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
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 from Smart Software.

BELMONT, MA, November 05, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- 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.

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