THE IQO VALUE PROPOSITION
by Larry Zimmerman, Former CIO, A&P

As a former CIO for a major retailer, with over 20 years of retail IT Systems Development experience, I was often asked to evaluate third-party solutions to support initiatives of various divisions and departments within the company. I have learned to look at the question of "make or buy" from many different perspectives, and offer these comments from my experiences.

At A&P, I worked closely with corporate marketing management and was the leading IT advocate of Electronic Marketing initiatives, helping to assess and forge key alignments with Consumer Package Goods companies and service providers.

The fundamental goal of all Customer Relationship Management efforts is to gain a competitive advantage by identifying, understanding, and communicating to customers, thereby increasing sales and gross profits.

The specific project objectives at A&P were:

1. Reward Loyal Shoppers
2. Increase Purchases by Moderate Shoppers
3. Recover Declining Customers
4. Optimize Trade Areas
5. Increase Awareness of Private Label Products

When taken individually, each of these objectives would require considerable IT resources to deploy and manage. When taken together, the level of complexity multiplies by leaps and bounds. The iQO CustomerView application is positioned at the convergence of two powerful trends: 1) the IT outsourcing movement and 2) the emergence of analytical CRM applications. Those who choose to outsource in this competitive marketplace will be able to focus on succeeding in their core business, rather than diverting precious technical resources to the complexities of analytical CRM.

iQO offers its retailer customers a very compelling value proposition by leveraging our expertise in CRM analytics, along with the benefits of the Application Service Provider (ASP) model

• Available Now

In my opinion, the most important consideration, once a retailer decides to proceed on any project is "speed to value". The iQO CustomerView product is available for implementation immediately.

• iQO's Offering Can be the Basis For ROI

I have evaluated projects like this where the ROI is difficult to determine beforehand. Ultimately an appropriate "make or buy" decision can be made once the value and benefits, and the functionality required to achieve these benefits, are understood.

• No Drain On Retailer's IT Resources

Implementing CustomerView does not require any of a retailer's IT resources other than simply providing the data. Precious internal resources of the retailer do not have to be diverted to this project, and implementation can be achieved (and benefits realized) without the traditional prioritization process and vying for resources.

• Low Cost

By leveraging the capabilities of the existing QueryObject technology, iQO is able to license the use of CustomerView at a very attractive price to the retailer, and far below the cost required to build it from scratch. Additionally, because it uses the Internet, no specialized hardware or software are required

• Ease Of Use - Rapid End User Training

I particularly like the fact that the user interaction with CustomerView is Browser-Based. It takes advantage of the "touch and feel" of today's easy-to-use applications, and is designed as a simple-to-use, intuitive application.

• No Desktop Application Needs To Be Installed

Since this is a Browser-Based interface to the end-user, there is no additional software or setup required. As the provider of IT service for a retailer, I was always concerned with third-party solutions that required additional desktop applications or configuration changes. It is a difficult challenge to manage and service a large end-user, and special/unique setups make that challenge even more difficult.

• Instant Response

Users will love the ability to get instant responses to their queries. My experience in these types of data warehouse/data mart systems is that the user goes through an iterative process with customer-item data. The result of one query triggers a thought process and a hypothesis which continues over and over again until a conclusion or an actionable item is determined.

• Unlimited Number Of Queries

Unlike other third-party offerings, there is no limit to the number of queries a user can make. This is obviously due to the "cube" design and therefore does not require the end-user community to pay for queries beyond the "contracted" amount.

• Potential For Cost-Reducing/Revenue

Stream Through Manufacturers' Sales Customer Specific Marketing systems, and more importantly, the retailer's data, have very strong appeal to manufacturers. Potential access of household data (name and address not included) allows the manufacturer to truly understand the customer's purchasing behavior as it relates to advertising, promotions, new item offerings, etc. Manufacturer funding to pay for the use of a retailer's data can be available from untapped national marketing budgets.

• iQO Brokers Manufacturer

Funding On Retailer's Behalf iQO has personnel who understand both the manufacturer and the retailer, and who have experience in marketing data to both types of organizations. This expertise does not generally reside in the retailer's staff, and the marketing of data will not affect the traditional hard-bargaining that takes place between both organizations.