Skiwear brand chooses G4 Analytics & TXT e-solutions

G4 Analytics, a planning and demand management solutions and business consulting company, and TXT e-solutions, global experts in Demand and Supply Chain Management for the Fashion and Apparel industry, announced that Spyder Active Sports, a foremost brand of high-end skiwear, outwear and apparel will deploy TXTDEMAND for its demand and capacity planning solution. G4 Analytics, TXT’s North American partner, will be responsible for the implementation.

“TXT really impressed us with their expertise in our market space - active sports and outdoor wear. Their in-depth understanding around demand planning and procurement sourcing was immediately evident. TXT showed an impressive grasp not only of the technology, but also of our process and how to optimize it,. said Spyder.s CIO, Kevin Smith.

With Spyder.s continuing rapid growth, we realize the importance of demand planning and the supply chain to scaling our business. We looked at a number of solutions and decided that TXTDEMAND was best suited to handle our current needs and as a platform for future growth. Once implemented, we believe we’ll realize the benefits almost immediately,. Smith concluded.

TXTDEMAND is a part of the TXTPERFORM SCM suite which provides companies with demand planning solutions covering forecasting, sales budgeting, purchase planning and merchandise planning. With TXTPERFORM, customers achieve improved service levels and a better response to market demands with lower inventory levels and therefore a reduction in working capital. In addition TXTPERFORM includes TXTPRODUCT for PDM, TXTCHAIN for SRM, TXTPLAN for Production planning and TXTDRIVE as the workflow management and analytics component.

"Spyder is a worldwide leader in ski racewear with many top World Cup and Olympic skiers as customers. Spyder has a long history of product innovation and grasp of their customers needs,. said Richard Hall, CEO of G4 Analytics.

"With such demanding customers, Spyder requires the highest quality and performance from both their products and vendors. We are honored that Spyder chose G4 and TXT. Together G4 and TXT will be focused on giving them both technology and best practices to achieve their goals,. he concluded.

We are delighted that an innovative organization such as Spyder has selected us. It is great that Spyder recognizes TXT e-solutions and TXTDEMAND as the perfect solution to support Spyder.s challenges in dealing with the complexity and dynamicity of this specific market.

Our know-how and experience has been acquired through working with more than 250 companies within this sector and our expertise is now widely acknowledged.. said Stefano Lena . VP of Global Sales and Managing Director TXT US Inc.

Spyder revolutionized ski apparel in 1978 with a padded slalom sweater designed "for racing, by racers." Today, it.s the best selling ski brand in the world. Renowned for integration of high-tech fabrication, fashion and function, Spyder products are the choice of the US Alpine, Canadian Alpine and Canadian Freestyle World Cup Teams.

TXT e-solutions is an international leader in Strategic Enterprise Solutions and related proprietary software, particularly Demand & Supply Chain Management and Content Management. TXT is headquartered in Milan, Italy, and has offices throughout Europe and the US.

G4 Analytics is a market leader in analytics for Consumer Products companies. The company focuses on helping companies increase the return-on-investment for both selling and supply chain activities.

Source : http://www.fibre2fashion.com

R.G. Barry Selects NGC’s e-SPS® Software for Global Sourcing and Visibility

e-SPS Will Allow Rapidly Growing Footwear Company to Reduce Lead Times, Improve Speed to Market and Increase Business Agility

NGC® (New Generation Computing®) today announced that R.G. Barry Corporation (Amex: DFZ) has selected NGC’s e-SPS as its strategic software platform to manage overseas suppliers and trading partners. R. G. Barry, “the Dearfoams® company,” is one of the world’s leading developers and marketers of accessory footwear.

R.G. Barry has recently undergone a highly successful business turnaround that included a transition from captive manufacturing to a flexible business and sourcing model. As a result, the company sought a global sourcing solution that would work seamlessly between its domestic and international operations. “We looked for a solution that would provide visibility and drive new efficiencies throughout the entire manufacturing process,” said Glenn Evans, SVP of Sourcing and Logistics, R.G. Barry.

After reviewing software from a number of vendors, R.G. Barry selected e-SPS, an industry-leading, web-based global sourcing application that provides real-time visibility and enhanced collaboration throughout the product lifecycle. “e-SPS will be a key technology to help R.G. Barry improve our inventory turns, reduce lead times and increase speed to market,” Evans said.

e-SPS will also enhance R.G. Barry’s communications with overseas suppliers. “The fact that e-SPS is web-based was very important to us,” said David Lindstrom, Director of Information Technology, R.G. Barry. “Today, most of our communication with overseas partners and suppliers is done via email. e-SPS provides a single global portal that will allow us to centralize communications in a single place and tie all communications to specific purchase orders.”

Other benefits of e-SPS for R.G. Barry include:

- Improved customer service. By streamlining global sourcing and reducing product lead times, e-SPS will enable R.G. Barry to respond faster to customer trends and provide new styles efficiently and cost-effectively.

- Increased business agility. e-SPS will support R.G. Barry’s growth objectives by enabling the footwear manufacturer to add more licensed brands and manage a rapidly increasing number of suppliers.

- Integration with R.G. Barry’s existing supply chain software. e-SPS can be easily integrated with supply chain software from Logility and American Software, NGC’s parent company. “We already have these solutions in place, and NGC’s understanding of these systems and how to integrate with them was very important to us,” Lindstrom said.

“R.G. Barry has dramatically transformed their business in recent years, and NGC is pleased that the company selected us to provide solutions that will help them improve supply chain efficiency, while supporting continued expansion,” said Alan Brooks, president, NGC. “We look forward to a successful implementation and welcome R.G. Barry to NGC’s rapidly growing customer base of industry-leading fashion, apparel, footwear and retail companies.”

About New Generation Computing

NGC® is a leading Fashion, Apparel, Footwear and Retail software company. NGC's SQL Series is a comprehensive suite of “end-to-end” solutions for PLM (e-PLM), Global Sourcing (e-SPS®) and ERP (RedHorse®). The SQL Series provides real-time visibility to product information, accelerates speed to market, and enables quality control throughout the supply chain to help deliver superior products. NGC customers include leading brands and retailers such as VF Corporation®, AX Armani Exchange®, Carter’s®, Casual Male Retail Group®, Maggy London, Goody’s Family Clothing, Hugo Boss®, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Isda & Co., Tristan & America®, Axis®, Wilson’s Leather®, and many others. NGC has offices in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, China, India, Mexico and El Salvador and is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Software Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSWA). For more information, visit www.ngcsoftware.com.

Source : New Generation Computing

Epicor to release Q4 earnings on Feb 7

Epicor Software Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise business software solutions for the midmarket and divisions of Global 1000 companies, is scheduled to release its earnings for its 2007 full-year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007, on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

A conference call to discuss the full-year and fourth quarter results is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, following the earnings release. During the call, Epicor also currently plans to discuss its ongoing acquisition of NSB Retail Systems PLC, which is expected to close on February 7, 2008.

Epicor is a global leader dedicated to providing integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) and professional services automation (PSA) software solutions to midmarket companies and divisions of the Global 1000.

Founded in 1984, Epicor serves over 20,000 customers in more than 140 countries, providing solutions in over 30 languages. Employing innovative service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Web services technology, Epicor delivers end-to-end, industry-specific solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality and services that enable companies to drive increased efficiency, improve performance and build competitive advantage.

Source : http://www.fibre2fashion.com

Viral Holiday Video from Lawson Software to Spread Cheer

Lawson releases second in a series of animated video clips through popular video sharing websites

Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) is bringing back its very own cartoon character, Lars Lawson, just in time for the holiday season. Lawson today released its latest animated online video clip as a holiday greeting. The new video features many of the same characters featured in the company's debut online video released in September, including the main animated character, Lars Lawson.

The new Lawson video, entitled "Merry Catmas," features Lars Lawson coming to the rescue of a Lawson customer who is struggling to put up holiday decorations while dealing with an overly playful, mischievous cat. Lars Lawson's humorous and simple solution to the problem saves the day for the customer while giving viewers a reason to pass the video along to others.

"Our first video drew more than 20,000 views in a short amount of time and we hope to have many more views with our new video, since it's also a humorous holiday greeting," said Travis White, senior vice president of marketing for Lawson. "With the popularity of today's video sharing sites, this is a great vehicle for Lawson as a marketing venue. But with the holiday season upon us, we really wanted to create something that will make people smile and then share the video with people in their professional and social networks."

Designed as an easy and fun way for people to spread holiday cheer to colleagues, friends and family, the new video also provides a simple way for people to help raise money for WorldVision, an organization that helps children and families living in poverty in nearly 100 countries. Lawson will provide a donation to WorldVision based on the number of times people view the video.

The latest animated video from Lawson can be viewed at www.lawson.com/greetings or at various online video sharing sites, including YouTube, Yahoo Videos and others. The original animated video from Lawson can still be viewed at www.lawson.com/rescuethecat. High resolution images associated with the new video are available in the Image Library section of the Lawson Online Press Room.

About Lawson Software

Lawson Software provides software and service solutions to 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and service sector industries across 40 countries. Lawson's solutions include Enterprise Performance Management, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and industry-tailored applications. Lawson solutions assist customers in simplifying their businesses or organizations by helping them streamline processes, reduce costs and enhance business or operational performance. Lawson is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and has offices around the world. Visit Lawson online at www.lawson.com.

Source : Lawson Software

Jewellery software company takes out ‘IT Millions’ award

Raeleen, who is one of six winners, founded Octahedron at just 22, and has gone on to create a global software company that provides business enterprise software to the jewellery industry.

In receiving the award, Raeleen stated “I’m humbled by this award. To be recognised for doing something you love and are passionate about is both a highlight and an honour.”

“It’s very encouraging to see organisations WIT, IIA and AWISE, and companies Roaz Computing and News Gallery support women in the IT industry.

Awards such as the ‘IT's Million $ Babes’ help to recognise and showcase the amazing things women are doing in the world of IT. It’s an honour to be recognised as part of this initiative.”

Source : Fibre2fasion.com

HP Targets High-growth Document Automation Market with Acquisition of Exstream Software

HP today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Exstream Software, LLC, a privately-held leading provider of enterprise software that streamlines the creation and delivery of personalized documents and other communications materials.

Exstream is a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Exstream’s technology, when combined with HP’s presence in document output management and printing market leadership, helps businesses design, manage and publish structured and unstructured content in a fully personalized manner via print and online.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Exstream Software will be integrated into the Web Services and Software business unit within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) of HP.

“Businesses – whether a bank, healthcare provider or utility company – need to communicate relevant, personalized information to their customers through a broad range of channels,” said David Murphy, senior vice president, Web Services and Software Business, IPG, HP. “We expect that the acquisition of Exstream will allow HP to address a broader set of customers and be a strong leader in the fast-growing document automation market.”

“We are very happy to join with HP to accelerate our ability to help businesses around the world to efficiently develop and deploy personalized communications,” said Richard Troksa, chief executive officer and president, Exstream Software. “The combination of Exstream’s solutions and HP’s print software expertise will provide customers with a more comprehensive approach to delivering reliable and targeted business communications.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of HP’s fiscal year 2008.

Further detailed information about this news at www.hp.com/go/exstream.

About Exstream Software

Ranked among the world’s fastest growing technology companies, Exstream provides enterprise software solutions for businesses around the world to streamline document creation processes and produce higher quality, relevant communications of all types for delivery through print/mail and online channels. Customers in many industries benefit by getting communications to market as much as 85 percent faster, reducing document production costs up to 80 percent and as much as tripling customer response.

About HP

HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $104.3 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Source : HP

Openbravo launches ERP software in French and new partner recruitment campaign in France

Award-winning, fully-featured open source ERP software available for French SMEs.

Openbravo's leading web-based open source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software has been localized and released in French. To complement this release, the company is attending Solutions Linux 2008 to discuss its new localization, meet potential French partners and to present Openbravo Network.

Openbravo will be exhibiting its new French localization, Openbravo Network and Openbravo POS at Solutions Linux 2008 in booth E32-F32, in the Open Solutions Alliance Village.

Additionally, Paolo Juvara, Chief Products Officer for Openbravo, will be discussing open source adoption and the role of the development community in the Solutions Linux conference. His presentation, 'The point of view of the developer: Interoperability and open source community', will be part of 'Cycle OSA' taking place in on Tuesday 29 January at 2pm.

A European software company, with a presence all around the globe, Openbravo develops leading professional open source enterprise resource management (ERP) and Point of Sale (POS) solutions for small and medium businesses.

Available immediately, the localization provides a full version of Openbravo's robust open source ERP software to French SMEs. The software is already available in six European languages including Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, and Romanian. It is relied on small to medium businesses that need to gain visibility, management and to connect back-office activities, from inventory management to accounting, as well as key customer and management functions such as customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI).

The company's partner recruitment drive in France is based on seeking any business entities who are interested in working with a robust open source ERP solution and building their professional business practices around Openbravo with a unique value proposition.

Manel Sarasa, CEO of Openbravo said, "As a European software company we understand the importance of having fully-featured and flawless localizations available to new territories as we release them. France has one of the most robust and vibrant SME communities, and a culture of innovation, which supports and encourages adoption of open source technology. We hope to meet some interesting business partners, resellers, end-users and developers at Solutions Linux and I look forward to us ramping up in the French market in 2008".

Openbravo ERP is integrated with Openbravo POS, a front-office solution that integrates point-of-sale ordering, bar-code scanning, ticket printing and customer displays, and allows those features to be fully integrated with the back-end ERP system. Openbravo POS is available in French as a separate file which can be downloaded from SourceForge and easily installed. The French localization is available on SourceForge.

To provide greater support to the French market, Openbravo Network is available. Openbravo Network, a subscription service for the award-winning Openbravo ERP, is the answer for enterprises looking for a production-ready open source ERP, combining software and support for a complete solution. Openbravo Network simplifies the deployment and maintenance tasks with a software appliance architecture fine tuned to maximize reliability and performance, providing automated access to updates and a production grade service level agreement for timely resolution of critical issues.

Source : Openbravo, S.L.

Largest Retail Chain Store in United States Achieves Success With Demand Management Solutions from SAP

Demonstrating ongoing leadership in providing innovative solutions to retailers worldwide, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that 7- Eleven, Inc. has extended its agreement for demand management solutions from SAP. The announcement was made at the National Retail Federation (NRF) 97th Annual Convention and Expo, being held in New York, NY, January 13-16.

As the largest chain store in the United States with close to 5,500 franchised and company-operated stores, 7-Eleven faces similar pricing and product availability challenges as other retailers. Demand management solutions from SAP better position 7-Eleven to make competitive decisions on pricing for its store products.

“Responding appropriately in today’s fast-paced environment is critical,” said Scott McCombs, senior director for merchandise intelligence, 7-Eleven. “We selected the business solution from SAP because it provides us with a way to make better decisions faster.”

Demand Management Solutions from SAP: Achieving a Retailer’s Needs

Demand management solutions from SAP enable retailers to achieve their financial objectives while delivering a credible, consistent and competitive shopping experience to their customers. With demand management solutions from SAP, customers can automate and use a unified demand approach that will create a best-run business.

“Retailers around the world are increasingly looking for demand management platforms to help them predict shopper behavior and improve financial performance across all the major retail workflows – from inventory to assortment planning to full lifecycle pricing,” said Scott Langdoc, VP of Research and Business Leader for IDC’s Global Retail Insights. “We expect nearly 80 percent of retailer application deals in 2008 will include demand management functionality.”

Based on the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform, the demand management solutions from SAP are designed to deliver end-to-end decision support for pricing, promotion and markdown business decisions. Retailers can strategically manage the full pricing lifecycle on an integrated and extensible technology platform.

“Retailers are faced with a complex environment where consumers are smarter and more demanding,” said Verlin Youd, senior vice president, Global Trading Industries, SAP AG. “Our retail experience has allowed SAP to provide retailers with solutions that address their current and future needs. Retailers that have embraced demand management solutions from SAP have seen a return on their investment within 12 months.”

SAP solutions for retailers can be seen at the NRF show, at booth number 1601.

About SAP® for Retail

SAP is the leading provider of application solutions for the retail industry. SAP helps retailers of all sizes to understand, anticipate and inspire their customers, employees and shareholders by delivering results. The SAP® for Retail solution portfolio provides specific solutions for retail companies in the food, fashion and hardlines businesses. The solution portfolio consists of building blocks that cover the areas of merchandising (including demand management - price, promotion and markdown optimization); store operations (including a portfolio of POS solutions); supply chain, finance and human resources. SAP allows companies to implement solutions in a step-by-step approach, and provides an easy, cost-effective means to connect information across the business. (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/retail/.)

About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 43,400 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP® applications—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol “SAP.”

Source : SAP

Milestone Release Brings Functionality and Stability to the Leading Open Source ERP Solution; Advanced Web Architecture at Center of New Professional

Compiere, Inc., the global leader in open source business solutions, today unveiled Compiere 3.0, a strategic milestone in the company's quest to change the economics of business software and make enterprise resource planning (ERP) easier. Compiere 3.0 includes numerous functional and stability innovations to its open source ERP and customer relationship management (CRM) core. Compiere 3.0 also marks the introduction of Compiere Professional Edition, a new premium offering targeted at larger organizations that require more advanced services and commercial licensing from Compiere.

Compiere Professional Edition leverages the latest generation of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) technology to deliver robust functionality, usability, responsiveness and personalization through a Web browser. Built using standards-based Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and open source Google Web Toolkit technologies, the Compiere Web architecture features secure access from any Internet-enabled computer without installing and configuring client software on user desktops. A Flash-based demonstration of Compiere's Web architecture is available at: http://www.compiere.com/products/product-demos/index.php.

"Reshaping the ERP user experience with a powerful Web interface is the newest way Compiere is making ERP easier and more cost effective for companies in the mid-market," stated Don Klaiss, president and CEO of Compiere. "The new Web architecture, in combination with Compiere's proven model-driven application platform, provides a dynamic offering to enable businesses to customize their ERP solution - quickly, easily and affordably."

Expanded returns management functionality, new financial reporting templates and improved stability round out the innovations available across all three Compiere 3.0 editions: Compiere Community Edition, Compiere Standard Edition and Compiere Professional Edition. Notable advancements include:

- Returns management - Feature-rich, ready-to-deploy functionality to implement return materials authorization (RMA) and return to vendor (RTV) processes.

- Financial report templates - An expanded set of financial report templates including a new Trial Balance template and refined Sales Reporting templates.

- Stability and usability - More than 150 usability enhancements, functionality improvements and community contributions.

"We continue to see strong interest for Compiere, not just as a cost-effective open source ERP solution, but as a business tool that drives growth and profitability," stated Robert Kunz, president of KnowledgeBlue, a Compiere partner company. "We appreciate that Compiere continues to invest in open source technologies while ensuring it addresses the expanding opportunity with mid-market organizations. Many of our customers will quickly embrace the new Web capabilities which enable secure, full-function productivity from the office, customer sites, home and anywhere with an Internet-enabled computer."

About Compiere, Inc.

Compiere, Inc. delivers the most widely used open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solution with more than 1.25 million software downloads. Applications are built on an innovative model-based development platform that gives customers unprecedented adaptability, rapid deployment and low cost of ownership. The company is privately held and headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif. Compiere, Inc. offers commercial backing, support and services to its global network of authorized partners operating in more than 25 countries. For more information, please visit www.compiere.com.

Source : Compiere, Inc.