Laurel Pub Group scoops top retail award


– Use of Cognos 8 BI through change++ sees Laurel take hospitality and leisure category at Retail Systems Awards 2007 –


London, UK – November 11, 2007 – The Laurel Pub Group has won the best use of technology in the hospitality and leisure sector category for its use of Cognos 8 BI at the Retail Systems Awards 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dominic Jones from Laurel Pub Company collects the award with Daniel Mason, Cognos and Della Payne, change++

The pub group came top in a fiercely fought category, including Butlins, The Dorchester Hotel and Felix Group. Laurel, which worked with change++, a Cognos consultancy partner, to select the technology, was praised for its introduction of the performance management solution. The technology allows users to analyse business performance over a number of areas. This includes sales, the top five/bottom five performing bars and sales trends graphs.

“Winning this award is testament to how working with change++ and using Cognos 8 BI has helped us improve our overall performance,” said Hazell West, Head of IT at the Laurel Pub Group. “This provides our area managers across the country with data they need to make the right decisions and drive the business within their regions, so they know exactly what is happening in the business at any time.”

Della Payne, change++ director, explained: “Through dashboard-style data displays drawing on sources such as EpoS, we can deliver information to Laurel area managers quickly and in a way that is tailored to their needs. Managers can drill down from the summary reports, identify problem areas and trouble-shoot where necessary. Cognos 8 is an excellent tool and we’re pleased that this award acknowledges the value of BI to fast-moving businesses that need an immediate view of performance.”

“The recognition that the Laurel Pub Group has received for its use of Cognos 8 BI represents the growing importance of this technology,” said Graham Walter, VP Cognos, UK, Middle East and Africa. “It also reveals the value companies are placing upon performance management to help them drive their long-term strategies.”

About the Retail Systems Awards 2007
The Retail Systems Awards recognise excellence and innovation in the field of information technology within the UK retail sector. The primary criteria for judging are the delivery of definable and significant business benefits, innovation and originality of application, ROI and project management issues such as delivery on time and within budget.
http://www.retail-systems.com/awards

About Laurel Pub Company
Laurel is one of the UK’s leading and most respected managed house operators, with around 460 town centre pubs, bars and restaurants, spread throughout the UK.

Its locations are amongst the best known in the country with famous High Street names such as La Tasca, The Slug and Lettuce, Ha! Ha! Bar and Canteen and Yates’s, in addition to a large number of popular and individual unbranded venues.
For more information, visit the website at http://www.laurelpubco.com.

About change ++
change++ work with businesses in the retail and leisure sector to develop systems that gather data more efficiently, report on it quickly, analyse it easily and present it clearly, giving managers an immediate view of business performance. For more information, visit the website at http://www.changepp.co.uk/.

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