TrueDemand Achieves SAP Certification

Posted September 13, 2006

New status demonstrates TrueDemand Software’s continued strategy and commitment to delivering integration with SAP® solutions.

TrueDemand Software, Inc., a pioneer in the development of consumer-driven supply chain applications, today announced that its TrueDemand 1.2 solution has received “Powered by SAP NetWeaver®” status from SAP AG. In addition, SAP has certified the integration of key TrueDemand forecasting and replenishment processes that automate master data synchronization, material master data extraction, and integration with the SAP® Demand Planning application using the SAP NetWeaver Exchange Infrastructure (SAP NetWeaver XI). This achievement helps ensure that users of TrueDemand 1.2 can seamlessly integrate with the SAP NetWeaver platform to enable true consumer-driven supply networks. TrueDemand’s offering is one of the first forecasting, replenishment and execution application suites for retailers to achieve SAP certified integration that takes advantage of all types of demand data, including new RFID data.

TrueDemand has made SAP solution-specific integrations and optimizations in order to receive the “Powered by SAP NetWeaver” qualification. Specifically, TrueDemand has achieved integration with the SAP NetWeaver platform and now runs on the SAP NetWeaver Application Server and can be accessed through the SAP NetWeaver Portal. In addition, TrueDemand 1.2 can now be seamlessly integrated with and share information with the mySAP™ ERP and mySAP Supply Chain Management (mySAP SCM) applications using SAP NetWeaver XI. The integrated TrueDemand processes include master data synchronization, creation and update of forecast plans and integration of short-term TrueDemand shipment and order forecasts into the planning book of the SAP Advanced Planning & Optimization (SAP APO) component of mySAP SCM. This supports the SAP Demand Planning, supply network planning and production planning applications. Customer benefits include more accurate short-term shipment and order forecasts, improved service levels and sales, reduced inventory, lower total cost of ownership and rapid time to value.

The TrueDemand solution provides retailers and manufacturers with a single integrated planning, execution, replenishment and execution management application from the shelf back to supplier distribution centers. It is the industry’s first network-based application that enables true consumer-driven supply networks. The solution features the industry’s most sophisticated functionality for improving store replenishment and execution management, merchandiser task management, and automatic out-of-stock identification and prediction. With TrueDemand 1.2, retailers and suppliers are able to:

Prioritize shelf replenishment to improve in-stock positions;
Automatically identify, measure and predict Out-of-Stocks;
Improve in store perpetual inventories;
Make precise out-of-stock predictions to improve store efficiency;
Reduce overstock and remnant inventory; and
Improve planning and execution of hot events, such as new product introductions, promotions or seasonal product events.

“Our investment in support of SAP solutions goes well beyond integration with SAP NetWeaver,” said Raymond Blanchard, vice president of business development for TrueDemand Software. “This is a long-term commitment to provide our customers with standard and scalable sales, operations and out-of-stock management processes from the shelf back through their supply networks that can be rapidly integrated with their existing SAP solution-based environments. Our forecasting and replenishment applications are synergistic with existing SAP applications and help extend SAP solution-enabled processes down to store shelves. The deep level of integration between TrueDemand and SAP NetWeaver enables us to provide retailers and suppliers with best-practice sales and operational processes with an integrated view of supply chain intelligence and workflow down to retail shelves. As a result, our customers can reduce their total cost of ownership, streamline integration and accelerate their time to value.”

Retailers have struggled to figure out how to extract value from the enormous volumes of real-time event information generated across the supply chain. With their forecasting and replenishment suite, TrueDemand has taken an important step towards maximizing the value of event-driven data for retailers by going beyond simple analytics in a solution that ties together the army of individuals that make up retailer replenishment processes. The TrueDemand application presents retailers with a single view of demand and inventory, integrating execution capabilities into the process. As a result, customers can not only better anticipate potential problems in the supply chain, but they can proactively and automatically remedy supply chain problems before they occur.

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