Automotive Aftermarket Companies Seek to Optimize Inventories with Smart Software's SmartForecasts

BELMONT, Mass.--April 20, 2004--

Panelite, Dana Corporation, and Chicago Rawhide latest to buy SmartForecasts for intermittent demand forecasting and better inventory management

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(TM). 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 delivery--and 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.

About Smart Software, Inc.

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.

For more information, please contact Greg Hartunian at Smart Software at 1-800-SMART-99 (800-762-7899) or gregoryh@smartcorp.com.

SmartForecasts is a trademark of Smart Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.