News | December 19, 2003

Demand Solutions Continues To Ride High In Forecasting Software Market

In the midst of a turbulent time of consolidation among providers of demand planning and forecasting software, Demand Management, Inc. (DMI) continues to edge higher in qualitative rankings, garnering many accolades and distinctions in year-end wrap-ups of the industry.

In an annual survey by Consumer Goods Technology Magazine, DMI is in 19 percent of the top 100 Consumer Packaged Goods companies. Last year the same survey identified DMI's product in 16 percent of the top 100.

DMI's flagship Demand Solutions software is in use by:

  • 25 percent of the top 20 consumer packaged goods companies
  • 60 percent of the top 10 health/pharmacy companies
  • 30 percent of the top 10 houseware/appliance companies
  • 20 percent of the top 20 footwear and apparel companies
  • 15 percent of the top 20 food companies

"This is a huge indicator of the growing popularity of our Demand Solutions software," said DMI President Mike Campbell. "The higher revenue cutoff of $2.6 billion meant three of our largest customers - an apparel company, a pharmaceutical company and a tool manufacturer - weren't considered in this year's list. But we still showed a significant gain."

"We have had a bird's-eye view of the consolidation taking place in the supply chain solutions market," said CGT Magazine's Publisher, Steve Rosenstock. "It's clear that DMI's products offer significant ROI, because in this environment companies are increasingly shedding their ineffective applications for those that can get the job done."

Another dramatic measure of DMI's rise can be found in the annual "Software 500," compiled by Software Magazine and research firm The Standish Group. In the survey, released last week, DMI is ranked number 301 - 37 slots higher than in last year's survey.

"With IT spending slow through the period measured by the 2003 Software 500, it's impressive that DMI continues to gain traction, said Software Magazine Publisher and Editorial Director John Desmond. "If Demand Management continues this trend and industry consolidation continues, we expect them to break the 200-rank range in our 2004 Software 500."

In a bi-annual survey on brand preferences, Managing Automation Magazine's Software Brand Preference Study of 11 product categories also showed a gain for DMI in the Supply Chain Planning category. When asked, "Which would you most likely investigate if your organization were planning to purchase the product indicated?" responses showed DMI ranked 11 out of 24 companies rated, edging out virtually every competitor that touts a forecasting specialty. The ranking was a 16 percent improvement over the same survey in 2001.

"The Brand Preference Study results clearly show that Demand Solutions is a strong brand that is growing even stronger," said Managing Automation Editor-in-Chief David R. Brousell. "In this study an improvement in ranking by this much is definitely significant."

Campbell said 2003 was the company's year for technological innovation. It included the release of Demand Solutions enterprise, a complete makeover of Demand Solutions applications for platform-independent computing. Campbell also said that the company's POS analysis platform for apparel and hard goods, Demand Solutions Stores, is rapidly claiming a top position for its ease-of-use, scalability and return on investment.

About Demand Management, Inc.
More global supply chains depend on Demand Solutions (DS) software by Demand Management, Inc. than any other system. Since 1985 DS products have been the most reliable and cost-effective solutions available for leveraging supply-chain technology to improve bottom-line results, from manufacturing to distribution and retail.