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ACCESSIBLE MEANS

While many data warehouses reside on standard mainframes or client-server networks, some retailers -- even those at the earliest stages of implementing the technology -- are taking these decision-support tools to new levels by housing them on intranets.Retailers such as Hannaford Bros., Scarborough, Maine; and Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, are giving associates access, simply by logging on to the company's

While many data warehouses reside on standard mainframes or client-server networks, some retailers -- even those at the earliest stages of implementing the technology -- are taking these decision-support tools to new levels by housing them on intranets.

Retailers such as Hannaford Bros., Scarborough, Maine; and Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, are giving associates access, simply by logging on to the company's intranet, to information stored on their data warehouses. Intranets are protected internal communication networks.

Schnuck Markets, St. Louis, and Abco Foods, Phoenix, describe this solution as a valuable way to conduct queries and analyze data stored in data warehouses.

Data warehouses, huge repositories of detailed information based on daily business transactions throughout a chain, can provide valuable insights into areas such as category performance, item movement and warehouse fill rates.

When Hannaford launched its data warehouse on its intranet last year, the long-term goal was to eventually give store-level managers chainwide remote access to decision-support applications to track sales, inventory and even budget data stored in its corporate intranet servers.

Similarly, Giant Eagle placed its data warehouse on its internal communications network within the past year, enabling associates to analyze and run sales reports and projections.

"If you have a good communications system and reliable information, [an intranet] is a viable solution to give access to a data warehouse," said Jerry Johnson, vice president of management information systems and chief information officer for Abco.

Sources told SN that accessing data warehouses via intranets can be more cost-effective than deploying them through traditional mainframes and client-server networks.

Retailers putting their data warehouses on intranets can achieve cost savings by connecting to the World Wide Web through local telephone calls, rather than investing in dedicated telephone lines that link to a wide-area network.

Another area of potential savings lies in the elimination of software distribution and maintenance costs through the use of the World Wide Web. Instead of distributing query and decision-support software to numerous locations, these applications reside on corporate servers that are accessible through the company's intranet.

Pay Less Supermarkets, Anderson, Ind., currently reaping early gains since launching its data warehouse in January, is already planning to move its data repository onto the retailer's internal network by the end of 1998.

"We hope to be able to access timely information, such as purchasing data, in real time," said Cindy Cooper, manager of management information systems for Pay Less.

In less than a year of use, Pay Less is already seeing results from its data warehouse by scrutinizing Halloween candy promotions to determine what kind of movement and sales to expect. The eight-store retailer plans to pilot this information for next month's Halloween candy sales.

To get this information, "We queried last year's information and began asking questions like 'When did we begin selling candy?' 'When did we run out?' 'How many items were placed as markdowns?' " Cooper explained. "These queries revealed our hot items and big sales. Knowing item movement will keep us from having out of stocks and let us sell the candy better.

"We potentially have saved thousands of dollars in markdowns based on the queries [to the data warehouse], explaining how to deliver the product to the consumer at the right time and right price," she added. "By managing our inventory better, we can fill in and patch up holes [on shelves] by providing the right amount of product."

Certified Grocers of California, Los Angeles, has over a year's worth of data warehousing experience under its belt. In that time, the wholesaler has also seen significant improvements in keeping a high fill rate in its warehouse.

"For us, data warehouses give us the competitive advantage of stocking our warehouse more efficiently and achieving a far more excellent fill rate," said Marty Simmons, director of retail systems, Certified Grocers. "Some people are happy with a 96% fill rate, but we see 98%."

Data warehousing allows Certified to "do more accurate forecasting and reduce inventory," he explained.

"By conducting better forecasting, we are reducing costs associated with carrying excess stock in the warehouse," he said. "We would not know how to forecast product without using the data warehouse to drill down to the specifics on what product moves, and what is not ordered as regularly by our members."

Though data warehousing can bring significant improvements, the technology is not without challenges. One of the toughest to overcome is capturing the right data and keeping it current.

Simmons specifically cited areas of customer-specific information.

"There are more variables. It is not enough to know if a customer is not shopping with your store any more -- you need to know why," he said. "Was it the service? Did they move away? Are they deceased? These are the questions you need answered to use data warehousing information efficiently."