Platform change good for loyalty cards

By ADAM GIFFORD

Progressive Enterprises is crediting its new $1 million Teradata data warehouse for the speed with which it has been able to extend its new loyalty card across its Woolworths and Foodtown supermarkets.

John Donaldson, Progressive's general manager for information technology, said the data warehouse was bought to provide a stable system for the Foodtown Card, which had been developed on an Access database. "Access is not where you want to go for a high-volume, high-availability system," Donaldson said.

He said that because a high percentage of Foodtown shoppers use the Foodtown Card it was necessary to put the system on a more stable platform and Teradata was chosen because of its strength in the retail sector.

"It came with retail knowledge and pre-structured, pre-formed database designs and capabilities," he said.

Once the decision was made it took less than three months to put the system into Woolworths under the Onecard label.

The change also allows old and new cards to be used in both supermarket chains.

As well as card management, the system allows the supermarkets to analyse customer spending patterns to design specials and promotions.

Teradata regional vice-president Julian Beavis said the system would allow the supermarkets to develop a level of intimacy with customers that was similar to that offered by a traditional neighbourhood grocer.

Donaldson said the process of switching Woolworths over to Progressive's IT infrastructure and applications was going well.

It had already migrated off a homegrown financials package to Progressive's SAP system.

The 20,000 staff from both chains were being put on the PayGlobal payroll system that would run over the internet.