Business & Money Trail:

G4 ANALYTICS FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS

G4 Analytics Inc, a Bethesda, Md.-based software developer of business intelligence applications, introduced its G4 Analytics for Consumer Products application which runs on the Microsoft SQL Server Accelerator for Business Intelligence platform. G4 Analytics uses information from within consumer products companies, retail partners and external sources to help companies make critical marketing decisions including those about promotions, product assortment and pricing.

G4 Analytics president Rick Hall announced the implementation of G4 Analytics for Consumer Products by leading specialty tea producer R Twining and Company within its United Kingdom sales and marketing operations by June 2002. While trade promotions for Twinings teas are a major part of the company's sales budget, measuring the impact of promotions on specific retail sales has been difficult.

"Using the G4 Analytics application we will be able to integrate our tea shipments with trade promotions and retail sales to plot their effectiveness," said Geoff Uglow, IT Director, Twinings Tea, Andover, England. "The ability to see the efficiency of promotions on my desktop browser will allow us for the first time to make promotional decisions based on quantified results."

The G4 applications are built on the Microsoft SQL Server Accelerator for Business Intelligence and use the Microsoft SQL Server database and Microsoft Office to provide customers with a solution quickly configured to meet their individual needs in a desktop environment.

"Whether it's setting a new price, launching a new product or implementing a retail promotion, consumer products companies make decisions every day which effect bottom line performance," said Hall. "G4 Analytics provides a complete platform targeted at providing business decision-makers the critical data necessary to implement information-intensive programs such as Category Management and Fact-Based Selling."

"Most consumer goods companies struggle with the technology, data, resources and expertise necessary to conduct effective Fact-Based Selling," said Eric Sorenson, president, Left Brain Right Brain, and founder of The Center for Retail Management and Adjunct Professor at The Kellogg School of Business. "The work of G4 Analytics is groundbreaking in putting it all together in one package which can be implemented quickly." Sorenson contributed to the development of G4 Analytics for Consumer Products.

The G4 Analytics architecture is component based and uses a set of pre-defined business elements. Reporting structures and calculations can be defined during implementation, and users may add components to better reflect a full complement of specialized business requirements. The architecture has an open reporting environment and provides access to critical data through a Web browser, Microsoft Office or virtually any other standard reporting tool.

"G4 Analytics uses an Accelerated Application Adoption process that starts with a Proof of Concept to validate a customer's requirements and prove the technology. The Proof of Concept quickly eliminates the risk that the technology does not meet client's expectations," said Hall. "As an example, the Twinings model was developed in 10 days, giving the company an opportunity to 'see' in advance how the process would work."

The G4 Analytics announcements were presented at The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) World Conference -- Spring 2002. As a partner in the Microsoft SQL Server Accelerator for Business Intelligence launch, G4 Analytics exhibited in the Microsoft booth (27).

G4 Analytics for Consumer Products is available throughout North America and Europe and is implemented by a network of Microsoft service providers.

Founded in 2001, G4 Analytics is a software company providing vertical market business intelligence applications on the Microsoft platform. The company's first product, G4 Analytics for Consumer Products, is a packaged analytical application targeted at the marketing and sales function of consumer products manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., G4 Analytics has offices throughout the US and Europe. For more information visit the company Web site at www.g4analytics.com.

Contact G4 Analytics Inc, Bethesda, Richard Hall, 301-641-2112, rhall@g4analytics.com.