DemandTec Adds Social Messaging and Collaboration Capabilities

DemandTec, Inc., a collaborative optimization network for retailers and consumer products companies, today launched of DemandTec Connect (www.demandtec.com/platform/connect), a new set of capabilities developed to enable better collaboration and productivity for the 340 retailers and consumer products companies on DemandTec.

“The solutions on the DemandTec network are designed to address the fact that retailers and manufacturers are inherently connected in how they do business,” said Marc Dietz, VP of marketing at San Mateo, Calif.-based DemandTec. “Complementing our analytics-based software services aimed at revolutionizing decision-making, DemandTec Connect introduces powerful capabilities to make the DemandTec experience even richer and more collaborative for our community of customers and partners on the network.”

DemandTec Connect includes a variety of features for DemandTec customers to stay better informed and more actively collaborate on the DemandTec network. Consistent with established social networking services for consumers, DemandTec Connect will initially include the following capabilities:|

• Profiles: DemandTec users can put a face with a name and learn more about colleagues and business partners by customizing their network profile.
• Communities: DemandTec customers can establish any number of communities, comprising other related users on the network. A community could be a small internal pricing team or could cross company lines and include a retail merchant and his or her supplier contacts.
• Sharing: Excel files, presentations, and other documents associated with the merchandising and marketing activities performed using DemandTec can be shared online with other members of a community.
• Activity Feed: Users can follow other users or application objects (such as a category plan or master calendar) and automatically receive updates in a real-time Activity Feed on their desktop.

DemandTec Connect is designed to provide social messaging and collaboration capabilities specific to the merchandising and marketing processes supported by other DemandTec software services. DemandTec Connect is designed to integrate with and extend other established social business platforms or broader enterprise knowledge management solutions.

“Business software has taken innovation cues from consumer software for years,” added Dietz. “This addition of social networking type functionality is the latest example of this trend and can be of particular value when provided by a company which, like DemandTec, already connects many of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers with collaborative tools purpose-built for the consumer goods industry.”

DemandTec is a network of shared tools and software services for more than 340 retailers and consumer products companies to transact, interact, and collaborate on core merchandising and marketing activities. Nearly 14,000 retailer and manufacturer end-users on DemandTec have collaborated on nearly four million trade deals to date.

DemandTec software-as-a-service utilizes a science-based platform to model and understand consumer behavior. Its customers include Ahold USA, Best Buy, ConAgra Foods, Delhaize America, General Mills, H-E-B Grocery Co., The Home Depot, Hormel Foods, Monoprix, PETCO, Safeway, Sara Lee, Target, Walmart, and WH Smith.