Sappi Fine Paper North America has purchased Smart Software's flagship SmartForecasts Enterprise product.

Sappi, which makes coated fine and specialty papers, has integrated SmartForecasts with the company's SAP ERP system to help optimize inventory controls, including the accurate estimation of safety stock, cycle stock, and inventory reorder points, and also to increase its ability to react to changes in product demand.

Smart Software officials say that Sappi recognized the need to replace its more time-consuming inventory planning system with a solution that could respond to changes in the marketplace faster and more frequently. Sappi selected SmartForecasts because of its ability to fit easily into the company's consensus planning process and to quickly import and analyze demand data stored in Sappi's SAP system. The data is used to generate safety stock and inventory stocking recommendations that are critical inputs to the company's inventory control system. Sappi also plans to use SmartForecasts' intermittent demand forecasting technology to help optimize a portion of its inventory that exhibits hard-to-forecast, slow-moving demand patterns.

"We were able to implement SmartForecasts in just three weeks -nearly a month ahead of schedule," says Andy Avery, the project coordinator at Sappi Fine Paper North America. "In just two months, we're on our way to achieving our goals with more frequent reviews of inventory levels and a more responsive planning process. SmartForecasts has helped us to reduce our safety stocks and optimize our cycle stock. It's done exactly what we expected and proven to be a valuable planning resource."

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