Products · Fact sheet

Complexica software fact sheet

The facts about Decision Cloud®, Larry, the Digital Analyst® and Complexica’s products in one place: what they do, who uses them, how they are hosted and priced, and how a project starts. Each answer links to the page with the full detail.

Last updated

Key facts

CompanyComplexica Pty Ltd, a provider of artificial intelligence software that optimises sales, marketing and supply chain decisions
PlatformDecision Cloud®, a fully modularised, cloud-based platform; every module runs on the same AI engine and the same data
AI engineLarry, the Digital Analyst®, built into every Decision Cloud module; named the 2018 Australian Innovation of the Year
Decision Cloud modulesPromotional Campaign Manager (PCM); Trade Promotion Management & Optimisation (TPM & TPO); Supplier Portal; Demand Planner; Integrated Planning & Scheduling Optimiser; What-if Simulator & Optimiser; Customer Opportunity Profiler (COP); Order Management System (OMS); E-commerce Recommendation Engine
Logistics softwareWaveSCM, and the terminal (TMSPro), empty park (EPMS), rail (RAILTrack) and transport (TRUCKSmart) management systems of Wave Systems, part of Complexica, plus the AI Yard Optimiser
IndustriesCPG manufacturers, CPG retail, wholesale and distribution, ports and logistics, construction and industrial, pharmaceuticals, financial services, consumer goods
Customers includeMetcash, Endeavour Group, Pernod Ricard, Asahi, Bunzl, PFD Food Services, Aurizon, Toll, Linfox, Coventry Group, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Westpac
HostingAmazon Web Services, with a dedicated instance for every customer
Customer dataNever shared, re-used or re-sold
CertificationISO 27001:2022, issued by TQCSI International
IntegrationStandard integration APIs for common ERP systems, plus public data such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau of Meteorology
EngagementA no-cost workshop, then a fixed-price, fixed-time scoping engagement, then a staged deployment
Pricing modelA fixed-price deployment project (a capital expenditure), then a monthly SaaS fee (an operational expense)
Research baseMore than 300 peer-reviewed articles and 25 books, cited by more than 70,000 authors
Head officeWest Lakes, South Australia; +61 8 8355 5050; contact@complexica.com
AI agentsComplexica Automations, Complexica’s agentic AI business unit: see the AI Agents fact sheet

Platform

What is Complexica?

Complexica is a leading provider of artificial intelligence software applications that can optimise sales, marketing and supply chain decisions. Founded on the research of world-renowned computer scientists, Complexica turns decades of optimisation and machine-learning research into software used by manufacturers, distributors, retailers and port operators.

More: About Complexica

What is Decision Cloud®?

Complexica Decision Cloud® puts Larry, the Digital Analyst® to work on the thousands of sales, marketing and supply chain decisions teams make every day, and recommends the best option. It is a fully modularised, cloud-based platform: every module runs on the same AI engine and the same data, so you can start with the module that solves today’s problem, for example pricing, promotions or demand planning, and add others as you grow.

  • Marketing optimisation: plan, simulate and optimise promotions and trade spend across the range.
  • Sales optimisation: direct sales staff to the best opportunities, with what to offer and what price to quote.
  • Supply chain optimisation: forecast demand more accurately and optimise inventory, production and logistics.

More: Decision Cloud®

What is Larry, the Digital Analyst®?

Larry is Complexica’s artificial intelligence engine, built into each Decision Cloud module so the analysis lands where the decision is made.

  • Does the analysis: collects and prepares data from your internal systems (sales, orders, promotions, stock) and from external sources, predicts what will happen and weighs the trade-offs, every day and at scale.
  • Recommends and shows why: each recommendation comes with the numbers behind it, at the moment your staff need it.
  • Learns: self-learning algorithms update automatically as new data and results come in.
  • Stays within your rules: Larry optimises within the business rules, trading terms and constraints configured for your organisation.

More: Larry, the Digital Analyst®

Does Larry act on its own?

No. Larry runs the analysis on its own, around the clock, but every recommendation goes to a person to approve. Larry generates decision recommendations, rather than just providing insights or analytic reports.

More: Larry, the Digital Analyst®

Which AI methods does Larry use?

Larry consists of various algorithms, such as Bayes nets, artificial neural networks, rough sets, classifier systems, support-vector machines, decision trees and genetic algorithms, chosen and configured for each problem. It uses them for:

  • Anomaly detection: identifying unusual data records that might be interesting or contain data errors.
  • Association rule learning: finding relationships between variables.
  • Clustering and classification: discovering groups in data, and classifying new data into existing categories.
  • Regression: modelling data with the least error, for example in price elasticity.
  • Simulation and predictive modelling: evaluating what-if scenarios and assessing the likelihood of future outcomes.
  • Optimisation: recommending the best possible decision for promotions, production or resource allocation, within the business rules and problem-specific constraints.

Complexica’s software also draws on deep learning, predictive analytics, machine learning, simulation and big data analytics. Algorithm performance is continuously monitored to identify and correct any unintended consequences of algorithmic bias.

More: FAQ: the technology

How does Larry learn, and do its models need retraining?

For every deployment, Larry’s algorithms are trained on that customer’s data, plus relevant external data, and deployed into the customer’s own AWS instance. Once live, Larry keeps evaluating each model against actual results. When the error rate exceeds an acceptable threshold, its adaptive algorithms self-tune the configured parameters automatically. As long as the number of variables doesn’t change, retraining is automated; models are retrained with you when new factors, such as channels, products or competitors, need to be added.

More: Larry, the Digital Analyst®

Is Decision Cloud off-the-shelf or custom-built?

Off-the-shelf, with a layer for each customer. Larry and Decision Cloud are software products with pre-existing algorithms, models, workflows, user interfaces, features, integrations and security controls. Complexica does not custom-make software for each customer, because that would be too costly, slow and risky. Instead, a customer-specific layer can be added on top of the product for unique requirements, without compromising the base product or the ability to upgrade.

Each instance of Larry and its Decision Cloud module is configured to the business rules, constraints and objectives of that customer, so two competitors using Larry will not get the same result: no two deployments are ever exactly the same.

More: FAQ: getting started

Products

Which modules make up Decision Cloud®?

Nine modules, all powered by Larry, the Digital Analyst®.

ModuleWhat it does
Promotional Campaign Manager (PCM)Predicts the volume, revenue and margin impact of every promotion, then optimises the whole program against your trading terms and market share objectives.
Trade Promotion Management & Optimisation (TPM & TPO)Plans, funds, reconciles and optimises trade promotions in one place, to improve the return on trade spend.
Supplier PortalOne shared workspace where suppliers submit offers, category managers negotiate and approve, and every promotion comes with a predicted volume, revenue and margin impact.
Demand PlannerCombines machine learning, deep learning and statistical models with internal sales data and external sources to reduce forecast error, then optimises and automates replenishment.
Integrated Planning & Scheduling OptimiserBuilds production, maintenance, equipment and labour schedules around your business rules and constraints, and re-optimises them as conditions change.
What-if Simulator & OptimiserSimulates the impact of a change on utilisation, throughput, on-time delivery, cost and inventory before it is made.
Customer Opportunity Profiler (COP)Monitors every customer and prospect for share-of-wallet gaps, churn risk and cross-sell opportunities, and gives each rep a prioritised call list and a Next Best Conversation™ for every visit.
Order Management System (OMS)Generates margin-optimised quotes and orders in call centres, in-field selling and online portals, with the right price, add-on and substitute on every line.
E-commerce Recommendation EngineServes dynamic, personalised cross-sell and up-sell offers in online portals, plus product substitution recommendations that improve margin and fill rate.

More: Decision Cloud®

What does the Promotional Campaign Manager (PCM) do?

  • Predicts promotional lift, price elasticity and cannibalisation, modelled across segments, before you commit.
  • Explores a large number of scenarios automatically with what-if simulation.
  • Optimises the whole promotional program against constraints and objectives such as trading terms and market share.
  • Replaces spreadsheets with one shared, cloud-based system of centralised slotting boards, forward plans and dashboards.
  • Includes supplier portal functionality, where retailers and suppliers collaborate on pricing, promotions and range, under rules the retailer sets.

More: Promotional Campaign Manager (PCM)

What is the difference between TPM and TPO?

  • Trade Promotion Management (TPM) replaces spreadsheets and automates the transactional workflow of planning, funding, budgeting, reconciling and monitoring promotions.
  • Trade Promotion Optimisation (TPO) adds advanced analytics, such as price elasticity and cannibalisation modelling, to explore what-if scenarios and optimise promotional programs against constraints like trading terms and market share objectives.

TPO extracts data, both transactional data and promotional slotting boards, from the TPM system and pushes back optimised promotion plans. The two can be deployed together or in isolation. The algorithms are trained on each client’s data, and the optimiser’s constraints and objectives are configured to each client’s needs.

More: TPM & TPO

What does the Supplier Portal do?

It gives FMCG retailers, buying groups and their suppliers a single, cloud-based workspace for planning, negotiating and managing promotions together. It is delivered as part of the Promotional Campaign Manager (PCM).

  • Suppliers submit offers online against the retailer’s promotional calendar, including products, mechanics, promoted price, dates and trade funding.
  • Category managers review, comment, counter-offer, approve or reject online, with a full history of every change.
  • Retailer-defined rules for pricing, discount depth, promotional frequency and submission deadlines check every offer.
  • Every offer gets a predicted volume, revenue and margin impact, including lift and cannibalisation.
  • Post-event review compares actual results with predictions.

More: Supplier Portal

What does the Demand Planner do?

  • Forecasts with an ensemble model, a combination of statistical techniques and adaptive AI algorithms, using seasonality, promotions, weather and other external data.
  • Lowers forecast error, including on hard-to-forecast product lines.
  • Considers capacity constraints and material availability to satisfy forecasted demand.
  • Optimises and automates replenishment across time periods, product categories, lines and individual SKUs, going beyond traditional MRP.
  • Lets you collaborate with customers and suppliers on forecasts, promotions, pricing and replenishment through dedicated views.

Benefits named on the site include fewer stock-outs and higher customer fill rates (DIFOT), lower inventory and working capital, and some planning tasks reduced from a few days to a few hours. The Demand Planner was named Supply Chain Innovator of the Year at MEGATRANS 2022.

More: Demand Planner · Inventory & replenishment optimisation

What does the Integrated Planning & Scheduling Optimiser do?

  • Optimises production, maintenance, equipment and labour planning and scheduling, tuned to your business rules, constraints and processes.
  • Creates schedules optimised for cost, profit, utilisation or customer-defined objectives, and compares scenarios financially.
  • Centralises planning and scheduling across multiple plants and production stages.
  • Re-optimises dynamically around unexpected changes in demand and other events.

More: Integrated Planning & Scheduling Optimiser

What does the What-if Simulator & Optimiser do?

It runs every scenario against a digital model of your operation, with Larry running the simulations, so planners can compare alternatives side by side.

  • Capacity and shifts: test new lines, machines, extra shifts or overtime before committing capital.
  • Disruption: simulate breakdowns, maintenance windows, supplier delays and material shortages, and compare recovery options.
  • Demand: stress-test plans against surges, seasonal peaks and promotional uplifts.
  • Trade-offs: compare sequencing rules and run sizes, safety stock and reorder policies, and the effect of rush orders on existing orders.

More: What-if Simulator & Optimiser

What does the Customer Opportunity Profiler (COP) do?

  • Estimates the opportunity value of every customer and prospect, and prioritises who to visit by share of wallet and size of opportunity.
  • Flags customers at risk of churn automatically, from changes in purchasing behaviour, service issues and social media activity.
  • Gives each rep a personalised Next Best Conversation™ for every visit, and the right mix of products and bundled pricing for each customer.
  • Optimises journey plans and automates pre-call reports, to increase the weekly number of sales calls.
  • Uses public data sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau of Meteorology alongside your own data.
  • Can be deployed as a “lite” solution for sales call cycle optimisation, or as a more advanced solution.

More: Customer Opportunity Profiler (COP)

What does the Order Management System (OMS) do?

  • Gives “best” and “acceptable” price guidance on every line, by customer type, product, volume and geography.
  • Calculates a margin-optimised price for every product and customer, even across 10,000 SKUs and 10,000 customers, using elasticity and cross-elasticity algorithms.
  • Recommends cross-sell, up-sell and product substitutes specific to each customer.
  • Supports omni-channel quoting and order taking in the field, in call centres and in portals.
  • Self-tunes, with self-learning algorithms that update in real time, to improve conversion rate and average order value.

More: Order Management System (OMS) · Dynamic pricing

What does the E-commerce Recommendation Engine do?

  • Serves cross-sell and up-sell offers based on customer micro-segmentation, using internal and external data.
  • Recommends higher-margin substitutes automatically when they are available. Larry reads product descriptions in natural language to build a product substitution matrix that improves over time.
  • Sets dynamic prices based on customer profiling and real-time buying and browsing behaviour.
  • For products limited by capacity or supply, maximises yield by factoring in demand, supply, customer history and behaviour.

More: E-commerce Recommendation Engine

Which business problems does Complexica’s software solve?

AreaSolutions
Marketing optimisationPromotional planning and optimisation; trade promotion management and optimisation (TPM & TPO); supplier portal; personalisation
Sales optimisationIntelligent quoting and ordering; dynamic pricing; sales enablement; cross-selling and up-selling; call-cycle optimisation; predictive customer churn
Supply chain optimisationDemand planning and forecasting; inventory and replenishment optimisation; integrated planning, scheduling and optimisation; what-if simulation; ports, rail and road logistics

More: Solutions

Ports, rail and road logistics

What does Complexica offer for ports and logistics?

Terminal, empty park, rail and transport management systems from Wave Systems, an Australian vendor with 20 years of experience that is now part of Complexica, combined with AI optimisation of yard placement and moves. Complexica’s solutions for ports and logistics include:

  • WaveSCM Logistics Enterprise: transport, rail, yard, warehouse and container park management.
  • WaveSCM Ports & Terminals: vessel management, yard management and a customer portal for container, bulk and general cargo terminals.
  • WaveSCM Decision Cloud: AI optimisers for rail capacity, rail loading, yard decking, job scheduling, supply chain and email workflow.

More: Ports, rail and road logistics

Which logistics systems are included?

SystemWhat it does
TMSPro (container and bulk terminals)Vessel planning, stow plans and sequencing; yard and equipment management with twin-lift support; bulk cargo handling and reefer temperature monitoring; EDI (BAPLIE, CODECO, COARRI); a vehicle booking portal; weighbridge and RFID integration; billing.
EPMS (empty container parks and depots)Graphical yard management with equipment pooling, cycling and twin-lift support; gate processing; M&R repair workshop management with CEDEX reporting; EDI (CODECO, CEDEX, COPARN); configurable billing with multiple currencies; a customer portal.
RAILTrack (rail operators and terminals)Rail scan plans, wagon planning and consist exchange between terminals; crew rostering, fatigue management and costing of individual train services; an online slot booking system and customer portal.
TRUCKSmart (container transport companies)Job templates, auto-legging and flexible rate cards including fuel levy surcharges; a graphical transport diary with automated client notifications; Android driver apps with run sheets, GPS monitoring and fatigue management.
Yard OptimiserLarry decides the best yard position for every container from a live view of the yard, reducing re-handles, truck turn times and straddle driving distance and fuel use.
Smart ports servicesTechnology assessments and roadmaps, project management and implementation support, process optimisation and sustainability consulting for terminal operators.

EPMS, RAILTrack, TRUCKSmart and TMSPro can be integrated with each other and with ancillary modules such as CRM, HR and warehousing. EPMS, RAILTrack and TRUCKSmart run on enterprise-grade platforms, with multiple sites able to share a single server and database.

More: Ports, rail and road logistics

Where is Complexica’s logistics software used?

More: Industries: ports and logistics

Industries

Which industries does Complexica work in?

IndustryCustomers named on the siteSolutions
CPG manufacturersPernod Ricard, AsahiPromotional planning and trade spend optimisation; intelligent quoting and order management; in-field sales enablement; predictive demand planning
CPG retailMetcash, Endeavour GroupPromotional planning optimisation; pricing optimisation; predictive demand planning; inventory and replenishment optimisation
Wholesale and distributionPFD Food Services, Bunzl, ALMSales enablement; intelligent quoting and order management; dynamic pricing; predictive customer churn; predictive demand planning; inventory and replenishment optimisation
Ports and logisticsAurizon, Toll, LinfoxWaveSCM Logistics Enterprise; WaveSCM Ports & Terminals; WaveSCM Decision Cloud
Construction and industrialCoventry Group, PolyaireIntelligent quoting and order management; in-field sales enablement; dynamic pricing; digital enablement; predictive customer churn; predictive demand planning
PharmaceuticalsPfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & JohnsonIn-field sales enablement; predictive demand planning; inventory and replenishment optimisation
Financial servicesWestpac, ChallengerIn-field sales enablement; personalisation; predictive customer churn; dynamic pricing
Consumer goodsSodaStream, Australian Outdoor Living, Haircare AustraliaSales enablement; trade spend optimisation; pricing optimisation; predictive demand planning; inventory and replenishment optimisation

AI agents from Complexica Automations are offered in these industries too.

More: Industries

Customers

Which customers use which Complexica products?

CustomerWhat they use Complexica for
MetcashPromotional Campaign Manager (PCM) to manage and optimise promotional planning for its 2,700 retail stores; live, and on to phase 2
Endeavour GroupSelected Decision Cloud after a global tender for best-of-breed software, for promotional planning and pricing at Dan Murphy’s and BWS, including a supplier portal
Liquor Marketing GroupPromotional effectiveness and financial outcomes for 1,400 retail stores (“Project Automate”)
Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)Decision Cloud for trade promotion optimisation
Asahi Lifestyle BeveragesLive with Decision Cloud for trade promotion management and optimisation
Pernod Ricard WinemakersGlobal and multi-objective optimisation of its supply chain and production decisions; live in Spain and at additional production sites
Treasury Wine EstatesWhat-if Simulator & Optimiser for resource distribution, logistical journey plans and service levels
Bunzl AustralasiaOrder Management System (OMS), COP and CRM for quoting across 10,000 customers and more than 40,000 SKUs, for a sales team of more than 300
PFD Food ServicesCOP and OMS for in-field sales, quoting and ordering; the E-commerce Recommendation Engine in its online portal; demand planning and replenishment for tens of thousands of products across 70 warehouses
Coventry GroupOMS and Larry for cross-selling, up-selling and pricing analytics, from telesales to its online store
Haircare Australia (The Haircare Group)COP and OMS for guided selling across almost 20,000 SKUs and more than 10,000 customers; expanded into New Zealand
Costa GroupOMS for online ordering, with AI-powered product and pricing recommendations to follow
CellarmastersMarketing personalisation in its B2C online channel
Pfizer AustraliaLarry for sales and marketing decision-making
Boehringer IngelheimWhat-if Simulator
SodaStreamAI-driven retail execution for in-field sales
Australian Outdoor LivingDecision Cloud for media spend optimisation
PolyaireAI software to optimise sales force activities

More: News

What results does Complexica’s software deliver?

Complexica’s aim is measurable improvement in revenue, margin, operational costs, forecast accuracy, asset utilisation and working capital, and in the effectiveness of sales, pricing and promotional planning. Outcomes named on its product pages include:

  • Sales: higher average margin and revenue per order through optimised pricing and cross-selling; more sales calls each week; less non-selling time; churn caught early; fewer lost sales through substitution.
  • Promotions: less time and labour to create promotional plans, and data-driven supplier negotiations.
  • Supply chain: lower forecast error; fewer stock-outs and higher DIFOT; lower inventory and working capital; some planning tasks reduced from a few days to a few hours.
  • Ports: fewer re-handles, shorter truck turn times, higher vessel productivity, and less straddle driving distance and fuel use.

Complexica scored a “Highly Recommended” 97.18% for customer satisfaction in the Australian Achiever Awards.

More: Why choose Complexica

What do customers say?

  • “Larry will be our digital expert that will enable our sales team and add that technological advantage that our competitors don’t have.” Kerry Smith, CEO, PFD Foods
  • “They look at problems from the client side and use a unique approach to collaborating with and deeply understanding their customers’ challenges.” John Ansley, CIO, Toll Group

More: Home

Security and data

Where is Complexica’s software hosted?

Decision Cloud runs on Amazon Web Services, with a separate instance for every customer. Each customer’s instance is where Larry is trained and configured, using that customer’s data plus any relevant external data. Users reach the software through a web interface, or a native app, deployed into that dedicated, customer-specific AWS instance.

More: Information security policy

Will our data be re-used for the benefit of competitors?

No. No customer data is ever shared, re-used or re-sold in any way. Models are trained only on your data plus relevant external data, and customer data is also covered by the confidentiality clause of Complexica’s standard terms and conditions.

More: FAQ: security and data

Is Complexica certified?

Yes. Complexica is certified to the ISO 27001:2022 information security standard. Following an extensive audit, the certification was issued by TQCSI International, an accredited, third-party certification body, and the certificate is listed in the TQCSI directory. Information security is led by Complexica’s Chief Information & Security Officer.

More: Information security policy

Which ERP systems does Complexica integrate with?

Decision Cloud has a set of standard integration APIs for common ERP systems and platforms, as well as public data sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau of Meteorology. The specific interfaces for your systems are defined during the scoping engagement.

More: FAQ: security and data

What data does Complexica need, and what if it is incomplete?

Internal data such as historical sales, customer forecasts, and promotional and pricing information, overlaid with external data, which can include structured and unstructured sources such as data from relevant websites. Most organisations have some missing, incomplete or inaccurate data. It is evaluated during scoping and addressed during deployment, by cleaning records, using other datasets or existing fields as proxies, or, in promotional planning, by augmenting incomplete data with agent-based simulations.

More: FAQ: security and data

Working with Complexica

How does a Complexica engagement work?

Deployments are staged rather than “big bang”, which reduces risk and brings forward the return on investment.

StageWhat happensWhat you get
1. WorkshopA no-cost workshop to understand the business problem, and the people, processes, technology and data involvedA fixed-price proposal for scoping
2. ScopingA fixed-price, fixed-time analysis of current-state data, processes and systemsA fixed-price software project plan, and a detailed Statement of Work covering data inputs and outputs, integrations, use cases, constraints, business rules and optimisation objectives
3. DeploymentMilestones that deliver partial configurations for your validation; Complexica’s science team trains and tunes the models on your dataBusiness Verification Testing, User Acceptance Testing and go-live
4. Ongoing serviceA monthly SaaS feeAWS hosting, backup and disaster recovery; maintenance and support; monitoring of the models’ performance; future product upgrades

More: FAQ: getting started

How is Complexica’s software priced?

In two parts. The deployment is a fixed-price project, a capital expenditure, whose cost and duration depend on the scope of the modules being deployed; Complexica takes responsibility for any cost overruns. Ongoing access and support are covered by a monthly SaaS fee, an operational expense. The workshop that starts every engagement is at no cost.

More: FAQ: getting started

Can we start with one module?

Yes. Decision Cloud is fully modularised, so you can start with the module that solves today’s problem and add others as you grow.

More: FAQ: getting started

How is the software delivered and supported?

Complexica’s delivery model is based on Agile principles, and its Business & Data Analysis team spends time with each customer to understand the operational aspects of the business. Every deployment includes ongoing support with a service plan tailored to your needs, and ongoing validation of the benefits. Existing customers get technical support on 1800-ASK LARRY.

More: Why choose Complexica · Contact

Company

What research is Complexica built on?

Complexica was founded on the research of several world-renowned computer scientists. Its staff have published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and 25 books on predictive analytics, optimisation and self-learning systems, cited by more than 70,000 authors, including the book The Rise of Artificial Intelligence. Complexica has a Scientific Advisory Board of international thought leaders in artificial intelligence, and research partnerships with the University of Adelaide, RMIT University and the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology.

More: Publications · Research partners

What awards has Complexica won?

More: About Complexica

Does Complexica also build AI agents?

Yes. Alongside Decision Cloud®, Complexica Automations designs, builds and operates AI agents that carry out multi-step processes, such as reading orders, checking documents and chasing exceptions, with your people approving the steps that matter.

More: AI Agents fact sheet

Where is Complexica based, and how do we contact it?

Complexica Pty Ltd has its head office in West Lakes, South Australia. Email contact@complexica.com or call +61 8 8355 5050. A specialist will contact you, and if there’s a fit, the engagement starts with a no-cost discovery workshop.

More: Contact

No-cost workshop

See what Decision Cloud could do for you

A specialist will contact you, and if there’s a fit we start with a no-cost discovery workshop to understand your business problem, people, processes and data.

Request a Demo