XTEL has five best-in-class distinctions – 2020 POI TPX Vendor Panorama
XTEL’s Trade Promotion Management Solution for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry received five best-in-class distinctions from the Promotion Optimization Institute in its 2020 TPX Vendor Panorama.
The annual report, which serves as a competitive evaluation of the trade promotion solutions market, awarded XTEL’s AI Platform five ‘best-in-class’ distinctions. This achievement placed it in a tie for first place in terms of the number of distinctions received. The platform was particularly noted for its strategic application of artificial intelligence within its software stack. The complete list of best-in-class distinctions includes:
- TPX Desktop UX: Drives engagement from users, increases total business visibility, reduces administrative burden and drives the next best action.
- HQ Analytics & Insights: Provides HQ pricing & promotion optimization, trade allocations, go-to-market strategies, innovation strategy, etc.
- Analytics Visualization: Intuitive and meaningful analytics visualized in a way that drives user insights and action.
- Artificial Intelligence: Capabilities that can learn and predict based on a set of objectives and constraints. Provides answers to questions or options the user hasn’t thought to ask. CPG applications are in pricing, GTMS, promotions, claims/deductions, etc.
- Trade Promotion Optimization Ergonomics: Trade Promotion Optimization (TPO) involves navigating complex constraints, objectives, and simulations. It must be designed to be intuitive and actionable.
“The solution offers comprehensive RGM analysis on all key trade metrics that are relevant for RGM purposes (profit and margin). RGM capability focus is growing across the manufacturer base, and as XTEL builds out their RGM suite that includes assortment, pricing, promotions, and trade terms, it will add increasing depth and enterprise effectiveness to historical XTEL capabilities.”
Pam Brown, Chief Commercial Officer at Promotion Optimization Institute
The report acknowledges XTEL’s “stellar” breadth of the offering around promoting and executing, which includes “[…] strategic-level insights to inform the right market and trade spending levels through the Marketing Mix Modelling tool; Promotion Funds Optimizer to best allocate promotion funds across retail partners and brands; TPO to generate optimal promotion strategy and tactics; planning and execution capabilities to deliver the right mix of activities and investments collaboratively and effectively.”
When combined with XTEL’s proprietary shopper and retail insights, end-to-end category management and retail execution solutions “[the Sales Performance Platform] has the potential to enable full transformation programs across the enterprise to drive both revenue and margin growth. Finally, the increase in best practices consulting resources throughout the entire TPX journey is a core differentiator”.
“The TPX market is a strategic priority for XTEL. This is reflected in our investment in the platform, and we are pleased to see that investment recognised by the POI. Our complete and unique set of capabilities is designed to help consumer goods clients find growth even in uncomfortable places and to navigate unforeseen situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to delivering solutions that enable digital transformation by bringing together people, processes, and data, therefore helping our customers differentiate themselves in the marketplace and generate more revenue and profit with fewer costs.”