Ice Cream Intelligence

These days, when we all scream for ice cream, Ben & Jerry's cuts through the din by using integrated query, reporting, and online analytical processing technology from BusinessObjects.

The tools let Ben & Jerry's officials access, analyze, and act on customer information collected by its sales, finance, purchasing, and quality-assurance departments. "They can now track customer feedback and look at it analytically," says Alex Moissis, VP of marketing at BusinessObjects. "They can determine what preferences customers have in terms of the milk being used to make the ice cream."

The technology helped Ben & Jerry's track more than 12,500 consumer contacts last year, according to BusinessObjects. The information ranged from comments about the ingredients used in ice cream to queries about social causes supported by the company.