June 03, 2013

Accenture Introduces Next Generation of Accenture CAS Software for Consumer Goods Companies

New mobility platform and enhanced functionality allow consumer goods companies to deliver exceptional user experiences

NEW YORK; June 3, 2013 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has unveiled a new version of its Accenture CAS software, designed to help consumer goods companies better support sales processes and operations through enablement of their mobile workforce, effective and flexible promotion planning, and fast access to accurate data.

Accenture CAS Release 10 offers significantly expanded mobile capabilities within the newly introduced Accenture CAS Mobility Platform. The platform now enables consumer goods companies to take advantage of the key features and benefits of Accenture CAS solutions while using iOS®, Android® or Windows® devices whether in an office, store or truck. The Accenture CAS Mobility Platform also integrates with leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management systems, bringing together all key users in sales and delivery departments. This allows for all aspects of sales – including trade promotion management, distributor management, retail execution and direct store delivery – to be managed through the same interface for multiple devices, optimizing performance and minimizing costs.

With a single universal repository for all devices, the Accenture CAS Mobility Platform is based on a “write once, deploy to many” model that accelerates deployment of programs to popular mobile devices. This can free up time and resources typically spent on writing numerous versions of the same programs, helping to lower the total cost of ownership. Accenture CAS’s multi-platform and multi-device design enables flexibility in application deployment while preserving the native user experience of each device, eliminating the need for lengthy user training.

Additional enhancements to Accenture CAS are designed to help companies build more effective sales and operations processes with:

• More flexible planning: New trade promotion management and optimization capabilities allow simplified, top-down planning for regional or chain level promotions. Better integration across accounts allows users to easily discover and follow overall trends in addition to checking individual accounts.
• Choice in modeling: The interface of Accenture CAS has been updated with the option to use external modeling sources in trade promotion optimization, providing the manufacturer with the flexibility to personalize according to their preferred choice of models.
• Superior usability: Distributor Management system capabilities include more user-friendly interfaces for Android and iOS platforms as well as improved GPS functionality for better route planning.
• Better data collection: Improved digital merchandising functionality provides consumer goods companies with better visibility of in-store situations related to execution, compliance, share and competitor insights through accurate data that can be collected up to 80 percent faster1.
• Faster business decisions: Accenture CAS can also define customized manual surveys, capturing any qualitative or quantitative information required by the company. This empowers better, faster decisions on product placement and enables the user to gauge changing market conditions.
• Increased visibility: The Direct Store Delivery component of Accenture CAS now supports both logistics and sales and marketing processes for developed and emerging markets, enabling more efficient management of sales orders (including complex offline pricing), delivery, inventory and cash collection at the store level. Accenture CAS helps consumer goods companies save time and money by executing the functions of multiple linked roles in a single visit.

“The growth of the mobile workforce means companies need technology that allows employees to access essential information anywhere, from any device, with great performance. The enhancements to Accenture CAS provide flexibility for all users, mobile or otherwise, to easily integrate sales and operations processes” said Henning Fromme, Accenture CAS product strategy and development lead. “We are committed to a vision of platform unity that supports global requirements for the consumer goods industry, whilst continuing our investment in NewsPage2 capabilities and integration with Accenture CAS.”

Designed to scale globally, Accenture CAS can be used for ten users or tens of thousands, depending on customer requirements, and is applicable to both emerging and modern markets. Accenture CAS is a leading integrated sales platform for the consumer goods industry with a suite of trade promotion management, distributor management and retail execution software, including for direct store delivery, field service and trade promotion optimization, and is part of the Accenture Software portfolio of products.

Accenture CAS is also a key component within Accenture Commercial Services for Consumer Goods a business service that helps companies increase sales and margins through an end-to-end offering of management consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing that improves interactions with customers, channels, and consumers through innovative analytical, multi-channel and operational capabilities.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Software combines deep technology acumen with industry knowledge to develop differentiated software products. It offers innovative software-based solutions to enable organizations to meet their business goals and achieve high performance. Its home page is www.accenture.com/software.

[1] Based on internal pilot studies comparing performance data from Accenture CAS Release 10 against manual survey collection.
[2] NewsPage was acquired by Accenture on August 30, 2012.

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Contacts

Julie Bennink
Accenture
+ 312 693 7301
julie.l.bennink@accenture.com

Matt Samuel
Accenture
+ 44 20 7844 2055
matt.samuel@accenture.com