AWG Enhances Promo Planning, Forecasting

Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has signed a multiyear agreement with customer science company Dunnhumby and Aptaris, an enterprise marketing and promotions technology provider, to employ their integrated enterprise promotional planning, price optimization, modeling and forecasting system. The new agreement extends AWG’s existing contract with Tampa, Fla.-based Aptaris for enterprise promotional management while also adding Cincinnati-based Dunnhumby’s customer science and advanced promotional modeling and forecasting system.

The end-to-end solution is designed to improve customer loyalty, grow top-line sales and improve overall profitability across AWG’s member retailers, allowing them to better define promotional tactics, deal negotiation, funding and tactic simulation, and scenario comparison. Members now will have unprecedented visibility into total category promotional plans with pre- and post-analytics, translating into optimal promotions and pricing for increased revenue.

“Dunnhumby’s customer science will enhance the capabilities available through the Aptaris tool used by our AWG Super Ad Group,” said Jim Fitterer, director of sales at AWG. “Representing over $6 billion in retail sales, this performance-based promotional group supports 25 distinct marketing groups and more than 1,300 participating locations across the country. We are excited to leverage the Dunnhumby-Aptaris solution to deliver more value and increase sales for our members.”

Kansas City, Kan.-based AWG is the nation's largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving more than 3,800 locations in 35 states from 11 full-line wholesale divisions.