Terra Technology, a provider of demand sensing and inventory optimization systems for consumer products companies, has announced that Unilever has selected Terra’s Demand Sensing system to improve customer service and supply chain efficiency.
According to Terra Technology, Unilever anticipates decreasing forecast error more than 25% and reducing inventories and costs from the US implementation. Roll-out is expected to be completed by August 2009.
According to Terra Technology, its Demand Sensing system uses pattern recognition mathematics to decipher daily streams of data to determine which information is predictive of actual demand and to more accurately predict retailer requirements. Unilever US piloted the software in its personal care business for several months and reduced forecast error more than 25%.
Doug Sloan, director of supply chain operations for Unilever US, said: Unilever selected Terra Technology’s Demand Sensing to gain supply chain visibility and improve manufacturing planning. In these volatile times, it is important to respond quickly to shifts in consumer preferences and control costs. Improving forecast accuracy enables Unilever to produce the right product mix, decrease costs and better serve our customers.
