Carlson Selects Zycus for Spend Data Management

Hospitality group aims to beef up strategic sourcing initiatives with artificial intelligence-based data classification software

Hospitality group aims to beef up strategic sourcing initiatives with artificial intelligence-based data classification software

Princeton, NJ — April 17, 2006 — Hospitality group Carlson Companies has tapped a spend management solution from Zycus for spend analysis, looking to beef up the organization's strategic sourcing initiatives with the provider's artificial intelligence-based data classification software.

Ranked among the largest privately held corporations in the United States, Carlson Companies is based in Minneapolis and employs about 190,000 people in more than 145 countries. Its brands include Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, and T.G.I. Friday's and Pick Up Stix restaurants, among others.

The company will plug Zycus' spend data management software, AUTOCLASS, into its Oracle-based sourcing and procurement IT infrastructure and provide UNSPSC classification for all spend data, powering automated spend analysis.

"Zycus was selected for its ability to accurately classify spend data both in batch mode and real time at the point of requisition, which is fundamental to drive detailed and repeatable historical spend analysis as well as monitor real-time spend compliance," said Carl Robie, senior director of enterprise strategic sourcing for Carlson Companies.

Sandip Maiti, vice president of marketing for Zycus, said that automated spend analysis at the item level with UNSPSC coding standards will help extract additional value from the investments made in Carlson's e-procurement system, Oracle I-procurement.

"Successful strategic sourcing initiatives at Carlson Companies can now better leverage the savings opportunities discovered from the use of this tool," Maiti said. "Quality spend data is the foundation for any sourcing transformation initiative."

Zycus' customer base includes such other companies as General Electric, Dupont, 3M and Alcoa, as well as the U.S. Federal Government Marketplace (GSA) and Unilever.


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