CHICAGO — SymphonyIRI Group here on Monday said it will partner with Wal-Mart Stores to create a new collaborative planning platform called Customer Advantage.
The new platform "delivers unique, custom, Wal-Mart-focused shopper insights," the data-analysis firm said in a prepared statement. It will provide a "dedicated shopper insights portal of customizable reports shared between Wal-Mart and its supplier partners."
The announcement follows last week¹s news that Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores would again begin sharing CPG sales data with Nielsen, after 10 years of withholding that information.
"The Customer Advantage solution identifies and sizes opportunities among shopper segments, trips and categories that will better enable Wal-Mart and its supplier partners to grow their businesses through a deeper understanding of our customers," said Cindy Davis, executive vice president of Wal-Mart global customer insights, in a prepared statement.
"SymphonyIRI has a unique understanding of collaborative planning challenges and is well positioned to enable closer alignment between manufacturers and retailers," added John G. Freeland, SymphonyIRI president and chief executive officer.
