Business Objects Introduces Consumer Packaged Goods Analytics to Help Customers Optimize Promotional Spending; Company Releases BusinessObjects XI Release 2 Industry-Focused Analytic Applications

Business Wire, Feb 7, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. & PARIS -- Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced a new industry-focused analytic application, BusinessObjects(TM) Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics, which enables consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to better measure and manage the performance and return on investment of their trade promotions and spending. Today Business Objects also announced the availability of BusinessObjects XI Release 2 analytic applications, built on the industry's most advanced and complete BI platform. BusinessObjects XI Release 2 analytic applications deliver prepackaged performance management dashboards, scorecards, and targeted analytics that address critical business problems in specific vertical markets.

"At Business Objects, we're passionate about partnering with our customers to create targeted analytic solutions for their specific industry," said Donald MacCormick, vice president of product marketing at Business Objects. "Last fall we announced new planning and budgeting solutions for retailers. Today's launch of Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics shows our continued momentum in delivering industry-focused solutions. BusinessObjects XI Release 2 analytic applications play a key role in our plan to create long term relationships with our customers to address their business pains."

New Analytics Give CPG Companies Holistic View of Promotional Spending and Improves Performance

CPG companies today are spending increasing amounts on sales promotions and associated events, but they have limited visibility into how these promotions are improving their bottom line. BusinessObjects Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics enables CPG manufacturers to understand the impact of their trade promotions, better evaluate target customer bases, and increase promotion profitability for retailers. With this new analytic application, CPG sales and marketing executives gain insight into how promotional funds are being spent, which customers are participating, which promotions are most profitable, and comparative performance by channel. With a holistic view of their promotion spending and effectiveness, CPG companies can better plan and manage their trade promotion programs. CPG customers that currently use Business Objects to enhance performance include Land O'Lakes, Burt's Bees, and Bigelow Teas.

"Business Objects expands its footprint into the packaged application market and brings a valued solution to the CPG industry with Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics," said Rob Hand chief executive officer at Hand Promotion Management. "More than ever, the CPG industry needs to understand the complex interrelationships between promotions and their performance and respond quickly to real-time demand. Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics from Business Objects allows CPG manufacturers to focus their promotional spending in the right areas and maximize the return on their promotional investment."

The delivery of BusinessObjects Trade Promotion Effectiveness Analytics expands on the commitment from Business Objects to develop industry-specific solutions. In November 2005, Business Objects announced planning and budgeting solutions for retail. Currently, Business Objects helps improve performance for eight of the top ten largest retailers worldwide including Wal-Mart.com, Tesco, Carrefour, and Auchan.

New Industry Analytics Based on Extensive Customer Input

After conducting extensive feedback sessions with customers, BusinessObjects XI Release 2 analytic applications include significant new features that simplify implementation and customization. New role-based dashboards provide marketing, human resources, sales, or finance executives access to only the most relevant information. For example, a regional sales vice president can use dashboards tailored for sales executives to get real-time visibility and analysis of their sales operation. Industry-focused analytic applications also include an encyclopedia that enables customers to easily look up business terms used within reports, dashboards, or scorecards.

"We are using analytic applications from Business Objects to drive insight through key business segments within the company, including customers, products and services, supply chain, human resources and finance," said Tony Fuller, CIO of Rent-A-Center. "Currently, we have almost 3,000 stores in North America, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Along with the growth of our business, the amount of data we were gathering grew exponentially, and we needed a more efficient way to work through all the information. Business Objects analytic applications allow us to turn all this information into an asset that can help us improve our company performance and continue to grow as an intelligent enterprise."

New Solution Accelerators Speed Up Deployment Time and Enhance Delivery of ROI

With the launch of BusinessObjects XI Release 2 analytic applications, new Solution Accelerators are available from the Business Objects Professional Services Organization. These Solution Accelerators help organizations more quickly deploy industry-focused analytic applications to address specific business challenges, and provide a set of guided questions that help determine organizational priorities and objectives. Those answers are used to more effectively map out analytic application deployments and hone in on exactly what information organizations need, how it should be delivered, and who receives it.