An industry leader in data analysis and presentation software, Interactive Edge has been helping companies, specifically in the Consumer Goods industry, to improve productivity, enhance efficiency and run more efficiently since 1994. Interactive Edge provides category managers with a software solution that helps them deliver targeted shopper insight data in presentation format to the store buyer. They develop and market data analysis and presentation solutions for distributed sales and management teams. Their robust data tools and an easy-to-use front end automates and customizes data rich Power Point Presentations and Excel Reports/Dashbaords, and saves time by 95%.
Started out by doing interactive multimedia – animations for brands and packaging, it was thus named, Interactive Edge. Then they focused on helping companies deliver new item presentations to ensure that the sales organization had a consistent message to communicate. They realized that with all the BI tools in the market, most companies end up presenting their information in PowerPoint in a static way. Thus, Interactive Edge reinvented and developed a software that helps companies prepare, cleanse and organize their data along with a front-end that is completely integrated into Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. Today, Interactive Edge is the market leader making PowerPoint, flexible and dynamic.
XP3, for Actionable Insights and Recommendations
Interactive Edge’s award-winning XP3 platform is a set of business intelligence tools that integrates with Microsoft Office, and enables business users to leverage virtual data to create, distribute, and apply analytics in PowerPoint presentations. Because of its ease-of-use, open technology and powerful analytics capabilities, XP3 has become the standard for presenting any data, anytime, anywhere throughout the largest Consumer Goods companies in the world.
Their products include XP3 Presentation Builder, a business intelligence add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint that gives business users the ability to define data-driven content against the virtual source of data; and XP3 Presentation Viewer that enables stakeholders to customize, analyze, and interactively present data-driven presentations from within Microsoft PowerPoint. Interactive Edge also provides XP3 Turbo Templates, a library system that provides enhancements to the business analytics industry; and XP3 Data Tools, a set of graphic user interface to extract, transform, and load tools that give business users or IT the ability to load, manage, and customize virtually a set of data with zero custom coding.
Moreover, they offer implementation, business process outsourcing, training, and data management services. The company serves sales organizations, category management, business analysts, space management, supply chain optimization, executive reporting, new product introductions, market research, financial, and promotion companies.
An Industry Thought Leader
Zel Bianco, the President and CEO, founded Interactive Edge. Since its inception, he has been responsible for setting the company’s strategic vision and developing business alliances. Zel is an industry thought leader who has enjoyed presenting at many industry conferences such as the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the International Committee of Food Retail Chains (CIES), SAP’s SAPPHIRE and SAP’s TechEd Demo Jam. He has donated the Interactive Edge XP3 software for use by students at both of their business schools.
Zel enjoys helping clients bridge the gap between category management and shopper insights. He collaborates with clients in the development of a process that streamlines the flow of qualitative data into customer facing presentations and reports. Prior to founding Interactive Edge, Zel held senior account management positions in the advertising industry, at Young & Rubicam and other large New York agencies. He worked with many consumer package goods clients and was a part of the account management team that introduced the IBM personal computer.
Delivering Effective Tools to Present Data and Insights
Throughout its history, Interactive Edges’ purpose has remained the same – effective tools to present data and insights. The company has created a module called XP3 Merge Engine to gather in the valuable information from market research and shopper marketing. The module allows customers to easily tag or mark the specific slides pertaining to the market research report (static slides together with the data-driven dynamic slides) in their PowerPoint presentations.
“Customer focused. All will fall into place if you always have the customer in mind. Also, we can’t possibly be all things to all customers so we recommend partners that make sense. When doing this, business tends to come back to us for the things we are good at,” asserts Zel on which characteristics they want in their team.
Bringing Higher Value to the Use of Data
Interactive Edge has a long-standing relationship with many of the world’s leading consumer goods companies such as Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Mars Chocolate, Frito Lay and many others. Interative Edge is working with Nielsen and is now part of their Connected Partner Program, which allows Nielsen’s clients and their own to utilize their data as well as other data sources to be used as effectively as possible. It creates a value-added eco-system that brings higher value to the use of data to drive insights for better and more effective decision making.