change management. Whether moving from spreadsheets to a server-based system or implementing optimization capabilities, getting people to embrace change is critical.
Vendor Evaluation for POI TPx Best-In-Class
In the 2016 POI Panorama, solutions from 24 vendors were evaluated. The following 16 capabilities were analyzed and compared: company viability, geographic strategy, market responsiveness and track record, deployment capabilities, market understanding, vertical and industry strategy, partner leverage, company vision, product aptness and flexibility, delivery flexibility, solution completeness, offline capabilities, user experience, analytical capabilities, product vision, and configurability.
“This compendium on trade promotion further demonstrates POI’s commitment, is invaluable reading for leaders in every role within CPG and Retail—and those who aspire to lead, " said Michael Kantor, CEO and Founder, Promotion Optimization Institute
About the Promotion Optimization Institute
POI brings together manufacturers, retailers, solution providers, analysts, academics and other industry leaders. Members of the POI share cross-functional best practices in both structured and informal settings. Additionally, members benefit through our industry alliances, the Certified Collaborative Marketer (CCM) curriculum and certification, industry leadership events, and the Promotional Collaborative Capability Matrix (PCCM). POI aims to instill a financial and metrics-based discipline not typically found with other trade groups.
The goal of our innovative approach is collaborative promotion optimization. The focus is on the customer/shopper through sales, marketing, and merchandising strategies. POI is based in Wyckoff, New Jersey. To learn more about the POI, including how to participate in research, how to register to attend or sponsor events, and how to engage with leaders on the CCM, visit http://www.poinstitute.com/ or email Mkantor (at) poinstitute (dot) com.