SmartForecasts 9.0 Adds Big Data Functionality

    BELMONT, MA, September 27, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- 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 1984, 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.smartcorp.com. Visit Smart Software's blog, www.smartforecaster.net.

For more information, please contact Jeffrey Scott at Smart Software at 1-800-762-7899 or [email protected].

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

# # #