Data Management

As the consumer goods landscape changes due to the mergers and acquisitions driven by the industry's leading players, the question of how the combined companies manage and integrate separate I.S. entities into a new whole becomes paramount for long-term success and efficiencies across the enterprise and supply chain.

The art of attracting and retaining customers is a sizeable challenge for the CG industry.

Vendor managed inventory (VMI) solutions are changing the rules of business for select CG companies and their customers. Increased service levels, improved forecasting and clear visibility into the supply chain are some of the benefits generated by VMI solutions.

Improving the bottom line involves more than just deploying the latest technology.

Gaining increased attention among CG companies in the current economic climate is product lifecycle management (PLM) technology that reduces the time and cost it takes to bring a product to market.

Two of the three new e-business integration players roared to the top of this year's Best of Breed list, with Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) taking first place and IBM (www.ibm.com) second.