Business Intelligence (BI)

By Jeff Echols, senior director of product and solutions marketing, CommVault

New York -- Social media sites are playing an increasingly important role in driving traffic to other websites, including retail websites and even other social networking sites, at the expense of search engines and portal websites, according to new research from Experian Research Services. As of March 2014, social media sites now account for 7.72% of all traffic to retail web sites, up from 6.59% in March 2013. Further, Pinterest, more than Facebook or YouTube, is supplying the greatest percentage of downstream traffic to retail sites.

Atlanta -- Manhattan Associates announced that Floor & Decor, a leading specialty retailer in the hard surface flooring market, has selected Manhattan Associates' transportation management system (TMS) and warehouse management System (WMS) solutions to unify its distribution systems under a robust platform that will support the company's growth. Manhattan's solutions will enable the company to gain more visibility across all networks and automate distribution processes.

Boston -- Furniture and home décor retailer Z Gallerie has deployed Oracle Commerce to  improve conversion and basket size.

In August 2013, Z Gallerie went live with Oracle Commerce, resulting in more relevant content, improved navigation and better ease-of-use regardless of the device customers use to access the site. The full implementation was completed quickly and sales from on-site search have dramatically increased.

Modell's Sporting Goods is replacing its paper-driven employee-selection process with Infor PeopleAnswers Talent Science — a tool designed to improve that process as well as development and succession planning for its chain of more than 150 stores throughout the Northeast.

According to Infor, Infor PeopleAnswers Talent Science is available via the cloud and uses science, technology and analytics to predictively link behavioral data to real business outcomes, helping companies improve business performance, reduce turnover and optimize the HR process.

Compare Metrics, a leading provider of adaptive commerce navigation and discovery tools, appointed Mike Sherman as chief technology officer.

Newton, Mass. – Clark’s Americas Inc., a division of the global shoe brand with more than 300 stores in the U.S., is deploying the Yottaa Engagement Cloud to optimize user engagement and business performance on its U.S. e-commerce site. In fall 2013, the e-commerce team at the Americas division of Clarks sought a solution that could help scale and provide a consistent, engaging Web experience throughout the busy holiday shopping season and beyond.

Florham Park, N.J. -- Kalibrate Technologies (formerly KSS Fuels) announced that convenience-store operator Wawa has purchased the Kalibrate PriceNet fuel pricing system and will implement a roll-out across the chain’s entire network of 382 fuel sites.

Wawa will utilize the full capabilities of PriceNet, which includes 24/7 automation of pricing, full integration to the sites, robust analytics to determine optimal pump prices and mobile functionality on smartphones and tablets.

The ability to integrate more data from more sources faster than ever to accelerate decision-making forms the core value proposition of an the new SAS Customer Intelligence solution unveiled this week at the software company’s Global Forum.
 

Balance Innovations has appointed Al Ruth as EVP of technology innovation.

Ruth is a veteran of the retail technology industry with 17 years of experience managing data warehouse database solutions and customer support for top-tier retail accounts. In this role, Ruth will be responsible for providing technical perspective in sales efforts, working with the account management team and driving key innovation efforts.