Smart Software and Optimum Consulting Announce Strategic Partnership
Belmont, Mass., May 2023 – Smart Software, Inventory optimization, demand planning, and forecasting software leader, and Optimum Consulting, today announced their partnership to address the supply chain planning needs of the Manufacturing, Wholesale, and Retail industries in Australia and New Zealand. Optimum Consulting will sell and deploy Smart’s next-generation cloud platform, Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization (Smart IP&O™), as an integral part of its Sales, Operations, and Inventory Planning (SIOP) practice.
Smart Software is a Microsoft Co-sell-ready partner and, over the years, has created a flawless connector to integrate tools with Microsoft Dynamics. The integration brings the cloud-based Smart IP&O (Inventory Planning and Optimization) into the latest version of Microsoft Dynamic solution. By seamlessly integrating strategic planning in Smart IP&O with operational execution in Dynamics, business users can continuously predict, respond, and plan more effectively in today’s uncertain business environment. Smart’s unique approach to planning intermittent demand is especially impactful for public utilities and transit agencies, given the prevalence of spare parts with highly sporadic, seemingly unforecastable usage.
Optimum Consulting is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Solutions Partner who is totally committed to the Manufacturing, Wholesale, and Retail industries in Australia and New Zealand. The Team’s experts help clients build agile operating models, drive business process improvements, and turn customers into advocates by delivering end-to-end Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Apps, Business Intelligence & Analytics, and Managed Services Solutions.
“Smart Software helps our customers by delivering insightful business analytics for inventory modeling and forecasting that drive ordering and replenishment in the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics. With Smart IP&O, our customers gain a means to shape inventory strategy to align with the business objectives while empowering their planning teams to reduce inventory and improve service,” says Matthew Lingard, CEO at Optimum Consulting
“Maximizing the benefits our solutions can provide requires the expertise and perspective to consider requirements, set goals, and to develop the supporting business process that ensures adoption and benefits. These are the qualities that The New Partner brings to the table and we look forward to our joint success,”…. says Greg Hartunian, President, and CEO at Smart Software
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 demand forecasting and inventory optimization solutions have helped thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Disney, Arizona Public Service, and Ameren. Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization 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.smartcorp.com.
About the Partner, Inc.
Optimum Consulting is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Solutions Partner who is totally committed to the Manufacturing, Wholesale, and Retail industries in Australia and New Zealand. The Team’s experts help clients build agile operating models, drive business process improvements, and turn customers into advocates by delivering end-to-end Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Apps, Business Intelligence & Analytics, and Managed Services Solutions. The Team’s functional expertise covers eCommerce, Retail, Pricing & Promotions, Customer Data Platform, Customer Journey Mapping, Customer Experience, Forecasting & Master Planning, Advanced Warehouse, and Production Planning. Optimum Consulting’s technical capabilities span across Commerce Design and Development, Commerce Server, Point of Sale (POS) Development, Finance and Supply Chain Management (SCM) Development, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Data Warehouse and Data Lake, and related Microsoft Cloud solutions.
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
Extend Microsoft 365 BC and NAV with Smart IP&O
Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC and NAV can manage replenishment by suggesting what to order and when via reorder point-based inventory policies. The problem is that the ERP system requires that the user manually specify these reorder points and/or forecasts. As a result, most organizations end up forecasting and generating inventory policies by hand in Excel spreadsheets or using other ad hoc approaches. Given poor inputs, automatic order suggestions will be inaccurate, and in turn the organization will end up with excess inventory, unnecessary shortages, and a general mistrust of their software systems. In this article, we will review the inventory ordering functionality in BC & NAV, explain its limitations, and summarize how Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization can help reduce inventory, minimize stockouts and restore your organization’s trust in your ERP by providing the robust predictive functionality that is missing in Dynamics 365.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC and NAV Replenishment Policies
In the inventory management module of NAV and BC, users can manually enter planning parameters for every stock item. These parameters include reorder points, safety stock lead times, safety stock quantities, reorder cycles, and order modifiers such as supplier imposed minimum and maximum order quantities and order multiples. Once entered, the ERP system will reconcile incoming supply, current on hand, outgoing demand, and the user defined forecasts and stocking policies to net out the supply plan or order schedule (i.e., what to order and when).
There are 4 replenishment policy choices in NAV & BC: Fixed Reorder Quantity, Maximum Quantity, Lot-For-Lot and Order.
- Fixed Reorder Quantity and Max are reorder point-based replenishment methods. Both suggest orders when on hand inventory hits the reorder point. With fixed ROQ, the order size is specified and will not vary until changed. With Max, order sizes will vary based on stock position at time of order with orders being placed up to the Max.
- Lot-for Lot is a forecasted based replenishment method that pools total demand forecasted over a user defined time frame (the “lot accumulation period”) and generates an order suggestion totaling the forecasted quantity. So, if your total forecasted demand is 100 units per month and the lot accumulation period is 3 months, then your order suggestion would equal 300 units.
- Order is a make to order based replenishment method. It doesn’t utilize reorder points or forecasts. Think of it as a “sell one, buy one” logic that only places orders after demand is entered.
Limitations
Every one of BC and NAVs replenishment settings must be entered manually or imported from external sources. There simply isn’t any way for users to natively generate any inputs (especially not optimal ones). The lack of credible functionality for forecasting and inventory optimization within the ERP system is why so many NAV and BC users are forced to rely on spreadsheets. Planners must manually set demand forecasts and reordering parameters. They often rely on user defined rule of thumb methods or outdated and overly simplified statistical models. Once calculated, they must input the information back into their system, often via cumbersome file imports or even manual entry. Companies infrequently compute their policies because it is time consuming and error prone. We have even encountered situations where the reorder points haven’t been updated in years. Many organizations also tend to employ a reactive “set it and forget it” approach, where the only time a buyer/planner reviews inventory policy is at the time of order–after the order point is already breached.
If the order point is deemed too high, it requires manual interrogation to review history, calculate forecasts, assess buffer positions, and to recalibrate. Most of the time, the sheer magnitude of orders means that buyers will just release it creating significant excess stock. And if the reorder point is too low, well, it’s already too late. An expedite is required to avoid a stockout and if you can’t expedite, you’ll lose sales.
Get Smarter
Wouldn’t it be better to simply leverage a best of breed add-on for demand planning and inventory optimization that has an API based bidirectional integration? This way, you could automatically recalibrate policies every single planning cycle using field proven, cutting edge statistical models. You would be able to calculate demand forecasts that account for seasonality, trend, and cyclical patterns. Safety stocks would account for demand and supply variability, business conditions, and priorities. You’d be able to target specific service levels so you have just enough stock. You could even leverage optimization methods that prescribe the most profitable stocking policies and service levels that consider the real costs of carrying inventory. With a few mouse-clicks you could update NAV and BC’s replenishment policies on-demand. This means better order execution in NAV and BC, maximizing your existing investment in your ERP system.
Smart IP&O customers routinely helps customers realize 7 figure annual returns from reduced expedites, increased sales, and less excess stock, all the while gaining a competitive edge by differentiating themselves on improved customer service.
To see a recording of the Dynamics Communities Webinar showcasing Smart IP&O, register here:
https://smartcorp.com/inventory-planning-with-microsoft-dynamics-nav/
Smart Software and 21 Tech Announce Strategic Partnership
Belmont, Mass., October 2022 – Smart Software, Inventory optimization, demand planning, and forecasting software leader, and 21Tech, a well-established asset management consulting and implementation company, today announced their partnership to address the supply chain planning needs of Large Companies and State and Local agencies. 21Tech, LLC will sell and deploy Smart’s next-generation cloud platform, Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization (Smart IP&O™) as an integral part of its Enterprise Asset Management Practice.
21Tech serves a diverse client base, including Fortune 100 companies, public transit agencies, utilities, and state and local agencies across the U.S. and Canada. They specialize in providing a comprehensive ecosystem for a client’s needs as it relates to asset maturity and thought leadership in asset management. This includes asset management process improvements, system implementations, and managed services, where they employ proven methodologies in project management, business process re-engineering, and organizational change management to drive customers forward in achieving their goals. More recently, public and private sector organizations have realized significant benefits from replacing, supplementing, or enhancing their nice and/or proprietary in-house applications with top-tier commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) applications. 21Tech delivers highly skilled and in-demand technology resources for mission-critical projects.
Smart IP&O is Smart Software’s integrated suite of web applications for collaborative demand planning, inventory optimization, and supply chain analytics. It operates as a transparent extension of the customer’s ERP and Asset Management system of choice, returning optimized demand forecasts, and stocking policies that balance costs and service level requirements across the distribution network. Smart’s unique approach to planning intermittent demand is especially impactful for public utilities and transit agencies considering the prevalence of spare parts with highly sporadic, seemingly unforecastable usage.
“Smart has proven that its inventory optimization and forecasting solutions are a key fit in the ecosystem of solutions needed to drive asset maturity for public transit and utilities. We see them as a strategic component in integrating with Hexagon EAM for our customers, and look forward to bringing this added efficiency to our client base” says 21Tech CEO Dilraj Kahai.
“Maximizing the benefits our solutions can provide requires the expertise and perspective to consider requirements, set goals, and to develop the supporting business process that ensures adoption and benefits. These are the qualities that 21Tech brings to the table and we look forward to our joint success” says Greg Hartunian, President and CEO
About 21Tech, LLC.
21Tech was founded in 1996 to provide technology leadership and services to government and commercial organizations. 21Tech’s Enterprise Asset Management practice provides software evaluations, implementations, integrations, enhancements, and support services. Additionally, 21Tech’s strategic consulting services provide leading practice process design, assessment, and asset management maturity roadmap services to help ensure its clients realize full benefits of its asset and inventory management software investments. As a corporate member of the Institute of Asset Management, 21Tech ensures its services and solutions align with recognized, international standards, as they deliver to customers in the U.S., Canada, and worldwide. 21Tech can be found at www.21Tech.com and its transit-specific asset management solution can be found at RapidTAM.com
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 demand forecasting and inventory optimization solutions have helped thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Disney, Arizona Public Service, and Ameren. Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization 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 online at www.smartcorp.com.
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
Smart Software to Present at Community Summit North America
Smart Software’s Channel Sales Director and Enterprise Solution Engineer, to present three sessions at this year’s Community Summit event in Orlando, FL.
Belmont, MA, – Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that its Channel Sales Director, Pete Reynolds, and its Enterprise Solution Engineer Erik Subatis, have been selected to present three sessions at the Dynamics Community Summit NA. They will explain how to plan using Collaborative forecasting, how to Maximize Service Levels, and how to Forecast Accurately during the three sessions.
Smart Software will also be exhibiting at the conference showcasing Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization and bi-directional integrations to Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Smart Software Presentations at Community Summit North America 2022
- Maximize Service Levels and Minimize Inventory Costs
- Session Date: 10/12/2022 2:00 PM -2:45 PM
- Room Number: Tampa 2 – Convention Center, Level 2
- Predict and Plan the Sales Cycle Using Collaborative Forecasting
- Session Date: 10/13/2022 9:00 AM -9:45 AM
- Room Number: Sarasota 1 – Convention Center, Level 2
- 5 Demand Planning Tips for Calculating Forecast Uncertainty
- Session Date: 10/13/2022 10:00 AM -11:00 AM
- Room Number: Osceola B – Convention Center, Level 2
Community Summit North America is the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft business applications ecosystem of users, partners, and ISVs on the planet. Come by booth #1122 to learn about probabilistic forecasting and optimization methods that can make a big difference to your bottom line. Whether you are a seasoned Microsoft user looking for new ways to optimize your supply chain or are new to Dynamics Applications and want to understand how a planning platform can help drive revenue increases and inventory reductions, please stop by.
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 demand forecasting and inventory optimization solutions have helped thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Disney, Arizona Public Service, and Ameren. Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization 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.smartcorp.com.
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
Smart Software named a Microsoft Co-sell-ready partner
Inventory Optimization and Demand Planning now more accessible to extend Microsoft Dynamics
Belmont, Mass., February 2022 – Smart Software is pleased to announce that it has been named a Microsoft Co-sell-ready partner as a leading demand planning and inventory optimization solutions provider. Microsoft customers leverage Smart’s web-native platform for Inventory Planning and Optimization (Smart IP&O) to develop consensus forecasts, manage demand, and optimize stocking policies.
Co-selling with Microsoft sales teams and Microsoft partners will empower the Smart Software’s team to reach a vast community of Microsoft-managed customers to collaborate on various opportunities. This process includes building demand, sales planning, sharing sales leads, accelerating partner-to-partner empowered selling, and delivering marketplace-led commerce. Smart IP&O leverages field-proven analytics, probabilistic modeling, and the latest advancements in forecasting technology to predict future demand, prescribe optimal stocking policies, and identify opportunities for operational improvement. Users can transfer forecast results, order quantities, and stocking policies to Microsoft Dynamics in a few mouse clicks helping build additional value and extend the life of their Microsoft Solutions.
Greg Hartunian, CEO of Smart Software, stated, “The abilities to dynamically identify discontinuities in demand and supplier lead times, prescribe optimal stocking policies that yield the most profit, and accelerate planning frequency, are especially critical and central in today’s hyper fluid supply chains. As a result, customers leveraging Smart IP&O can effectively wield inventory assets, improve their operations, lower costs, improve customer service, and outperform the competition. We look forward to working closely with Microsoft to help our joint customers achieve these key benefits.
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 demand forecasting and inventory optimization solutions have helped thousands of users worldwide, including customers at mid-market enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, such as Disney, Arizona Public Service, and Ameren. Smart Inventory Planning & Optimization 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.smartcorp.com.
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
