IBM today announced that it has completed its acquisition of DemandTec. The acquisition further extends IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based software to help companies drive profitability through measurable pricing, promotion, and assortment planning.

Launched in March 2011, IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative delivers software and services to help companies transform their business processes to more quickly respond to shifting customer demands in today's digital marketplace. Extending these capabilities to the cloud gives organizations immediate access to consumer information, providing instant return on investment.

"IBM Smarter Commerce on Cloud gives companies broader insights about customer merchandising and pricing preferences to better market, sell and deliver their products and services," said Craig Hayman, General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM. "With IBM and DemandTec, marketing and sales executives in retail, CPG and other industries will be able to deliver the best prices and product mix based on consumer buying trends."

DemandTec delivers cloud-based analytics software to help organizations improve their price, promotion, and product mix within the broad context of enterprise commerce: retail, business-to-consumer, and consumer goods. As a result, companies can spot trends and shopper insights to make better price, promotion, and assortment decisions that increase revenue and profitability. By gaining a quick analysis of consumer trends, for example, a category manager at a consumer products company can collaborate with the retailer to understand price elasticity and set a more competitive price point.

DemandTec also expands IBM’s Software-as-a Service (SaaS) strategy by adding additional, subscription-based offerings to IBM’s SaaS solutions portfolio. 

With the closing of the acquisition, approximately 350 DemandTec employees will join IBM’s Software Group, which is a key driver of growth and profitability for the company.

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/.