Innovative software developed in Noosa, Queensland that allows companies to control and monitor their point of sale (POS) inventory has attracted ‘unprecedented’ interest from Australian and multinational brands.
ouvar is being launched in Australia next month at the Shop! [formerly POPAI] Marketing at Retail Summit in Sydney before being rolled out in early 2019 across the UK and the US.
The program gives companies control of their brand’s POS material via a secure online platform where they can view, order, monitor and track POS items, as well as access sales figures and storage locations. It has the potential to save users hundreds of thousands and will “revolutionize” Australia’s multi-billion dollar fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, according to the company.
“We’ve had an unprecedented level of interest from major global players in the FMCG industry,” ouvar founder Jennifer Porter told Wide Format Online. “For a product that hasn’t officially been launched yet, the response has been overwhelming and an indication that this type of innovation was long overdue. It’s very exciting and we’ve just returned from the UK where it was well received by their leading FMCG industry group, POPAI UK.”
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| ouvar founder Jennifer Porter |
Porter previously worked for 5P Group, which designs and manufactures POS retail displays for major brands including Nestle, Havaianas, Mars and Dulux.
“Many FMCG companies store their point of sale material at multiple storage locations including third-party logistics warehouses, factories, storage sheds and even sales rep’s cars,” Porter said. “This creates a challenge in calculating accurate storage charges, knowing where POS material is at any given time and even how much of it is reaching its destination.
“I noticed a real weakness in the market, a gap where FMCG businesses didn’t have control over their POS assets. This material costs some enterprises hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to produce and store but there was no integrated platform that provided visibility about where it was, what was in storage, where it’s stored, whether cheaper options were available.
“I saw the need for a solution to help clients track their POS material and access sales performance, costs, specifications, storage and delivery information, When I saw that one didn’t exist, I decided to create it. ouvar gives enterprises total control of their brand’s POS assets, which in turn enables them to reduce spending at each stage of the assets’ journey.”
POPAI Director UK and Ireland, Phil Day said: “The ability to centrally manage, distribute and measure display and its component parts across the country in this way, with live reporting and field management will provide brand owners with a double-win. It will prevent them from over-ordering and stockpiling displays, and also give them key performance data on a real-time basis, enabling them to better manage the display that is already in the field.”
ouvar – which is a play on the French word ouvert or open - operates on two levels to support both management and representatives in the field and is optimised on both desktop and mobile and across IOS, Windows and Android platforms. ouvar desktop offers an intuitive dashboard to control all assets, data and financial information and user activity. ouvar mobile is a more compact version that gives field teams total control of POS activity.
The Shop! 2018 Marketing at Retail Summit will be held at Doltone House in Sydney on September 13.
Shop! 2018 Marketing at Retail Summit
Thursday September 13. 8am to 3pm.
Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney
Shop! 2018 Awards Gala Dinner
Thursday September 13. 7pm to 12am.
Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney
http://www.marketingatretailsummit.com.au
