2010 Readers' Choice: Trade Promotion Management

Gartner's Managing Vice President, Dale Hagemeyer, reports that this year's list reads as though it is based on size of install base. Newcomers like FlintFox and DemandTec seem to indicate more competition in the trade promotion management (TPM) space.

CGT: Has the economic downturn impacted TPM initiatives?

Hagemeyer: Only somewhat. I've seen some projects slow down but the dollars spent in trade promotions are so big that consumables companies have no choice but to keep pressing forward.

CGT: What trends do you see that will impact industry?

Hagemeyer: Once CG companies can work through the plan/execute/pay cycle and have the integration required to perform post event analysis there is a whole new world opening up to them with some of the predictive capabilities that leading vendors are unveiling in this space. This will allow users to effectively "change the game" by talking to retailers about outcomes of promotions instead of bringing more money to the table each year to execute "grandfathered" events.

CGT: Is the industry ready for trade promotion optimization? What first steps should they take?

Hagemeyer: Avoid jumping on any band wagon unless you have well-defined and consistent processes around TPM. Make sure you are comfortable with a technology-enabled promotion cycle from planning through settlement. Really focus on post-event analysis. If you don't, then start. Ensure that users are comfortable with the accuracy of existing TPM tools. Do not move forward until the data can be trusted. Now you are ready for some of the predictive tools that are available that can serve to help sharpen thinking and evaluate assumptions. They help to cull through tons of causal data and focus on outcomes relative to promotional activities.

This constitutes "moving to the next stage". Some companies are ready, but the industry as a whole is not. Hence, the step-by-step approach.

CAS recently released CAS 8 -- the latest generation of its solution. CAS 8 is an integrated suite of TPM, TPO and Retail Execution solutions that aims to deliver a comprehensive, closed-loop process. "CAS' superior skills in this sector, which are the result of a 100 percent specialization in the consumer goods industry, really stand out."
-- Marco Mietner, Head of Sales Development, Bacardi Germany

SMB MARKET: SAP

"SAP Vistex has brought to our organization a new visibility that was unavailable to us until now. It allows us to make decisions more efficiently based on real time information ensuring that our trade promotion dollars are working as hard as possible to deliver the greatest result."
-- Timothy Coyle, Director of Information and Technology, Ateeco Inc.