SmartForecasts 9.0 Adds Big Data Functionality

Smart Software enhances forecast accuracy and planner productivity

Belmont, Mass., September 27, 2013 – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced a major upgrade to its flagship product, SmartForecasts®, with enterprise-class productivity and performance enhancements.  Release 9.0 is the first SmartForecasts release available both as a perpetual license and through Smart Software’s recently announced SFCloud software as a service solution.

The new release enables planners to work more effectively with very large databases, adds features to improve forecasting for complex bills of material, and improves forecast accuracy by 15% or more.  Major capabilities include:

Working with Large Databases
New forecast scheduling capabilities improve productivity by automating functions and enabling them to run unattended as background tasks.  This is extremely useful when forecasting a very large number of items, and simplifies and speeds operations such as database saving and hierarchy reconciliation. The new capabilities will save planners working with large data sets considerable time, hours per week, while eliminating manual steps that can introduce human error.

A related productivity-enhancing feature is enhancements to the exception reporting features. SmartForecasts users can now choose to extract data for only those items whose values are outside specified norms.  Importing only this data from the database saves time and simplifies the process of forecast adjustment and database reconciliation.

SmartForecasts has also expanded the number of options for file exports in our export module.  Users can export data in several additional output formats making it easier to provide results in formats required for ERP import.

Bill of Material Forecasting
Planners can now forecast demand at finished good levels and automatically derive the component demand history and forecasts. Many manufacturers add safety stock to their finished good forecasts in order to ensure a ready supply of components.  This can lead to overstocking, since finished good demand is less predictable than the component demand.  Using SmartForecasts, planners can now automatically derive an accurate usage history for each component, create service level-driven forecasts, and determine required component safety stock and reorder point levels to ensure adequate supply.

Forecast Accuracy
In version 9.0, the forecasting algorithms in SmartForecasts have been given a tune-up. Tests have confirmed that the new version reduces forecast error by 15% over previous versions. Additionally these enhancements have improved the way that SmartForecasts identifies and handles seasonality, intermittent, and lumpy demand.

Enhancements to SmartInterface
SmartInterface, Smart Software’s database import tool, has been enhanced to enable users to import forecast results into existing forecast projects.  Users can now automatically import planned demand, budget forecasts, or known future orders into the forecast tables.  It can also be used to import forecast adjustments or new item forecasts from Excel files.  This capability provides an exceptionally simple and effective vehicle for incorporating collaborative inputs from sales, product specialists and others who will help fine-tune the forecast.

“SmartForecasts continues to evolve with the market delivering the enterprise-class solution our customers are asking for,” said Nelson Hartunian, president and CEO of Smart Software. “SmartForecasts version 9.0 marks the beginning of a transformation that will broaden the scope of Smart Software’s offerings in the demand planning space and answers the need for comprehensive best-in-class solutions that complement the requirements of corporate information systems.”

SmartForecasts 9.0 will be demonstrated at Booth 1716 at the 2013 APICS International Conference and Expo, in Orlando, Florida, September 29 – 30.

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, Smart Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions.  Smart Software’s flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Metro-North Railroad, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found online at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com .

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com

 

Flexible SaaS Demand Forecasting Implementation: Smart Software Announces SFCloud

Full-featured cloud-based implementation of enterprise-class SmartForecasts provides additional demand planning options

Belmont, Mass., September 24, 2013 – In a move that broadens the market for its flagship product, SmartForecasts®, Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced SFCloud. SFCloud is a full-featured version of SmartForecasts now available as a software-as-a-service solution. It gives organizations more flexibility in how they deploy SmartForecasts in widely dispersed organizations. The inaugural version of SFCloud features SmartForecasts 9.0.

The SaaS model makes powerful demand planning capabilities available to large and small companies, eliminating much of the complexity associated with sophisticated enterprise applications. With SFCloud, Smart Software installs upgrades and fixes automatically, manages the infrastructure for the customer, and provides much more rigorous security than most company IT organizations are able to deliver.

Companies that prefer a ‘pay as you go’ operating expenditure over the capital purchase of a perpetual license will appreciate the financial flexibility SFCloud affords.  While all the functionality of SmartForecasts is available with SFCloud, customers can choose to use the features that they need, for the number of users they need, when they need them.  Pricing for the software as a service option is based on the features selected and the number of simultaneous users.

SFCloud is a significant move for us as we continue to add value to our customers’ demand planning operations,” said Nelson Hartunian, president and CEO of Smart Software. “It gives customers additional implementation options, and opens a market for us with new customers needing a robust enterprise-class demand forecasting solution, accurate intermittent demand forecasting, and more, but don’t have the budget or infrastructure to implement it.”

SFCloud helps demand planners handle large data sets, sales seasonality, promotions, new and aging products, multi-dimensional hierarchies, bills of materials, and intermittently demanded service parts and capital goods items.  It also provides inventory managers with accurate estimates of the optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels. SFCloud integrates with virtually any ERP or supply chain planning system including solutions from SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, Sage and Epicor.

SmartForecasts 9.0 will be demonstrated at Booth 1716 at the 2013 APICS International Conference and Expo, in Orlando, Florida, September 29 and 30.

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, Smart Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions.  Smart Software’s flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Metro-North Railroad, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found online at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com .

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com

Consumer Packaging Leader Aluprint Selects SmartForecasts for Sales & Operations Planning

Aluprint S.A. to use demand planning solution as the centerpiece of S&OP process in Mexico operations

Belmont, Mass., September 12, 2013 – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that Aluprint S.A. a subsidiary of Constantia based in San Luis Potosi & Monterrey, Mexico, purchased its flagship product, SmartForecasts®. Aluprint manufactures and sells metallic paper and printed packaging materials for the consumer products industry, and has two factories, two distribution centers, and a warehouse in Mexico. The sale was made by Grupo de Outsourcing Tecnologico, S.A (GOTSA), Smart’s reseller in Mexico and Latin America.

In a quest to produce more accurate forecasts for its products, Aluprint evaluated forecasting solutions and chose SmartForecasts with its patented intermittent demand forecasting technology to be the heart of its Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process. Not only was SmartForecasts more accurate, it solved a major planning problem for the company. 65% of Aluprint’s 4,000 SKUs have hard-to-forecast intermittent demand and are only needed sporadically but have spikes in usage occurring randomly. SmartForecasts will enable Aluprint to accurately forecast intermittent demand, as well as generating accurate service level-driven inventory stocking estimates over a replenishment lead time.

GOTSA was instrumental in helping Aluprint implement SmartForecasts and integrate its forecasts and inventory stocking recommendations with SAP by developing a universal interface to the SAP system, and instituting processes for cleansing demand data.

Aluprint has three goals for SmartForecasts. First, it wants a better view of the future through its S&OP process, and more accurate forecasts is a vital component of the process. Second, the company needs a solution that can easily integrate with its SAP ERP system. And third, it must be able to collaborate with customers and suppliers to produce accurate forecasts.

“We are very pleased with the way SmartForecasts integrates with the way we work,” said Francisco Javier Carrera, S&OP manager at Aluprint. “We see the forecast as more than a number, and the accurate results we get from SmartForecasts and the seamless way it integrates with our SAP system helps us improve our ability to address and incorporate demand changes in a more effective way. Gotsa has also done a great job enabling and improving our S&OP efforts with their support.

SmartForecasts helps demand planners 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 optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels. It integrates with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and IBM DB2, and virtually any ERP or supply chain planning system including solutions from SAP, Microsoft, PeopleSoft, Sage and Epicor.

About GOTSA

Grupo de Outsourcing Tecnologico S.A., based in Mexico City, specializes in providing enterprise demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization systems for manufacturing and distribution companies. GOTSA resells and supports SmartForecasts in México and Latin America as a standalone demand forecasting and inventory optimization solution, as well as a best-in-class solution integrated with a company’s ERP or supply chain planning system.

For more information, please contact Eduardo Mendoza, Grupo de Outsourcing Tecnologico, S.A., Mexico City  (52) 55.62.72.77.44 or emendoza@gotsa.com.mx

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, Smart Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions.  Smart Software’s flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Metro-North Railroad, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found online at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com .

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com

Smart Software Wins Three Supply Chain Awards for 2013

Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Inbound Logistics Again Select Smart Software for Top 100 Lists and Executive Recognition

Belmont, Mass., July 16, 2013 – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that three supply chain industry publications have again recognized the company and its president as supply chain leaders. Smart was selected by Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Inbound Logistics for the eighth and ninth years, respectively, to be on their “Top 100” lists. In addition, Supply & Demand Chain Executive also chose Smart’s president and CEO, Nelson Hartunian, as a “Provider Pro to Know.”  The competitive awards recognize Smart Software as a leader in the supply chain planning software niche, and highlight the company’s strengths in technical innovation and the ability to meet customers’ needs for forecasting and demand planning solutions.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100
Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine chose Smart Software, from more than 300 entries, for its annual “Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100” announced on May 13, and published in its June 2013 issue. The 2013 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 are supply chain solution and service providers that are helping their customers and clients achieve supply chain excellence. They have produced measurable gains in ROI through cost-cutting and increased efficiency in forecasting and demand planning chain.

“Smart Software’s inclusion in this year’s “100” list recognizes its leadership as a solution and service provider in assisting the Supply Chain function and supply chain executives as your customers move toward supply chain excellence,” said Barry Hochfelder, editor, Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

Top 100 Logistics IT Providers
In its April 2013 issue, Inbound Logistics’ editors recognized 100 logistics IT companies that support and enable logistics excellence.  Chosen from more than 300 companies, the “Top 100 Logistics IT Providers” selected demonstrate leadership by answering Inbound Logistics readers’ needs for scalability, simplicity, fast ROI and ease of implementation.

“Inbound Logistics editors have selected 100 logistics technology companies that enable logistics and supply chain excellence. Smart Software was recognized by Inbound Logistics for leading the way in 2013 and positioning enterprises for the years ahead.” said Felicia Stratton, editor of Inbound Logistics. “Smart Software excels at providing solutions that drive supply chain excellence and answer IL readers’ need for simplicity, ROI, and efficient implementation. Inbound Logistics is proud to honor Smart Software for continuing to offer our readers solutions that optimize logistics and supply chain excellence.”

Provider Pros to Know
President and CEO, Dr. Nelson Hartunian, has been chosen a “2013 Provider Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine in its February/March 2013 issue.  This well-respected publication’s annual listing of Provider Pros to Know recognizes a select group of individuals, and Dr. Hartunian, a pioneer in developing inventory optimization techniques for intermittent demand, was chosen from more than 400 entries submitted.

“Those working to overcome supply chain challenges and grow the global supply chain at the same time should get the recognition they deserve for their achievements,” said Barry Hochfelder, editor, Supply & Demand Chain Executive.  “Now in its 13th year, the Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Pros to Know” awards recognize both ends of the supply chain. This includes honoring individuals from software firms, service providers, consultancies or academia who helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community prepare to meet industry challenges.”

“We work diligently with our customers to achieve their demand planning goals,” said Dr. Hartunian. “Our customers have found that better demand planning, using SmartForecasts, has become a critical strategic element for improving their operations and the productivity of their supply chain. While initially many purchase SmartForecasts® to achieve tactical goals, they quickly discover strategic benefits. More specifically, the ability to accurately forecast and estimate their inventory stocking levels improves their relationships with both customers and suppliers, especially where their inventories experience a lot of intermittent demand.”

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, Smart Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions.  Smart Software’s flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Metro-North Railroad, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found online at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com .

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com

 

Smart Software to Help New Jersey Transit Improve Inventory Planning and Service Parts Availability

Belmont, Mass., June 13, 2013 – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that New Jersey Transit (NJT) has purchased Smart’s flagship product, SmartForecasts®, for its rail and bus operations as part of a company-wide service improvement and inventory reduction program. NJT is the nation’s third largest provider of bus, rail and light rail transit, and links major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

NJT will use SmartForecasts to forecast parts consumption and inventory stocking requirements for its 40,000 active spare and service parts, valued at more than $100 million. Much of NJT’s inventory experiences erratic, intermittent demand which is especially difficult to forecast and can lead to significant over- and under-stocking of critical parts.  Early results with SmartForecasts indicate the potential for substantial savings and service level improvements, once full-scale implementation is complete.

Smart Software will implement the NJT project in two stages. The first stage will focus on using SmartForecasts to identify immediate short term benefits for key groups of parts, as well as measure the likely long term benefits for NJT. In the second stage, SmartForecasts will be integrated into the day-to-day planning environment at New Jersey Transit.

SmartForecasts offers unique, patented statistical solutions to forecast intermittent demand, a particularly challenging aspect of service parts management, as well as a complete suite of automated forecasting and planning methodologies.  By automatically identifying the right method for each part, SmartForecasts can significantly reduce the amount of inventory required to meet a defined level of service.

“We have had several very strong successes helping transit systems improve their parts inventory planning and provide better service to their customers with better parts availability,” said Nelson Hartunian, CEO of Smart Software. “Organizations like New Jersey Transit are looking for ways to help them reduce their costs without negatively impacting customer service. With ridership trending up, this is ever more important. We look forward to helping NJT achieve its goals.”

About New Jersey Transit
NJ TRANSIT is New Jersey’s public transportation corporation. Its mission is to provide safe, reliable, convenient and cost-effective transit service with a skilled team of employees, dedicated to our customers’ needs and committed to excellence. Covering a service area of 5,325 square miles, NJ Transit is the nation’s third largest provider of bus, rail and light rail transit, linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The agency operates a fleet of 2,027 buses, 711 trains and 45 light rail vehicles. On 236 bus routes and 11 rail lines statewide, NJ Transit provides nearly 223 million passenger trips each year. In addition, the agency provides support and equipment to privately-owned contract bus carriers. For additional information about NJ Transit, click here.

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, Smart Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions.  Smart Software’s flagship product, SmartForecasts, has thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Metro-North Railroad, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found online at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com .

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com

Smart Software Awarded National Science Foundation Innovation Research Grant

New research to improve service and spare parts planning for the multi-billion dollar aerospace, automotive, high tech, and utilities markets

Belmont, Mass., November 28, 2012 – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Smart Software will investigate new statistical methods to forecast intermittent demand, with the ultimate objective of helping enterprises worldwide reduce inventories by tens of billions of dollars.

The new research will build upon Smart Software’s patented solution for forecasting slow-moving or intermittent demand, developed with the support of a previous NSF grant.  The current method, commercialized as part of the company’s flagship product, SmartForecasts®, evaluates historical demand for each item and establishes the optimum level of inventory that will be required to achieve service level objectives.  The new research seeks to extend demand forecasting beyond individual products and parts, identifying and interpreting interactions across clusters of items whose demands fluctuate together.

The new forecasting capabilities will benefit customers in several significant ways:

  • A more dynamic statistical model of parts will enable forecasts to better reflect a variety of external factors that include part usage by itself or in combination with other products, as well as the impact of macroeconomic and environmental factors.
  • Research results will provide planners with a dynamic model of item usage, enabling planners to develop functional maps of the interrelationships of large numbers of parts. Knowing which parts have demands that co-vary can be useful in at least two ways. First, item managers can be assigned to work with coherent clusters rather than arbitrary collections of miscellaneous parts, and second, parts can be co-located in warehouses for more efficient storage and retrieval.
  • Another benefit from this new approach will be improved forecasts of “aggregates” where intermittent demand is present, such as all items in a product line, or all items at a particular warehouse. Better forecasts of aggregate demand across groups of parts will also be useful for raw materials purchasing, as well as for financial planning when parts are a source of revenue.

According to Nelson Hartunian, president of Smart Software, “Any organization that builds or supports capital equipment experiences intermittent demand for some portion of its inventory. This grant is a terrific opportunity to impact one of the biggest forecasting challenges facing these organizations – accurately forecasting parts and optimizing inventories. Ultimately, the goal is to have the right part at the right place at the right time. The research we are undertaking will make this goal more achievable.”

The Small Business Innovation Research grant program from the National Science Foundation is extremely competitive. More than a thousand companies compete in a two-stage screening: one for intellectual merit, and the other for commercial potential. This Phase 1 grant is the third Smart Software has received.

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1981, 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 users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Disney, Nestle, GE and The Coca-Cola Company.  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 optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels.  Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.smartsoftware.wpengine.com.

SmartForecasts is a registered trademark 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@smartsoftware.wpengine.com