Retail

Overview — Performance Management in Retail

Leading retail organizations trust Cognos software to manage operational costs, improve store performance, and drive profitable growth. For them we offer:

The right technology and solutions

Cognos, an IBM company, provides an integrated platform for retail performance management. It aggregates and leverages critical data, and delivers the scorecarding, reporting and analysis, and planning tools to optimize performance. With Cognos, retail organizations can improve their ability to make timely, informed decisions in all areas—store operations, marketing, merchandising, IT, and finance.

Cognos performance management software enables retailers and chains to:

  • Align their corporate and store operations around critical revenue and profitability targets; and quickly adjust plans and resource allocations to achieve profitable growth.
  • Identify, report on, and analyze trends to respond to consumer buying needs and behavior.
  • Gain visibility into key metrics across the chain: sales, labor, inventory, and promotions.
  • Monitor turnover and employee productivity.
  • Increase cost savings by comparing and benchmarking performance across stores, channels, regions, and divisions.
  • Optimize merchandise levels, minimize out-of-stocks, and manage inventory costs.

The fastest methods

To speed software deployment and maximize ROI, Cognos offers a full suite of IBM Cognos Performance Blueprints. The Blueprints address planning and performance management process areas that directly impact an organization’s ability to create business value. They consist of pre-built data, process, and policy models based on proven best practices in retail planning, budgeting, and forecasting. They provide the fastest means to effectively align strategy and execution:


The requisite experience

Many of the top players in this industry already choose Cognos, including:

  • Over 325 retail stores and chains globally
  • 30 percent of the world’s top 250 retailers
  • 36 percent of the top 100 retailers in North America
Find out more about:

Additional Resources:


Retail Performance Management: Increase Visibility and Drive Profitable Growth
White Paper
Learn about the benefits of using Cognos performance management to gain deep business insight, improve decision-making, and succeed in the highly competitive retail marketplace.
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Serving up profits
Fact Sheet
Learn how accurate plans, timely reforecasts, and effective decision-making deliver competitive advantage and better results for Quiznos and Ruth's Chris Steak House.
IBM Cognos Retail Store Development Planning Performance Blueprint
Online Demo
Learn how Cognos retail performance management solutions can help chains align corporate objectives with operating plans to operate more profitably and efficiently.
Retail Perspectives: Maximize the Return on Customer
Article
Three perspectives on the retail industry. Learn how customer data drives more successful campaigns, why retailers need tighter integration with their supply chains, and how the IBM Cognos Financial Merchandise Planning Performance Blueprint can improve inventory planning.
Retail Performance Management Podcast with JCB Partners
Podcast
An interview with Brad Smith of JCB partners. Includes a survey of current trends in the retail industry and how JCB and Cognos partner to provide a retail performance management solution to improve performance in merchandising, pricing, and other key areas and walks through a typical retail performance management engagement.
Steak n Shake Interview
Podcast
Hear how Steak n Shake uses Cognos Performance Management to help enable it's strategic plan to sustain some store sales growth and achieve market expansion.
 
Retail Resources
Financial Workbench and Scorecard
Online Demo
Learn how to create a dynamic retail planning environment.
The value of integrated planning
Podcast
Learn why retailers need a robust and integrated planning process to improve productivity.
Retailers' No. 1 Tech Priority Is Business Intelligence
Article
An Aberdeen Group survey finds that BI tools can improve retailers' customer intelligence, cut wasteful spending and increase gross margins.
Quiznos
Success Story
Learn how Cognos helped serve up higher performance at Quiznos
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