Companies wonder how often they should meet in order to achieve maximum information-sharing within the organization, as part of an effective sales and operations planning (S&OP) process. "As often as they need," advises Sanjiv Sharma, head of sales and operations planning with Rolls-Royce Energy Systems. "As little as they can get away with."

Zepol Corp., a provider of trade intelligence and management tools, has released ComplianceIQ.

Without a doubt, the economic downturn was difficult on everyone. Significant cutbacks in production left thousands of smaller suppliers struggling to remain in business. In the midst of this bleak scenario, some large manufacturing organizations have opted to share financial expertise, efficiency and lean manufacturing knowledge - and, in some cases, actual capital - with their smaller, highly valued suppliers to pull them from the brink.

Cadec Global, a vendor of fleet-management technology, has developed a new version of its PowerVue application. PowerVue Enterprise, delivered under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, extends companies' visibility into fleet-wide assets, Cadec said.

Aldata, a provider of business software for retailers, manufacturers and distributors, has created the 2012 version of Aldata Category Optimization.

Qualcomm Inc. is releasing two new applications for its Mobile Computing Platform 50 (MCP50), available in the summer of 2012.

MobileLink, the global positioning system-based application for managing mobile workers from Descartes Systems Group, is now available on the Android operating system.

"Where and how should the forecast organization report?" That's the number-one question that Lora Cecere, partner with the Altimeter Group, is asked as an analyst. Her answer: "It needs to report to an organization that's neutral."

GT Nexus and Kinaxis have formed a partnership to provide customers with a unified, cloud-based planning and execution platform.