21 Oct 2021: Acuvate, a global software service provider announced today that it has had the privilege of finding special mention as an Up & Coming Vendor in Promotion Optimization Institute’s Enterprise Planning Vendor Panorama Report. Designed to enable Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies’ with strong advisory on technology vendors, this prestigious report highlights Acuvate’s experience in digital solutions, accelerating enterprise-wide digital transformation with AI accelerators.
Finding special mention in the report is Compass, Acuvate’s augmented analytics solution with predictive and prescriptive capabilities for sales forecast, promotion recommendation based on ROI, marketing campaign effectiveness, and post promotion analytics with natural language querying using AI data chatbots. Here is what the report highlights – “Compass can be hosted on a customer’s cloud platform. It has been built on top of the Azure data platform which provides future ready scalability and performance. The solution can be configured or customized based on business needs. Compass brings internal and external data together into a common data model on top of which the machine learning (ML) algorithms for prediction and prescription are run. It can address common data quality issues by creating the bronze, silver, and gold data layers using data lake architecture. Compass can ingest data from multiple sources and formats with its configurable data pipelines. Compass has data chatbots as a channel for looking at the effectiveness of the promotions, understand the sales performance, market share, etc. These chatbots can be hosted on multiple platforms like Teams or web applications or WhatsApp. The chatbots can also be used for planning promotions.
Acuvate works with customers to move them through data maturity levels towards being a data first organization by increasing data literacy, automation of process, and high-quality insights. Speaking of its mention in the POI report, Shanawaz Sheriff, Practice Head – Data & Analytics said, “We are thrilled to have been selected by the POI as an up and coming vendor in the space of augmented analytics and enterprise planning. It is a validation of our hard work and technological prowess in empowering CPG organizations globally with data-driven solutions, enabling an insight-rich future for them.”
A unique Acuvate differentiator is its leading-edge bot planning technology. We believe organizations can utilize a conversational AI journey to reduce planning burden and drive user adoption with Acuvate’s technology. The Compass platform, which leverages data chatbots to communicate with the Sales teams metrics such as promotion effectiveness, sales performance, market share and additional parameters, is compatible with market platforms like Teams and WhatsApp. Utilizing AI bot technology in combination with social channels makes it easy to use and highly effective in the enterprise planning environment.
POI Advisory Team
Based on the defined business objective (maximize volume, profit, revenue, retailer margin) the chatbot would be able to trigger a machine learning algorithm and prescribe promotions that would be most effective and within the budget. Configurable pre-built reports on Power Bi for promotion effectiveness, scenario (What if) analysis, Sales analysis, brand analysis, and market share analysis. These reports are built with a self-service analytics philosophy, so the business users would be able to enhance or build their own reports without the need to rely on technology teams to make these changes on the reports. Compass TPO portal built on SharePoint has a summary of all the trends and insights including the recommendation for the promotions. From here users will be able to navigate to the different reports. It has a section for alerts on key KPIs like Must Stock List (MSL) and On Time in Full (OTIF) which can be configured. These alerts can also be sent through the chatbot on MS Teams or WhatsApp. Compass can integrate to an existing TPM system to pull data related to promotions and push the promotion calendar. Alternatively, some of the master data related to promotions can also be configured within Compass. Compass machine learning (ML) algorithms are built using Azure machine learning with python notebooks. These ML algorithms are optimized continuously and reinforced based on the outcome. Depending on the data and dynamics of the market, the same algorithms might not work for all enterprises. So, Compass leverages auto machine learning techniques for picking up the model with the highest accuracy based on the most relevant features for that organization. Baselines account for seasonality and distribution changes and can be configured to be based on the recent history or based on the same period last year. Promotion planning can be done with a calendar-based interface which provides a rich user experience.
Acuvate works with customers to move them through data maturity levels towards being a data first organization by increasing data literacy, automation of process, and high-quality insights.
Speaking of its mention in the POI report, Shanawaz Sheriff, Practice Head – Data & Analytics said, “We are thrilled to have been selected by the POI as an up and coming vendor in the space of augmented analytics and enterprise planning. It is a validation of our hard work and technological prowess in empowering CPG organizations globally with data-driven solutions, enabling an insight-rich future for them.”
To access the full POI 2021 Enterprise Planning EPx Vendor Panorama visit the POI website: https://poinstitute.com.
About Acuvate:
Acuvate is a global software service provider with over 15 years of experience in digital solutions, accelerating enterprise-wide digital transformation with our AI accelerators. We provide solutions and services that modernize, automate and support enterprise applications, IT systems, and infrastructure. We have a strong presence in the US, Europe, and APAC, where we serve multiple ultra-large customers. We specialize in Migration & Modernization of Content, Data, Infrastructure, and Digital Workplace Solutions such as AI-powered Chatbots, Intranets, Advanced analytics, & Trade Promotion Optimization.
Acuvate is a Microsoft Gold certified partner and has transformed 200+ reputed enterprises globally, including many Fortune 500 companies. With our multi-skilled experts and packaged AI accelerators, we deliver unparalleled efficiencies and accelerate time-to-value for our customers.
About POI:
POI brings together manufacturers, retailers, solution providers, analysts, academics, and other industry leaders with the specific objective of collaboratively improving Enterprise planning and the promotion & distribution of consumer goods. Members of POI share cross-functional best practices in both structured and informal settings. Additionally, members benefit through our industry alliances, the Certified Collaborative Marketer (CCM)™ program, and industry-leading summits around the globe. This industry-wide effort of POI produces a roadmap on how trading partners can continuously improve their approach and profitability through real-time, relevant promotions. POI aims to instil a financial and metrics-based discipline not typically found with other trade groups. The goal of our innovative approach is collaborative Enterprise planning and promotion optimization. The focus is on the consumer/shopper through sales, marketing, and merchandising strategies. The POI executive advisory boards keep us apprised of industry needs and help us provide desired outcomes for members, sponsors, and academia.
To access the full POI 2021 Enterprise Planning Vendor Panorama report, receive complementary passes to upcoming POI hybrid, virtual and in-person events including the POI Fall Hybrid Summit, November 3-5, 2021, have access to the quarterly POI Manufacturer Connect Share Group and much more, join POI as a member. https://poinstitute.com/membership. For company/team membership, please contact Joanie Malin jmali@p-o-i.org