Business Services Industry

ACNielsen Rolls out Enhanced Merchandising and Assortment Software, New Consulting Services

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Spaceman(R) Suite 7.2, Product Planner 2.1, and New ACNielsen Category Management Consulting Services Introduced at "Merchandising Masters" Conference

ACNielsen U.S. today introduced newly upgraded versions of its industry-leading Spaceman(R) and Product Planner software tools, while also launching an enhanced category management consultancy. The announcement was made at the start of Merchandising Masters, the preeminent educational conference for merchandising professionals hosted by ACNielsen. Attendees at the two-day conference include representatives from leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers based in the U.S. and Canada.

Gary Stubbs, global director of ACNielsen Merchandising Services, said, "We are very pleased to be able to roll out the state-of-the-art versions of multiple merchandising software tools simultaneously. Spaceman 7.2 and Product Planner 2.1 demonstrate our commitment to the ongoing development of sophisticated yet user-friendly merchandising and assortment optimization software. With so much riding on in-store consumer decisions, these tools give today's merchandising professionals the solutions they need to quickly and effectively manage the shelf."

New to the latest release of the Spaceman Suite is enhanced usability and easier data integration, reducing the time between planogram design and execution. New to Product Planner is added flexibility to work with any data source with enhanced visual analysis, enabling users to pull data directly from ACNielsen databases into the Product Planner software.

The Spaceman 7.2 suite of merchandising software solutions includes: Spaceman Application Builder, the core Spaceman merchandising tool which incorporates Microsoft Visual Basic(R) for Applications for unmatched flexibility in the development of planograms; Spaceman Professional, the highly advanced inventory modeling and analysis tool for optimal merchandising plans; Spaceman Stock Planner, which offers easy-to-use inventory models to balance stock on shelf with consumer demand; Spaceman Merchandiser, for foundation-level merchandising, planogramming, and data collection; and Spaceman Viewer, for field-level electronic planogram delivery.

Existing users of the Spaceman Suite and Product Planner will receive Spaceman Suite 7.2 and Product Planner 2.1 at no additional cost as stated in their current maintenance agreements.

Also announced today is the launch of an enhanced ACNielsen category management consultancy in which clients may outsource their space analysis and planogram development work to expert ACNielsen merchandising professionals. Consulting is available either on demand or on an ongoing basis.

ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

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