Claraview Introduces Retail Performance Management Solution; Retailers can now leverage out-of-the-box integration of best-practice Planning and Analytics

Business Wire, May 22, 2006

CHICAGO -- Claraview, Inc., a Business Intelligence consulting and technology company, announced the release of Claraview Retail Performance Management, a new solution that combines the business insight of the Claraview Retail Data Warehouse (RDW) with Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI) and Cognos Planning. Claraview Retail Performance Management enables retailers to plan initiatives and measure business results against goals in near real-time. Out-of-the-box key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting workbenches enable stakeholders across the enterprise, from store managers to executives, to immediately gain valuable decision-making insight into all aspects of the operations, including Corporate Performance, Supply Chain, and Customer Demand. Pre-built bi-directional data integration maximizes the planning capabilities of Cognos Retail Performance Blueprints with the best-practice analytics enabled by the Claraview Retail Data Warehouse.

Claraview Retail Performance Management addresses the demand for a seamless link between the planning and operations functions of today's retail enterprises. In many retail environments, disparate disconnected systems are used for store planning, financial reporting, inventory management, and customer relationship management, resulting in data mismatches and long delays to produce meaningful reports. The unavailability of timely and trustworthy data undermines the retailer's ability to react promptly to changing market conditions or competitor actions, leading to inefficiency and lost opportunity.

A 'Powered by Cognos' initiative, Claraview Retail Performance Management combines the Claraview Retail Data Warehouse, a comprehensive retail analytics solution based on best practices gained from hundreds of Claraview retail engagements, with industry-leading planning and performance management solutions from Cognos, such as Cognos Store (P&L) Operations Planning Blueprint. Claraview Retail Performance Management includes the Claraview Retail Data Model, an enterprise data model that encompasses transaction-level operational and planning data and integrates with the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) operational data model.

With Claraview Retail Performance Management, users can:

--Monitor and manage corporate performance with integrated operational and financial metrics;

--Engage vendors and store managers in supply chain optimization;

--Identify, budget for, and retain key customers;

--Enhance existing analytics with space planning, transaction / basket analysis, customer data integration, product affinity, competitive pricing, and other advanced analytics.

"We believe that the Claraview Retail Performance Management solution powered by Cognos is a breakthrough and offers tremendous value to the retail industry," said Patricia Vekich Waldron, Retail Industry Director at Cognos. "It provides retailers with a solution to link formerly stove-piped processes and data for a single version of the truth. We expect it to deliver significant value to retail chains looking for an enterprise-wide performance management solution that encompasses best practices for streamlining the supply chain, optimizing retail operations, and managing customer demand."

Claraview Retail Performance Management can dramatically reduce time-to-deployment for those retailers looking to augment or replace an existing retail analytics system as well as those retailers planning to deploy retail analytics from scratch. Claraview Retail Performance Management is also a good fit for current Cognos customers looking to upgrade, especially those considering a standard business intelligence platform for the entire enterprise.

"We are excited to build upon the capabilities of the Claraview Retail Data Warehouse and the Cognos Performance Blueprints," said Dan Ross, Claraview's VP of Professional Services and Retail Practice Leader. "By offering a packaged integration of the two solutions, we provide our clients with benefits far surpassing their collective value."

About Claraview, Inc.

Claraview is a strategy and technology consultancy that helps leading companies and government agencies use business intelligence (BI) to achieve competitive advantage and operational excellence. Founded in 2001, Claraview differentiates itself with its BI focus, depth of experience, and objective, vendor-neutral approach. Claraview's 100 consultants understand the business context of projects and provide insight into the ways business intelligence can add strategic value to an organization. Claraview clients include retail leaders such as Catalina Marketing, Hannaford Bros. Co., Lowe's Companies, and Office Depot. www.claraview.com

Claraview, Claraview, Inc., and Claraview RDW are trademarks or registered trademarks of Claraview, Inc. All other company and product names are property of their respective owners.