IRI, a global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, CPG, retail and media companies, has announced that it has acquired Retail Solutions, Inc. (RSi), a provider of supply chain solutions for CPG manufacturers and retailers. The addition of RSi’s solutions to the industry-leading IRI Liquid Data technology platform will offer the industry’s most comprehensive supply chain solution, as well as the largest repository of de-identified and anonymous consumer data assets in the CPG industry, delivering long-term increased value and impact to clients.

“The acquisition of RSi builds upon IRI’s long track record of continuous investment in technology, solutions and data assets,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI. “IRI remains laser-focused on serving the CPG and retail industries with innovative solutions that help our clients address their most challenging issues to deliver highly differentiated capabilities and impact to clients. The investment in RSi to enhance our supply chain optimization capabilities is a direct response to our clients’ needs as they navigate disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Baljit Dail, president of IRI Global, added, “Optimizing supply chain through better end-to-end visibility, efficiency and execution has never been more important to retailers and manufacturers across the CPG landscape. The addition of RSi’s leading solutions to our broader portfolio of offerings will further enhance our robust capabilities and enable retailers and manufacturers to drive tangible ROI and capitalize on opportunities in a dynamic environment.”

RSi’s proven products and solutions have been used by more than three-fourths of the world’s 50 largest CPG manufacturers to maximize their on-shelf availability, operational productivity and omnichannel sales growth. In particular, RSi’s leading suite of on-shelf availability (“OSA”) solutions, OSAPower, includes a full spectrum of AI-driven tools to diagnose, reduce and prevent out-of-stocks. RSi powers its solutions with data from over 150 of the top retailers, to deliver insights to over 500 global CPG customers today.

Bert Clement, chief executive officer of RSi, said, “IRI is the ideal partner to build upon our existing suite of solutions and enable our clients to further optimize their supply chains, and we’re thrilled to be joining forces with them.” 

“With access to enhanced data, technology, solutions and resources, existing RSi clients will be even better positioned to make smarter, faster decisions that maximize efficiency and drive growth,” added Stuart Careford, chief customer officer of RSi.

Benefits to IRI and RSi clients include:

• Unparalleled suite of supply chain solutions: Adding RSi’s comprehensive, industry-leading supply chain offerings to IRI’s existing supply chain capabilities will provide seamless integration of currently disparate data assets, creating comprehensive end-to-end supply chain visibility and enabling clients to more efficiently identify and address operational bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
• Expanded market coverage: The combination of IRI and RSi data assets creates the largest repository of store- and warehouse-level supply chain data, enabling unrivaled national supply chain solutions and capabilities.
• Enhanced collaboration between retailers and manufacturers: The integration of RSi’s solutions, including its Pacific platform, within IRI Liquid Data provides unprecedented collaboration capabilities within the supply chain ecosystem, creating opportunities to significantly improve clients’ core supply chain metrics.
• Seamless technology and data integration: Ability to access RSi solutions through IRI’s industry-leading IRI Liquid Data platform will deliver intuitive, groundbreaking and results-oriented analytics and business intelligence in near real time, fully integrated with other IRI solutions and data assets. In particular, RSi’s leading suite of on-shelf availability (“OSA”) solutions, OSAPower, includes a full spectrum of AI-driven tools to diagnose, reduce and prevent out-of-stocks.
• The most intelligent Digital Shopper Marketing analytics: As part of the merger, RSi’s Ansa solutions will be offered by IRI’s Media Center of Excellence. Ansa, a three-time winner of Shopper Marketing Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award, empowers ad networks with the intelligence they need to plan, target, optimize and measure their campaigns based on daily, store-level sales and inventory.
• Augmented decision-making: IRI’s unparalleled data assets, extensive geographical coverage, and artificial intelligence and data science capabilities will enhance the supply chain offerings previously provided by RSi by incorporating augmented decision-making capabilities. IRI’s advanced platform pushes opportunities and risks to users in a seamless and efficient manner, including opportunities to improve on-shelf availability and reduce out-of-stocks, to drive both top-line and bottom-line growth along with superior in-store consumer experience.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to IRI. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Cooley LLP served as legal advisor to RSi.

In the near term, RSi will become a stand-alone operating subsidiary of IRI. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.