SAS revolutionizes retail with high-performance predictive analytics on HP Converged Infrastructure

SAS® High-Performance Markdown Optimization joins the turbo-charged SAS® in-memory computing platform

NRF 100th Annual Convention and EXPO, NEW YORK – Some things never change, like the challenge retailers face to rapidly assign products and prices at local stores. But unlike 100 years ago, this precise practice now involves massive amounts of data, powerful computers and advanced analytics. SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, puts fast localized merchandising within reach as it unveils SAS® High-Performance Markdown Optimization within its popular SAS® Merchandise Intelligence suite.

“With data streaming in from cross-channel, online and social media channels, our retail customers face challenges that defy current computing techniques,” said Shiva Kommareddi, Senior Director, Solutions Product Management, SAS. “The unprecedented capabilities of SAS High-Performance Markdown Optimization let even the largest retailers optimize markdown price schedules at the SKU-store level to maximize sell-through and revenue. By applying proven granular analytics such as price elasticity, store sales forecast, and pricing rules to store-specific promotions and inventory, SAS can help increase revenue and sell-through at a lower total cost of ownership.”

Preliminary SAS lab findings show a ten-fold improvement in optimization time and a ten-fold reduction in time for estimation and forecasting, while lowering hardware costs by a factor of three to 10 times, depending on data volume.

Analyzing mountains of data for real-time decisions

By maximizing multi-threaded analytical processing components and in-memory processing models, new SAS High-Performance Computing creates a single system to analyze massive amounts of data in parallel and answer complex business questions in real time. SAS High-Performance Computing solutions will be powered by HP Converged Infrastructure technology. Among solutions HP will provide are the HP BladeSystem solution on RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and HP Insight Control Management software. By using HP Converged Infrastructure solutions and HP Factory Express, SAS will reduce analysis times, lower provisioning times and decrease energy costs. SAS High-Performance Markdown Optimization automatically distributes data and processing required for estimation, forecasting and optimization to fully utilize the available processing capability of multiple computers.

Retailers are looking for solutions that will have a positive impact on their revenue and working capital,“ said Mario Vollbracht, Worldwide Segment Executive, Retail and Consumer Goods Industries, HP. ”By breaking jobs into multiple threads and processing them across multiple cores, the SAS and HP solution will provide clients with detailed information faster"

In addition to availability on HP hardware, SAS Markdown Optimization also is available on demand, providing customers the flexibility and agility to run on a hosted environment at SAS.

Boosting retail performance

SAS’ unparalleled retail business knowledge coupled with powerful, advanced analytics, supports flexible lifecycle merchandise planning through a variety of investment, deployment and growth options.

SAS retail customers include Aeropostale, AutoZone, Bakers Footwear, Brooks Brothers, Burger King, Cabela’s, Carrefour, Casino, Casual Male, Charming Shoppes, Chico’s, The Children’s Place, Eddie Bauer, Family Dollar, Gander Mountain, Hallmark, Hudson’s Bay Company, Kohl’s, Luxottica Retail, Macy’s, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Marks & Spencer, Northern Tool & Equipment, Office Depot, Rusta, S-Group, Sainsbury’s, ShopKo, Sport Chalet, Spiegel Brands, Staples, Tesco, Tween Brands, Waitrose, Wakefern, Williams-Sonoma, Winn-Dixie and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

For more information about SAS® Retail Intelligence Solutions and SAS Customer Intelligence Solutions, visit http://www.sas.com. Visit SAS at the NRF 100th Annual Show and EXPO in Booth 1352.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 50,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know® .