Baseball's official base supplier deploying demand planning solution from Smart Software to streamline forecasting
Belmont, MA — September 15, 2004 — Sports equipment manufacturer Schutt Sports is set to use a demand planning solution from Smart Software to streamline its forecasting functions as it moves toward a lean manufacturing model.
Litchfield, Ill.-based Schutt, a family-owned sporting goods company with two manufacturing facilities and a distribution center in Illinois, is a major manufacturer of equipment for baseball, softball, football, basketball and sports collectibles. Schutt is also the "official base supplier" of Major League Baseball
The company is in the process of re-engineering its processes and moving toward lean manufacturing, and Schutt plans to use Smart's SmartForecasts solution to streamline its demand forecasting and planning functions.
Schutt will integrate SmartForecasts with Epicor's Avante ERP system. "Smart Software and Epicor are important pieces of a puzzle that will enable us to accomplish our corporate goals to increase sales and profits and reduce waste," said John Tunstall, demand planning manager at Schutt Sports.
SmartForecasts will help the company better manage the seasonal demand for its products and provide the tools necessary for promotional planning. A portion of the company's inventory is slow-moving, and SmartForecasts' intermittent demand forecasting capabilities will help Schutt set accurate stocking levels and safety stock requirements for those products.
"This is my fourth ERP implementation," said Tunstall. "Before we evaluated SmartForecasts, I had seen very little in the way of forecasting software that could do the job. Most forecasting software is either too weak or too complex. SmartForecasts is one of the best programs out there. It's robust, grounded in fundamentals and easy to use."
Schutt also is hoping to benefit from a smoother and faster forecasting process and more internal collaboration between sales, production, purchasing and other departments, as well as externally with customers and suppliers. These benefits will be facilitated by the integration between SmartForecasts and Avante's SQL Server database system and the reporting, adjustment and collaboration features directly available in SmartForecasts, according to Smart.
Belmont, MA — September 15, 2004 — Sports equipment manufacturer Schutt Sports is set to use a demand planning solution from Smart Software to streamline its forecasting functions as it moves toward a lean manufacturing model.
Litchfield, Ill.-based Schutt, a family-owned sporting goods company with two manufacturing facilities and a distribution center in Illinois, is a major manufacturer of equipment for baseball, softball, football, basketball and sports collectibles. Schutt is also the "official base supplier" of Major League Baseball
The company is in the process of re-engineering its processes and moving toward lean manufacturing, and Schutt plans to use Smart's SmartForecasts solution to streamline its demand forecasting and planning functions.
Schutt will integrate SmartForecasts with Epicor's Avante ERP system. "Smart Software and Epicor are important pieces of a puzzle that will enable us to accomplish our corporate goals to increase sales and profits and reduce waste," said John Tunstall, demand planning manager at Schutt Sports.
SmartForecasts will help the company better manage the seasonal demand for its products and provide the tools necessary for promotional planning. A portion of the company's inventory is slow-moving, and SmartForecasts' intermittent demand forecasting capabilities will help Schutt set accurate stocking levels and safety stock requirements for those products.
"This is my fourth ERP implementation," said Tunstall. "Before we evaluated SmartForecasts, I had seen very little in the way of forecasting software that could do the job. Most forecasting software is either too weak or too complex. SmartForecasts is one of the best programs out there. It's robust, grounded in fundamentals and easy to use."
Schutt also is hoping to benefit from a smoother and faster forecasting process and more internal collaboration between sales, production, purchasing and other departments, as well as externally with customers and suppliers. These benefits will be facilitated by the integration between SmartForecasts and Avante's SQL Server database system and the reporting, adjustment and collaboration features directly available in SmartForecasts, according to Smart.
