Business Intelligence (BI)

Curbing the rising cost of utilities can improve the bottom line

For multi-site retail companies, energy efficiency makes business sense. It allows retailers to reduce cost and risk, and create good will with investors, employees, customers and the government. Ultimately, it also helps improve the bottom line.

When it comes to energy management, reducing operating cost should be the focus where the cost of energy is a sizeable part of operating the business.

New York -- Consumers consider social media a less important part of their customer journey – from awareness to post-sale activity – compared to two years ago, according to a survey by Capgemini, a leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services.

Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council, offers the following advice about complying with PCI Data Security Standards, including the upcoming October 2015 deadline for U.S. retailers to accept cards with Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV)-compliant chips.

No Single Security Solution: “As evidenced by recent high-profile breach incidents, keeping payment data secure in today’s world is an increasingly complex challenge,” explained Russo.

Ace Hardware has saved an average of 81% on lighting-related energy use in its 1 million-sq.-ft. retail support center in Rocklin, California, since implementing a LED upgrade.

The upgrade, completed in October 2013, involved replacing 1,551 T5 fluorescent and 102 metal halide lamps with an intelligent LED system from Digital Lumens.

As the traditional CFO role expands beyond accounting and compliance to a more strategic role and partner to the CEO, the capabilities that future CFOs will need to bring to the table are also evolving.

On July 1, 2014, recent updates to the 2013 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards — Title 24 — went into effect.

The new, tougher standards are estimated to increase energy efficiency by 30% in non-residential buildings compared with the 2008 version.

Albany, N.Y. – The global Big Data market, worth $6.3 billion in 2012, is expected to reach a value of $48.3 billion in 2018. According to a new study from Transparency Market Research, a year-on-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5% during the period 2012-2018 will produce that figure.

Dodgeville, Wis. - Lands' End Business Outfitters has launched a new online customer shopping experience. The new website provides functionality that lets business customers do everything from seeing how their logo looks on a selected fabric to managing account information and accessing order history.