Business Intelligence (BI)

New York -- A disconnect between chief marketing officers and chief information officers threatens the ability of companies to deliver effective customer experiences, according to a new study by Accenture. Only one-in-10 of executives believing collaboration between CMOs and CIOs is currently at the right level.

With the addition of an Android app, mobile workforce leader Gigwalk expects its on-demand workforce to soon exceed 600,000.

The two-year-old San Francisco-based technology company already has 325,000 workers, known as Gigwalkers, using its app on iPhones to perform a variety of mobile research and store audit functions. The addition of an app for Android phones is expected to more than double the number of Gigwalkers because Android phones are more prevalent in the market.

DUBLIN, Calif. — Epicor Software Corp. announced that LaRue Coffee Roasterie has gone live with the Epicor Tropos enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

Staten Island, N.Y. -- The Shoe Gallery has stepped up inventory control with the help of Celerant Technology Corp. The chain has been using Celerant’s real-time, retail management system, Command Retail, to manage all areas of its retail operation for the past seven years. 

It is also using the supplier’s Style Matrix tool, a three-dimensional graphical representation of all the SKUs by size, width, and color, to improve operational efficiency.

Vancouver-based Versatile Systems announced that Robert Joyce has resigned as a director and officer of Versatile and all its subsidiary companies. Joyce will continue working with the company as a consultant, and will assist in the management transition process.

Versatile also appointed Kenneth Kahn as president of Versatile Systems Inc. and its subsidiaries. Kahn was most recently EVP and global brand officer for Mood Media.

New York -- Consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in August from a six-year high as Americans faced rising interest rates, according to the University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters preliminary index of consumer sentiment.

The index fell to 80.0 from 85.1 in July, which was the highest since July 2007. The median projection of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for little change at 85.2.

The outlook component fell to 72.9 in August from 76.5 in July, while current conditions dropped to 91.0 in August from 98.6 in July.

Kellogg is looking to BrightRoll, an independent video advertising platform, to help the company simplify and maximize the efficiency of its digital video advertising.

Kellogg is expanding its video advertising capabilities and leveraging BrightRoll’s platform to boost brand awareness among a growing digital audience, as consumer viewing habits shift from television to computers, mobile devices and connected TVs. 

New York -- Swedish retailer Ikea has bought a wind farm in Ireland to power its furniture stores in Dublin and Belfast, according to a report by the Belfast Telegraph.

The Irish facility’s four turbines are expected to generate 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity and bring the total number of Ikea-owned windmills to more than 100 in the U.K., Germany, France, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.