Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving

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Criteria, Constraints, and Choices: Optimizing the Mix in Merchandising

Business intelligence software has been an integral part of merchandising since the early 1990s. At that time, manufacturers and retailers switched from conducting business based largely on personal relationships to fact-based selling. In fact-based selling, analysts known as category managers—such as Marty in manufacturing in Chapter 1 and Anya in retail in this chapter—examine large volumes of multidimensional data about product performance, store traffic, and consumer behaviors and loyalties. They study trends and anomalies and arrive at decisions that can increase business efficiency, productivity, and profitability. It was predicted that as of 2002, an estimated 90% ...