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Press Release Automotive Aftermarket Companies Seek to Optimize Inventories with Smart Software's SmartForecasts
Panelite, Dana Corporation, and Chicago Rawhide latest to buy SmartForecasts for intermittent demand forecasting and better inventory management
Belmont,
Mass., April 20, 2004 - Smart Software, a leading supplier of demand
forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, announced that
three companies recently joined the growing ranks of customers in the automotive
aftermarket using its flagship product, SmartForecasts. Panelite, Chicago
Rawhide, and the Heavy Vehicle Technologies and Systems Group of Dana
Corporation will utilize SmartForecasts' unique capability to forecast
intermittent or slow-moving demand and set accurate stocking levels. These new
customers will join other automotive aftermarket leaders NSK, Sonnax, Rally
Manufacturing, CRP Industries, and Prevost Car using SmartForecasts to improve
inventory management of hard-to-forecast parts.
SmartForecasts patented intermittent demand forecasting technology helps
companies in the automotive aftermarket, which is estimated to be about $158
billion by the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association, produce accurate
forecasts of slow-moving, infrequently demanded items. This capability permits
companies to optimize their inventory mix to ensure both product availability
and quick deliveryand at the same time minimize stocking levels to reduce
inventory costs.
Panelite, Inc., located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, manufactures hundreds of
different types of accessories for nearly all makes and models of class 8
trucks. The company sells its products to Fortune 50 customers. Panelite carries
approximately 3500 products of which 93 percent have intermittent demand.
"We purchased SmartForecasts to help us service our customers better," said
Pete Young, CFO at Panelite. "When a customer places an order, they want it
shipped the same day. SmartForecasts is helping us manage our inventory better
so that we have the right products at the right time. Its intermittent demand
forecasting capabilities have already yielded substantial improvements."
Panelite is aiming for a 95 percent on-time shipping rate and, using
SmartForecasts, has already upped it to 93 percent in four months.
Dana Corporation's Heavy Vehicle Technologies and Systems Group has also
purchased SmartForecasts with its intermittent demand forecasting technology for
its Statesville, North Carolina facility. The facility is part of the company's
North American Off-Highway business and assembles transmissions and axles for
off-highway vehicles. It is the third Dana Corporation facility to license
SmartForecasts.
"Recently, we have begun using SmartForecasts as the foundation for a new
S&OP process," said Matt Schroeder, Forecast Manager for the Statesville
facility. "We are using the automatic and intermittent forecast features, along
with safety stock recommendations, to help maximize delivery performance while
maintaining target inventory levels. We anticipate significant improvements in
forecast accuracy this year as this new program is implemented."
Chicago Rawhide, headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, purchased SmartForecasts
to help optimize inventories. The subsidiary of Swedish-based AB SKF Group is a
worldwide provider of sealing solutions, manufacturing almost 25,000 variants of
shaft seals for the vehicle service and manufacturing and processing equipment
markets. The company plans to use SmartForecasts with its intermittent demand
forecasting capabilities to better estimate its inventory requirements for high
volume and slow-moving products.
Smart Software
Founded in 1984, Smart Software, Inc. is a leader in
providing businesses with enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and
inventory optimization solutions. Smart Software's flagship product,
SmartForecasts, has thousands of customers worldwide, including midmarket
enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Monsanto, Mitsubishi, Siemens,
Labatt Breweries, and Coca-Cola. SmartForecasts gives demand planners the tools
to handle sales seasonality, promotions, new and aging products,
multi-dimensional hierarchies, and intermittently demanded service parts and
capital goods items. It also provides inventory managers with accurate estimates
of the minimum inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders,
thereby ensuring the most cost-effective inventory allocation to achieve desired
service levels. Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and
can be found on the World Wide Web at www.smartcorp.com.
SmartForecasts and SmartWeb Collaborator are trademarks of Smart Software,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please contact Smart Software, Inc., Four Hill Road,
Belmont, MA 02478.
Phone: 1-800-SMART-99 (800-762-7899);
FAX: 1-617-489-2748; E-mail: info@smartcorp.com
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