SAP launches a promotions profit demand solution

Promotions are seen as a very important aspect of a Retailer’s business, however very complex to coordinate, plan and deliver. The SAP PMR application in an integrated solution that helps retailers to identify profitable promotion demands upfront and thus providing them with flexible functionally for all participants involved to collaborate off one plan.

The SAP PMR provides a single platform that allows business users to collaborate quickly and effectively throughout the entire promotion planning and execution lifecycle, taking into consideration that there could be multiple promotions in different stages of planning. This approach reduces errors, minimizes planning time and accelerates innovation. SAP provides a common optimization platform that may be used by vendor and retail partners to develop optimal trade fund campaigns targeted to specific shoppers in specific geographies.

PMR provides a single backbone for all promotion planning throughout the retail enterprise, linking the marketing team and plans to the merchandise department, and allowing the promotion planners to determine the customer segment, available channels, and variations in price or advertising content. With the push of a button a single promotional offer can be modified quickly to be displayed on a mobile device, offered at a deeper price discount to a specific consumer segment, and enlarged as an in-store poster for a specific geography. Exports are available that can be used by the most popular DTP packages at the printing works to allow for mass distribution or insertion into printed media.

SAP PMR provides a complete multi-channel planning and execution capability for promotions. This starts with the annual budget setting and calendar planning then drilling down to an individual promotion event and the management of all the costs associated with that event. Users can plan a single promotion and make it available across channels or create unique promotions based on specific channel demand or dynamics.  Flexible and configurable channel and customer segment hierarchies allow for easy variations of promotions like price, picture and activation dates.

Underlying the SAP PMR application is the Demand Management Foundation, which provides predictive demand driven forecasts and optimization simulations for all promotion planning across channels and customer segments.  Retailers can quickly compare different promotion opportunities using historical results to ensure that the promotion will deliver against their financial objectives while also being attractive to shoppers and generating loyalty.

Paul McKane, Trade Industries Principal from SAP Africa concludes ‘While promotions can increase sales and consumer loyalty, they can also be expensive. Success depends on effectively planning and executing complex, time-sensitive processes across departments and trading partners. SAP PMR solutions can help determine which products to promote at which locations, the optimal price to maximize profitability and effective consumer marketing strategies, which in turn will lead to a higher profit margin within the business’