China Supply Chain Project Highlights International Growth at Plan4Demand

System integration for Fortune 500 Mexico/U.S. business units spawns ground- floor implementation in China; robust follow-on projects drive expanding international footprint; November conference in Amsterdam concludes series of global presentations with Institute of Business Forecasting

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 16 -- Executives at Plan4Demand Solutions Inc., a consulting services firm specializing in supply chain management business processes and technologies, today announced the start of the company's first full-scale lifecycle implementation/integration project in mainland China.

According to Plan4Demand Vice President of Delivery Services Peter Sarris, the project is an implementation of JDA Manugistics demand planning and master planning technologies at a new manufacturing facility being commissioned in Xiamen, China, by the consumer division of a Fortune 100 durable goods manufacturer.

The implementation will mirror and fully integrate with similar supply planning solutions Plan4Demand deployed earlier this year for the same client at manufacturing facilities in Mexico and the U.S.

"The supply planning tools and processes we previously implemented will result in a 10% reduction in Mexico/U.S. inventories," said Mr. Sarris. "Based on the success of these engagements, Plan4Demand was contracted to deploy a similar solution in China - to provide an integrated global view of demand and supply planning for our client's entire organization."

According to Plan4Demand CEO Lisa M. Kustra, the scope of this ongoing multimillion dollar initiative will provide state-of-the-art capability for planners throughout the client's organization to achieve maximum visibility throughout their global supply network and thus provide the highest levels of customer service while holding down worldwide inventory costs.

"The Chinese marketplace is becoming much more sophisticated from a system standpoint," said Ms. Kustra. "And this engagement reflects the interest we're seeing among many clients and prospects to leverage proven advanced supply chain knowledge and business processes in other emerging markets around the world - from the ground up."

Indeed, earlier this year Plan4Demand led new supply chain initiatives in Brazil, Chile, and Western Europe for various other clients. Unlike many of the company's earlier global engagements, which were primarily extensions of customized training programs initially presented in North America, these latest overseas efforts have been far more robust, including deployment of global planning, forecasting, and supply management solutions.

According to Ms. Kustra, expansion of Plan4Demand's global footprint is the result of a successful business plan laid out earlier this year to further leverage the company's growing referenceability and reputation as a holistic provider of both process- and technology-based supply chain solutions.

She also cited the expertise of Plan4Demand's industry-veteran global supply chain specialists as key to driving thought leadership opportunities throughout the year, including publication of numerous white papers and feature-length articles for major industry publications, as well as multiple presentations delivered at international conferences hosted by the Institute of Business Forecasting.

This week, the director of Plan4Demand's S&OP practice delivered a keynote presentation on sales and operations planning during the IBF Supply Chain Forecasting Conference Europe, held in Amsterdam.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Plan4Demand Solutions Inc. is a consulting services firm that helps Global 500, Fortune 1000, and mid-market companies around the world increase profitability and reduce operating costs through its holistic People-Process-Technology approach to maximizing efficiencies across their supply chains.

In addition to providing operational, strategic, and tactical guidance in areas like demand planning, fulfillment, warehouse management, and transportation management, Plan4Demand specializes in sales and operations planning. As a "technology-neutral" client advocate, the company also provides highly customized training to help organizations drive knowledge retention and capture the full value of their technology investments by ensuring long-term self-sufficiency.

Founded in 2000 and privately owned, Plan4Demand is a federally certified women-owned business and has a client base spanning multiple industries, including food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, high tech/medical, industrial/automotive, chemical/pharma, and retail/apparel. For more information, visit www.plan4demand.com.