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Category Management Software heads for the net

Back to Basics: Stages in building Category Management Influence

Category Management Software heads for the Net

Just when we thought that CM related software could not get much more complicated we now have to deal with their conversion to web based applications. The reason for conversion is mainly to increase delivery speeds of information applied in the CM process. This article reviews some of the products making the grade.

It is at the fundamental level of speeding data access via the data retrieval systems that is getting the most attention just now. Leading the field is Oracle Sales Analyzer version 6.4. OSA has long been the work horse of Information Resources who are now very happy to exploit the added functionality to gain advantage over their competitors. OSA is not tied to Information Resources and is available off the shelf to all comers who want a web based data retrieval system. Booker Wholesale, who account for around 10% of UK grocery sales, recently made their huge sales database available over the web to select partners via OSA. Security levels in the software restrict access to various fields, but other than that, the partners can see yesterdays sales, organised in OSA's typical predefined reports.

OSA 6.4 looks and feels a little different from 1.7, which is the main preceding release in the UK, but all the main functionality is there. It is an entirely web based application needing no local installation which means a named user can access it from any machine with a web browser. The only down side of this is that on first use, the Java applets that run the software can take some time to down load in order for user instructions to be completed. How long is "some time"? That depends on your processor and the amount of web traffic between you and your server. For example an intranet that priorities email over internet access will see the user making a cup of tea during the first retrieval. After that, things move along quite nicely. 6.4 overcomes its predecessor's limitation on copy and paste, and the overall look and feel is much better for anyone used to 6.3

IRI have also introduced "Excellerate" which sits as an Excel add-in (activate Excellerate and you activate Excel). You do retrievals as before but these are then presented in the Excel sheet in which you are working without the need to export. To create reports, keystrokes are captured as a Macro within Excel and imbedded in the worksheet. You can reconfigure the report on screen as in OSA which is a plus. Excellerate acknowledges that 99% of users would manipulate any numbers they retrieve in Excel so focuses on delivering the retrieval mechanism rather than packing the software with complex data manipulation tools that would just replicate Excels functionality. What's more, Excellerate is now available as web tool. One of the database selection screens allows you to point to IRI databases on the web. Potential users should be aware that you will need a fixed IP address (typical if you have broadband connection) to allow Excellerate to negotiate the login and password process to update retrievals.

Coming from behind, but not to be outdone, AC Nielsen launched the 32 bit up grade to the 16 bit Inf*act a few years back. Dubbed "Nitro" this was a massive leap forward for anyone who found Inf*act user-unfriendly. Nitro is another Excel add-in with excellent reliability. However, whether Nitro will ever be available as a web enabled tool is not clear. Nielsen is in the process of upgrading its databases across Europe using a common coding platform. This will have big advantages to pan European clients who want to see consistent product hierarchies in all the markets where they buy data, The downside for clients wanting to take full advantage of the functionality provided by "new factory" databases is that it may mean a switch to a new data retrieval platform (possibly out of the Oracle stable).

But web delivery of continuous market tracking data industry will soon be a standard delivery option

Nielsen like many firms do offer data over the web right now, however this is in the form of fixed reports. That is, you cannot drill down or up, or alter the retrieval or affect data configuration on the fly. But web delivery of continuous market tracking data industry will soon be a standard delivery option. Speed of access is one thing (no more CDs lost in the post) but also database storage and administration is front of mind for the researchers who have to manage this stuff. One agency recently offered a client a database in excess of 100 Gb. Needless to say web delivery is now on the agenda as few firms have that amount of idle server capacity.

Data retrieval is only one part of the story as data manipulation and interpretation software is also heading for the web. The driving force here is not the server capacity, but the opportunity to share "part analysed" data with disparate consultants and end users. The primary motivation for this is to allow clients to separate the difficult task of data administration and model generation away from the value activity of applying the model to create actionable insight. Looking ahead as tools get more and more sophisticated in the Category Management arena, this will become common place - leaving Marketing Analysts to administer data and create models saving the Customer Marketer the pressure of adding yet more demanding software to their skill set.

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