JDA Software Group Inc. has released a new version of its supply-chain planning suite for manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

Demand management as a pursuit, a skill, a function and a set of technologies has grown considerably in importance due to new ways to reach customers and new ways to analyze data about them. Intense competition for product companies and retailers and the squeeze on margins challenge companies to get a lot better at planning.

Challenge: A U.S.-based global solar photovoltaic manufacturer was aggressively expanding into new markets such Australia and the Middle East with high solar incidence. However, the company lacked resources to design to local standards and meet sourcing cost pressures from increasing competition. Limited knowledge of the new geographies restricted the company's ability to quickly enter new markets with competitively priced products.

Technology executives are the biggest buyers from a mobile device, with more than two-fifths reporting they use mobile to research transactions greater than $100,000, according to a Forbes Insights and Google survey of 511 executives.

Aras, a vendor of open-source software for product lifecycle management (PLM), has made available for download the latest release of the Aras Innovator PLM platform and application suite.

The hospital supply chain is becoming more strategic and taking a more prominent role in guiding decisions that weigh clinical outcomes against the costs of medical supplies, devices and prescription drugs. But it still has a long way to go.