Hong Joins 7thOnline

Dr. Saman Hong has been named vice president of analytics and optimization solutions for 7thOnline, a New York–based provider of analytics software for the retail industry.

Hong, who worked with 7thOnline on a consulting basis during the past year, is now responsible for the expansion of the company’s optimization suite, aimed at helping retailers improve financial and operational performance. The system leverages optimization algorithms.“Retailers often do not take advantage of analytics and optimization in their merchandising decisions because of the level of complexity, the amount of data involved and inadequacy of tools on the market,” Hong said. “The result is significant and unnecessary sales and margin-dollar losses from missed opportunities to bring the right amount of merchandise to the right stores at the right time. Our objective is to remove these barriers by delivering complex analytical capabilities in an easy-to-use environment.”

Hong founded Varentas, a consulting and technology development company for the retail industry. At Varentas, he provided custom development of analytical methods and systems for applications in planning, forecasting and inventory management.

He also managed consulting services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and served as a principal at Investcorp, a major private equity company.

Hong has served on the faculties of New York University, Rutgers University and City University of New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Seoul National University and a doctorate in operations research from Johns Hopkins University. —Robert McAllister