iControl, Arizona State University School of Business, to Collaborate in Scan-Based Trading Research

BURTONSVILLE, MD, Dec. 17, 2014 – iControl Data Solutions (iControl), a leading process improvement and business intelligence provider to retailers and suppliers, announced today a new partnership with the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The collaboration is aimed at improving inventory practices for both suppliers and retailers by examining the efficiency of scan-based trading (SBT) arrangements involving consumer products.

Researchers from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will utilize data from iControl to investigate how SBT agreements change the way suppliers and retailers interact. The researchers will also evaluate performance implications of SBT agreements between suppliers and retailers and will identify avenues to strengthen the value proposition of those agreements for both parties.

“Even after over a decade of deployment, scan-based trading too often remains a divisive topic prone to antagonism and emotion,” said Tal J. Zlotnitsky, iControl’s Chairman and co Chief Executive Officer. “It has been far too long since the last in-depth study of scan-based trading’s impact, which was performed by GMA ten years ago.  Moreover, suppliers and vendors are still without bona fide best practices on how to gain the most value out of scan-based trading.  We believe it is time to develop those best practices.  For these reasons, we are excited to enter this collaborative relationship with one of the very best Supply Chain management business schools in the United States in Arizona State University.”

The W. P. Carey School of Business researchers participating in this new study will include Professor Elliot Rabinovich, a member of the school’s acclaimed Supply Chain Management Department, which is consistently ranked Top 10 among business schools nationwide. Professor Timothy Richards, the nationally regarded Morrison Chair at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at the W. P. Carey School, will also help lead the research. Other faculty members and doctoral candidate Min Choi will be involved, as well.

“We are very much looking forward to our research collaboration with iControl. Through this partnership, we will be able to leverage unique synergies between iControl and our research group that will allow us to offer new insights about scan-based trading,” said Elliot Rabinovich. “iControl’s expertise in the implementation of scan-based trading across a wide network of clients spanning suppliers and retailers will be of great value in this endeavor. We hope this collaboration can serve also as a platform for further research aimed at improving collaborative inventory management by suppliers and retailers”

About iControl:

iControl provides retailers, consumer product goods companies, brokers, mainline distributors, and DSD wholesalers with a collaborative SaaS solution where they can share critical trading information such as POS activity in a normalized, harmonized, secure web portal. iControl’s platform enables fact-based, timely, data-driven decisions that boost sales, reduce waste, promote efficiency, reward transparency, and align performance metrics. There are over 30,000 retail outlets taking part in iControl’s programs in all 50 states, over 100 retail banners, and over 3,000 suppliers participating. For more information about iControl, visit www.icontroldata.net.