Plenty of beer brings Christmas cheer

December 11, 2003 - For the first time ever, UK breweries are guaranteeing that their pubs will be fully stocked over Christmas and New Year.

It should bring an end to the usual festive chaos when drinkers have to leave the pub and head for the off-licence if they want to enjoy their favourite tipple.

Using predictive software from Cognos, which makes use of sales data from the previous five years, breweries can now calculate exactly how much beer, wine and spirits will be sold over the festive season.

In turn, the nation’s landlords are now able to ensure they have sufficient stock to survive the holiday period and keep thirsty revellers happy.

Working with some of the country’s leading pub chains and breweries, such as Greene King, the Laurel Pub company and Hardys and Hansons, Cognos uses sales data to analyse the type of alcohol different pubs sell, according to quantity and time of day.

Using this predictive software, breweries can also analyse the success of Christmas promotions and the effectiveness of alternative offerings such as serving meals and snacks. It also helps them to deduce the best time of day to run specific promotions and give-aways.

"As the office party season gets into full swing and consumers frequent the pub more often, breweries are acutely aware of the need to order alcohol at the correct levels. On the flip side, it’s all well and good ordering hundreds of extra crates and barrels, but if these don’t sell, the risk of this going to waste is huge," said Julian Kaine, product manager at Cognos UK.

"Increasingly, more pubs are using technology to accurately predict sales and ensure their customers are happy during the busiest period of the year," he added.

For further press information about Cognos, please visit LEWIS’ Virtual Press Room.

For further information

About Cognos, an IBM Company
Cognos, an IBM company, is the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions.

It provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance.
Cognos was acquired by IBM in January 2008.

For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/ and http://www.cognos.com/uk/

For further information about Cognos, please contact:
Katy Lyons or Farimah Saadat at LEWIS, the PR agency

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0)20 7802 2627
www.lewispr.com

For sales enquiries call:
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 486 668
www.cognos.com/uk