BSA Launches New Software

In mid-summer, Bentonville Software Associates launched a new software package designed to help suppliers to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. identify and group stores by any set of customized demographics. The software, called Trait Master, works as an add-on to the company’s point-of-sale analysis software, Shiloh, or as a stand-alone program and has been described as a way for vendors to “track a store’s DNA.”

Lisa Bohn, BSA’s CEO, said Trait Master could identify stores grouped by “super traits” such as a combination of “Hispanic,” “medium income” and “resort/rural.”

Before, a vendor may have been able to identify that a store’s customers were mostly Hispanic with a medium income, but the fact that it was also a resort store might be overlooked, so sales on certain items might be lost. Trait Master helps fine-tune the demographics research.

Bohn declined to share the company’s revenue, but in January 2005, BSA had only about 10 customers. Now it works with more than 100 Wal-Mart suppliers.

BSA’s software has been so successful in the vendor community that the company has had offers from three different out-of-market competitors to “acquire, align or partner,” Bohn said.

So far, it hasn’t taken any of the offers, she said.

Bohn is looking for BSA to expand into other markets and sell software to suppliers of other retailers, and that may require a partnership with another software developer, she said.