Quala S.A. Purchases Smart Software's SmartForecasts to Serve as the Foundation for S&OP Initiative; Latin American Consumer Goods Manufacturer Implements SmartForecasts in Less Than Two Months

BELMONT, MA, November 05, 2010 (Press-News.org) Smart Software, Inc., provider of industry-leading demand forecasting, planning, and inventory optimization solutions, today announced that Quala S.A., with operations in six Latin American countries and one of the largest consumer goods manufacturing companies in Colombia, has gone live with Smart Software's flagship product, SmartForecasts. Quala replaced its legacy forecasting software with SmartForecasts and will utilize the new forecasting system as the foundation of its sales and operations planning process for its Colombian operations. Forecasting results are integrated with Quala's QAD ERP system.

Quala chose SmartForecasts after evaluating four forecasting and demand planning products. The evaluation team chose Smart Software's solution because of its robust feature set, flexibility in analyzing data and forecast results, ease-of-use, and the comprehensive pre- and post- sales support provided by Smart's Latin American reseller, Bluston Data Services, of Sao Paulo, Brazil. With implementation and training help from Bluston, Quala was able to go live in less than two months. The company plans to combine input from its sales force and marketing team with SmartForecasts' statistical forecast results to build a consensus forecast of demand for its seven Colombian factories, distribution center, and multiple district warehouses where goods are cross-docked for speedy delivery.

"SmartForecasts has given us the power and flexibility to build a strong and effective S&OP process that has already started improving the planning for our Colombian businesses," said Pablo de Valdenebro, procurement and planning director in Colombia. "We found that it was the most flexible and best solution for our operations, and the terrific implementation and training support we received allowed us to get up and running quickly."

Headquartered in Bogota, Colombia, with 3200 employees, Quala manufactures and sells 27 brands including powdered beverages, beef and chicken bouillons, personal care products and snack foods. In addition to Columbia, the company has factories and distribution centers in five other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic, which manage their operations independently.

About Smart Software, Inc.
Founded in 1984, Smart Software, Inc. is a leader in providing businesses with 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, Mitsubishi, Siemens, Disney, Godiva, Nikon, GE and The Coca-Cola Company. SmartForecasts gives demand planners the tools to handle sales seasonality, promotions, new and aging products, multi-echelon hierarchies, and intermittently demanded service parts and capital goods items. It also provides inventory managers with accurate estimates of the optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels. Smart Software is headquartered in Belmont, Massachusetts and can be found on the Internet at www.smartcorp.com.

For more information, please contact Gregory Hartunian at Smart Software at 1-800-762-7899 or gregoryh@smartcorp.com .

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

Public Relations Contact:
John Comando, NeedhamGroup
781-559-8061
johnc@needhamgroup.com

Smart Software, Inc., Four Hill Road, Belmont, MA 02478 Tel:617-489-2743 Fax:617-489-2748 www.smartcorp.com