MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the market for supply chain management for automotive and aftermarket parts, Frost & Sullivan recognizes ToolsGroup with the 2016 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Leadership. ToolsGroup applied its technical strength to offer differentiated services that help customers manage fragmented "long tail" demand, overcome supply chain uncertainty and improve outcomes using machine learning. In addition to aiding manufacturers and distributors in the automotive and aftermarket parts market to skillfully deal with demand volatility, the company's software provides highly accurate forecasts, increased service levels and lower inventory. Significantly, ToolsGroup's auto-adaptive supply chain planning solution helps improve planner productivity by as much as 70 to 90 percent.
Responding to the needs of its customers, irrespective of their market maturity or supply chain complexity, ToolsGroup offers a unique, multi-enterprise supply chain planning solution. This unparalleled solution boasts services such as advanced demand planning, demand sensing, dynamic replenishment planning, promotion forecasting and inventory optimization.
The solution is redefining the global supply chain planning management process with its multi-echelon inventory optimization; service-level optimization; life-cycle planning for new product introductions; substitutions and end-of-life products; vendor-managed inventory; and repair and reverse logistics. This distinct solution enables manufacturers to make optimal decisions in real time; collaborate on key performance indicators with suppliers, partners and customers; and perform with greater mobility and responsiveness.
"Apart from having designed a system that is highly automated using predictive analytics, ToolsGroup is also the first supply chain planning company to incorporate Rulex machine learning technology into its supply chain planning and predictive commerce," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Sankara Narayanan. "Available as both software-as-a-service (SaaS) and on-premise offerings, the solution addresses seasonal demand behaviors, complex distribution networks, and part supersession and replacement rules. ToolsGroup's demand modeling technique helps aftermarket manufacturers analyze the demand history by channel and individual order-line."
To maximize the return on investment (ROI) for its clients, ToolsGroup seeks to lower risks. Another distinctive quality of ToolsGroup is its ability to deliver a much lower cost of ownership than peer solutions, which may become drastically expensive when demand volatility increases.
Similarly, while competing products are slower to adapt to technological advances, ToolsGroup's software evolves rapidly in line with new technologies. For instance, acknowledging the growing use of tablets and other mobile devices, ToolsGroup designed its software to be compatible with mobile platforms and handheld tablets.
"ToolsGroup's deep automotive and aftermarket and service parts domain expertise, with accurate forecasting and service-level optimization, has increased service levels and reduced inventory for its customers," noted Sankara Narayanan. "With very high customer satisfaction levels, one of the highest customer retention rates and an already robust portfolio of aftermarket customers, ToolsGroup is expected to further strengthen its position in the North American market in the coming years."
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality, gaining rapid acceptance in the market. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About ToolsGroup
ToolsGroup is a global provider of "Powerfully Simple" supply chain planning and demand analytics software. Our customers overcome volatile demand and challenging supply chains to generate accurate forecasts and outstanding customer service levels with less global inventory. ToolsGroup's solutions span key supply chain planning areas such as demand forecasting and collaboration, sales and operations planning (S&OP), demand sensing, promotion forecasting and multi-echelon inventory optimization (MEIO). For more information, visit www.toolsgroup.com or follow us on Twitter @ToolsGroup.
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