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// Public Gaming International // March/April 2015
In the few seconds it takes you to scan this sentence, millions—if
not billions—of data packets have crossed the globe, keeping busi-
nesses, organizations and governments updated with key informa-
tion in real time. Critical decisions are made based on the real time
value of this data, with users placing increasing reliance on the ad-
vantages this brings—what we call: “The Power of Now.” In fact,
almost every decision affecting the global economy—from com-
modity prices and transportation routing to retail inventory and
entertainment- is harnessing and acting on “Now” information.
From the perspective of a lottery, effectively harnessing the
Power of Now can unlock many new revenue opportunities. This
is being accomplished through the use of today’s mobile technol-
ogy to get the most current and relevant data to those Lottery staff
members that can make the best use of it, specifically the field
sales team. Readily available, inexpensive mobile devices such as
tablets and smartphones, along with specialized sales force soft-
ware, place the Power of Now in the hands of users anywhere at
any time on all their devices.
With major international retailers increasingly managing their
enterprise operations in real time, lotteries are wise to consider the
many benefits this model provides. Traditional methods of manag-
ing retail locations and their inventory through spreadsheet-based
reports, often based on stale, local data and lagging indicators, is
rapidly giving way to the power of real time visibility, two-way in-
formation flow, and features that provide far more precise and ef-
fective optimization of retail operations.
• How much more effective could a retailer visit be if your field
sales staff had real time visibility into the game inventory and
facing status for every store they visit, even before they arrive?
• What about knowing the trending velocity and up-to-the-min-
ute popularity of each game being offered—how might this in-
formation augment the reliance on static, manual planograms
and traditional reordering patterns?
• Imagine if your sales managers could view and adjust the activity
of all sales reps, state wide, in real time. Could ad-hoc changes
to a field rep’s daily schedule and route be used to proactively ad-
dress dynamic sales trends and jackpot fevers?
We asked several Lottery industry professionals for their views
on how the Power of Now can be used to increase lottery sales.
We wanted to know what lotteries can do differently today, with
real time management and sales intelligence, increasingly power-
ful and cost effective mobile devices, high speed communications,
and powerful but easy to use applications that can deliver The
Power of Now to their user base.
Selling Retailers with the
Power of Now
by Jan Kessinger
The advantage of having real-time in-
formation on a sales call, or from a sales
management perspective is the difference
between taking initiative and making things happen compared to
always playing catch-up, or reacting on a sales call. When you’re
talking to a retailer about current sales performance, it carries a
lot more weight than looking back a few weeks. Too often, a sales
rep is forced to go into a store blind to what awaits. With real-
time data, a sales rep can see a clear picture of the store, its inven-
tory, its sales performance and be able to anticipate the needs of
the retailer before going into the store to make a call.
From an inventory management standpoint, millions of dollars
of sales are lost because of out-of-stocks and empty bins. Countless
sales are lost because of the lost opportunity from lack of inven-
tory of hot games, or game displays being clogged by slow-moving
games. Real-time data and the capability to get a snapshot of per-
formance greatly reduces inventory issues that hurt sales. From a
sales management standpoint, real-time data puts management ‘in
the now,’ where a manager can see the way things are, not just the
way things were. That puts management ahead of the game and
not always chasing.
With real time visibility, lottery management can identify
trends in sales activity and target sales opportunities much more
quickly and precisely than ever before. By identifying oppor-
tunities earlier, the sales person and their managers can make
changes as they are needed, rather than responding reactively.
The “Power of Now” provides many new possibilities to enhance
lottery retail sales growth.
Real time information is
changing the game
