(PRWEB via PR Web Direct) June 27, 2006 -- JCB Partners, a provider of Business Intelligence and Performance Management consulting and training solutions, has introduced Retail Pathways, an industry-specific performance management and analytics solution designed to empower retail chains to plan, measure and analyze their Key Performance Indicators in order to improve profitability and efficiency. The Powered by Cognos solution was unveiled at the 2006 Cognos Forum taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Retail Pathways provides an end-to-end solution for retail chains by automating the collection and integration of operational, financial and planning data from POS, ERP, Budgeting, Forecasting and many other data sources.

“Integrated planning and analytics play a pivotal role in enabling leading retailers to align their business processes, deliver outstanding results, and outpace their competition,” explained JCB co-founder Brad Smith. “Retail chains are awash in mounds of data that can provide tremendous insight into consumer buying patterns, merchandise and supplier performance as well as store and multi-channel operations. Effective consolidation and presentation of this data against plans and forecasts enables users at all levels within an organization to measure their performance against appropriate stated goals and targets.”

Retail Pathways is based on an industry-specific data warehouse that combines and conforms operational data from the many source systems that operate in every retail business – large or small. Data is added to the warehouse on a nightly basis to ensure that operational managers are up-to-date in their ability to react to ever-changing market conditions. The solution includes a pre-defined data model, dashboards, scorecards and reports. Designed with an open architecture in mind, Retail Pathways will accept data from virtually any data source, and post-ETL processing will ensure that data is conformed, structured and summarized for efficient reporting.

“Conforming and summarizing data to an appropriate level for analysis enables companies with large data volumes to obtain effective reporting and analytical capabilities from a single-version-of-the-truth data source that crosses all aspects of the business,” added Mr. Smith.

As a Powered By Cognos solution, Retail Pathways capitalizes on planning, analysis, reporting and scorecarding software from Cognos, a leader in business intelligence and corporate performance management, to provide reporting flexibility, seamless integration to the company’s Performance Blueprints, and faster product development. Cognos presents the data in such a way that all users — no matter what their level or role — can rapidly and intuitively view the data from multiple dimensions. With this ability, organizations can accurately answer pressing business questions and help define where to focus business improvement efforts.

“Integrating Cognos 8 BI and Cognos Performance Blueprints with JCB’s Retail Pathways solution will enable retail chains to plan, measure and analyze their performance so that they can make the most effective decisions at the appropriate time,” said Patricia Vekich Waldron, retail industry director at Cognos. “Top chains are focused on improving operations and delivering value to their customers. By combining JCB’s industry and process expertise with Cognos technologies, Retail Pathways delivers a framework that gives retailers an out-of-the-box solution to drive business performance.”

“Retail Pathways provide the foundation for best-in-class retailers to march towards operational excellence across the board,” said Mr. Smith. “We’ve combined the best analytical, reporting and planning capabilities with a common data architecture that will enable chains to gain insight into their business in ways they haven’t been able to before.”

Powered by Cognos is an elite program for partners who deliver performance management solutions that combine Cognos technology with their deep domain expertise. These partners deliver solutions focused on key areas, including industry groups, enterprise performance and system infrastructure, all with the objective of enabling and engaging their customers’ to better manage company performance. Members of Powered by Cognos are integral players in delivering fast, proven performance management solutions to Cognos customers.

About JCB Partners

For over five years, JCB Partners has been providing Business Intelligence / Data Warehouse and Performance Management consulting and training services to companies in the Retail space. JCB is proud to be recognized as Cognos’ Service Partner of the year for FY 05 and consult to clients across North America from our offices in Denver, Dallas and Chicago. For more information, visit www.jcbpartners.com

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