Abstract: One embodiment provides a method for evaluating transaction data to determine point of location usage. This could be, for example, to determine where customers are mostly likely to shop before or after shopping at a given merchant. For instance, the method could show the percentage of customers that shop at certain types of stores during a time period right before or after shopping at the merchant's location. As another example, the method could be used to determine when a merchant's customer makes a purchase at the merchant's store, then makes a purchase at a competing merchant's store within a specified time.

Abstract: Systems, program products, and methods of human resources planning and development are provided. An example of a system includes a server in communication with a plurality of client computers over a communication network and program product stored in the memory of the server adapted to predict a future number of employees desired within the organization for a preselected period of time to define a human resource manning plan, to assign a plurality of employment development activities to each of a plurality of participating employees in the organization to define an employment development plan for each participating employee, to form a recruitment plan for the organization, and to provide continuous feedback loops so that revisions in the human resource manning plan, the recruitment plan, or at least one of the employment development plans are accounted for in each other of such plans.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of generating a recommendation for a product type. A plurality of product attributes associated with the product type is provided. A sampled set of consumer values is received. At least one user preference corresponding to the product attributes is received. A plurality of consumer values based on the at least one user preference and the sample set of consumer values is calculated, and at least one product recommendation is determined based on the calculated consumer values.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for transforming actual aggregated data (e.g., transaction and terminal data) from a large number of POS terminals into market trend reports that include macro-level trend data and analyses. For example, POS datasets are aggregated from POS terminals distributed across many merchant outlet locations, each POS dataset including location data and transaction data for its respective POS terminal. A reporting request is received for a market trend report corresponding to a designated market over a designated timeframe. A market dataset is identified from the portion of the aggregated POS data corresponding to the designated timeframe and market. Unreliable portions of the data may be discarded. Market trend data is then calculated as a function of the reliable portion of the market dataset, and graphical report data is output as a function of the market trend data in response to the reporting request.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and system for measuring human response to retail elements, based on the shopper's facial expressions and behaviors. From a facial image sequence, the facial geometry—facial pose and facial feature positions—is estimated to facilitate the recognition of facial expressions, gaze, and demographic categories. The recognized facial expression is translated into an affective state of the shopper and the gaze is translated into the target and the level of interest of the shopper. The body image sequence is processed to identify the shopper's interaction with a given retail element—such as a product, a brand, or a category.

Abstract: A method, system, computer program product, and related business methods for concisely communicating real-time business information to end users in an enterprise network is described. An integrated business system having at least ERP and CRM functionality is accessed via a browser-based user interface. A plurality of portlet windows are simultaneously displayed within a browser window, each portlet window occupying a relatively small area therein. The portlet windows are selected and arranged according to a customizable user profile for each user, and include reporting portlets displaying up-to-date business results retrieved from the integrated business system. Each reporting portlet further comprises report access links associated with at least one of the business results that, when selected by the user, invoke browser-based displays of up-to-date business data underlying those business results.

Abstract: Several of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to accessing and tracking real-time data concerning company representative performance, proficiency, training, scheduling, current workflow, and estimated workflow. Moreover, many of the improvements in contact handling systems disclosed herein automatically provide training, work, and incentives to company representatives to improve performance, proficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, automate scheduling, and automated workflow. Thus, as a result of the teachings disclosed herein, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue may be improved in the contact handling industry.

Abstract: Several of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to accessing and tracking real-time data concerning company representative performance, proficiency, training, scheduling, current work flow, and estimated work flow. Moreover, many of the improvements in contact handling systems disclosed herein automatically provide training, work, and incentives to company representatives to improve performance, proficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, automate scheduling, and automated work flow. More specifically, a method for providing training to company representatives is disclosed. Also disclosed is a system for managing work and training of company representatives. As a result of the teachings disclosed herein, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue may be improved in the contact handling industry.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for transforming actual aggregated data (e.g., transaction and terminal data) from a large number of POS terminals into market trend reports that include macro-level trend data and analyses. For example, POS datasets are aggregated from POS terminals distributed across many merchant outlet locations, each POS dataset including location data and transaction data for its respective POS terminal. A reporting request is received for a market trend report corresponding to a designated market over a designated timeframe. A market dataset is identified from the portion of the aggregated POS data corresponding to the designated timeframe and market. Unreliable portions of the data may be discarded. Market trend data is then calculated as a function of the reliable portion of the market dataset, and graphical report data is output as a function of the market trend data in response to the reporting request.

Abstract: A method, system, computer program product, and related business methods for concisely communicating real-time business information to end users in an enterprise network is described. An integrated business system having at least ERP and CRM functionality is accessed via a browser-based user interface. A plurality of portlet windows are simultaneously displayed within a browser window, each portlet window occupying a relatively small area therein. The portlet windows are selected and arranged according to a customizable user profile for each user, and include reporting portlets displaying up-to-date business results retrieved from the integrated business system. Each reporting portlet further comprises report access links associated with at least one of the business results that, when selected by the user, invoke browser-based displays of up-to-date business data underlying those business results.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and software for processing or otherwise managing scrap information in a business application. For example, the software can instantiate a planning business object using production model data for production activities. The business object data and scrap information may be used to calculate requirements for a production planning model. The calculations may include adding an activity yield to activity scrap and fixed resource scrap to generate a component quantity. The component quantity can be multiplied by a component scrap ratio to generate additional component requirements. The component quantity may be added to the additional component requirements to determine a total quantity.

Abstract: Several of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to accessing and tracking real-time data concerning company representative performance, proficiency, training, scheduling, current work flow, and estimated work flow. Moreover, many of the improvements in contact handling systems disclosed herein automatically provide training, work, and incentives to company representatives to improve performance, proficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, automate scheduling, and automated work flow. More specifically, this application discloses a method for delivering training to company representatives. Also disclosed is an automated customer service and training management system. As a result of the teachings disclosed herein, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue may be improved in the contact handling industry.

Abstract: Several of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to accessing and tracking real-time data concerning company representative performance, proficiency, training, scheduling, current work flow, and estimated work flow. Moreover, many of the improvements in contact handling systems disclosed herein automatically provide training, work, and incentives to company representatives to improve performance, proficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, automate scheduling, and automated work flow. More specifically, this application discloses, in part, a method for determining an incentive for a company representative. Also disclosed is a graphical interface enabling a user to control training based incentives. As a result of the teachings disclosed herein, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue may be improved in the contact handling industry.

Abstract: In one embodiment the present invention includes a computer-implemented method of measuring process compliance. The method includes storing an adopted reference model of a business process and storing process instances of the business process. The method further includes generating an as-is model from the plurality of process instances. The method further includes calculating a sequence-based compliance measurement between the adopted reference model and the as-is model. The method further includes outputting the sequence-based compliance measurement. The sequence-based compliance measurement may be used to evaluate or to improve the business process.

Abstract: A method for providing maintenance to an electrical power generation, transmission and distribution system, and an information system and one or more computer program software means for carrying out same. A method to provide maintenance to an electrical power generation facility and/or an electrical power transmission and distribution network system operated by a Utility. Maintenance personnel visit a site to inspect a condition of said apparatus, and examine information from an Information System operated in co-ordination with a Help Desk.

Abstract: One embodiment of the invention provides a method for optimizing a supply chain management (SCM) problem. A genetic algorithm optimization technique may be used to generate a production solution for the production side of an SCM problem and an ant colony optimization technique may be used to generate a solution for the distribution side of the SCM problem. Together, the genetic algorithm optimization technique and the ant colony optimization technique operate to quickly identify high-quality solutions to an SCM problem.

Abstract: A method and system for predicting the profit attributable to a proposed sales promotion of a product, wherein the product has a wholesale price and a manufacturing cost per unit sales, including establishing a base volume for sales of the product in the absence of promotions; determining a sales lift for the plurality of single promotions; and correlating the sales lift with promotion information to provide a sales lift model. The method and system also include proposing a promotion having a cost per unit sales for a promotion time period and having a planned sale price for the product; applying the sales lift model to the proposed promotion to predict sales of the product for the promotion time period; and calculating manufacturer profit based upon the product's predicted sales, cost per unit sales for promotion, wholesale price, and manufacturing cost per unit sales during the promotion time period.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system for managing contracts for projects is provided. The system consists of a data store and an analysis component. The data store can maintain information related to a project including an original contract defining at least some aspects of the project. The data store can also maintain information for a plurality of interim contracts that include a change to the original contract. The information for the plurality of interim contracts can include resource information, date information, financial information, and variance information. The variance information is related to the change between one of the interim contracts and the original contract. The analysis component identifies the variance between the original contract and one or more of the interim contracts.

Abstract: A method and storage medium for utilizing excess inventory of parts that are used in end products and having part identifiers are provided. The method includes identifying an excess inventory of parts including part identifiers and a quantity associated with each part identifier. The method also includes identifying potential end products for manufacture comprising a Bill of Materials (BOM) for each end product and where each BOM calls out at least one part identifier in the excess inventory of parts. The method further includes determining a build plan including one or more of the potential end products, the build plan optimized to specific criteria and utilizing an amount of the excess inventory whereby the specific criteria include maximizing the quantity of the excess inventory utilized without exceeding a specific dollar value of additional parts purchased to produce the build plan.

Abstract: A method for utilizing the Monte Carlo method to determine the most efficient arrangement of schedulers for a grid using a Scheduler Optimization Program (SOP). The SOP obtains the schedulers and scheduler timetable from memory and randomly selects a time period and scheduler to analyze. The SOP then uses the selected scheduler to modify the scheduler timetable. The SOP then runs the ROI calculator to obtain a ROI property for the modified timetable. If the ROI property for the modified timetable is greater than the ROI property for the original scheduler timetable, the SOP replaces the scheduler timetable with the modified timetable.