 Off-site
events yielded some of the most valuable experiences for
retailers
and vendors, executives said, especially compared to the
conference sessions and show floor. For example, a Microsoft
breakfast event attracted more than 55 CIOs, well
beyond the Redmond, Wash.-based company's expectations,
according
to Tom Litchfield, Microsoft's director of marketing and
channel, retail and hospitality industries. An event
by DemandTec, San Carlos, Calif., also drew more than
expected. For
about half the attendees, it was standing room only. 
— Executive Technology Magazine
April 2004
Hundreds
of interested retail and consumer goods professionals joined
us at DemandBetter
2004, DemandTec's second annual user conference, and discussed
the benefits of Consumer Demand Management (CDM).
DemandBetter 2004 covered a breadth of retail
and manufacturing issues, including
- How
CDM helps retailers and consumer product firms meet
constantly changing consumer expectations
- Large
scale adoption of price and promotion optimization
technology
- A
preview of DemandTec 4's insight into total store impact
The kickoff to the two-day event was a panel
discussion moderated by AMR Research’s Scott Langdoc.
On hand to talk about their experiences with DemandTec's
suite of Consumer Demand Management applications and science
platform were executives from Radio Shack, IBM, New York
pharmacy retailer Duane Reade, southwestern regional grocer
H-E-B, and Excel Corporation, one of the largest beef distributors
in the U.S. The dominant theme of the discussion was the
growing sense of urgency among retailers trying to compete
with giant big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, and how
CDM has become compulsory to help them meet changing consumer
tastes for quality, product variety and tailored offerings,
at the right price.
Panelists, left to right:
Craig Breslin, Duane Reade; Alex Hoff, RadioShack Corporation; Mark Beaty,
HEB Grocery Company
Panelists, left to right:
Herb Meischen, Excel Corporation; Scott Langdoc, AMR Research; Mark Beaty,
HEB Grocery Company; Laura Rossiter, IBM; Craig Breslin, Duane Reade;
Alex Hoff, RadioShack Corporation
|
"DemandTec's
earned our respect and we call them a Key Provider
Partner in dealing with us at H•E•B."
Mark Beaty
HEB Grocery Company
|
|
"IBM
Consumer Demand Management Services with DemandTec
is one of the very key components of the retail-
on-demand portfolio, and currently it’s
the only one we deliver."
Laura Rossiter
IBM
|
|
"There's
a lot we've done in the last year with DemandTec,
and I'd say we're really just scratching the
surface."
Alex Hoff
RadioShack
|
|
"This
event is a good indication that 2004 will see
a significant acceleration in the number of
rollouts of Consumer Demand Management. After
a few years of strong financial results by
early adopters in the retail sector, as many
as 40 percent of retailers are planning CDM
implementations. The results are too good to ignore."
Scott
Langdoc, AMR Research |
|
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