The No. 2 sports apparel and equipment maker in the world, adidas-Salomon Canada, uses the IBM eServer iSeries platform to gain a competitive edge in its market.
Many eye-opening stories emerged in 2004 but the rise of "Bloggers"-- every day people who post Web logs on the Internet for all to see--- is clearly one of the most interesting.
Business Intelligence (BI) wasn't the hottest topic of conversation amongst IT types in 2004, and to be perfectly honest, it likely won't be the belle of the ball in 2005 either.
In trade promotions management technology, integrated analytics tools that provide for precise tracking of promotions dollars are currently drawing the most attention from consumer goods (CG) companies, analysts say.
Even though the following IT firms did not land a coveted spot on this year's Reader's Choice list, Consumer Goods Technology would be remiss by not bringing them front and center.
According to AMR Research, trade funds investments can account for 15 percent of a consumer goods (CG) company's revenue, and the total spent on advertising, marketing and promotions by CG companies is an estimated $250 billion annually.
In an effort to get closer to its customers, optimize its supply chain and become a low-cost supplier, Diageo North America tapped into a collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) program with its distributors.
