Thrive Technologies Signs National Marketing Agreement with $3 Billion PRO Group

$3 billion consortium of Do-It-Yourself products will co-market Thrives inventory software to its large membership of distributors and retailers. Thrive's unique software helps companies in the competitive distribution space increase profits and sales by at least 15%.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) April 6, 2005 -- Thrive Technologies, Inc., an Atlanta-based software company that helps distribution intensive companies improve their inventory performance, announced today that they have entered into a national marketing agreement with PRO Group, Inc. PRO Group has chosen Thrive as a key value-added services partner, and will help to market Thrives product to its member companies.

Based in Englewood, Colorado, PRO Group has a large distribution network of 40 member distributors with 162 warehouses that blanket the US and Canadian markets. PRO Group also has a retail network of 2000 retailers in North America, which it offers professionally managed marketing, promotional and branding services under programs such as PRO Hardware, FARMÊMART, GardenMaster, and Golden-Link. The members also benefit from PRO Groups annual buying power of over $3 billion.

By establishing a distinctive marketing "footprint" in the hardware, lawn & garden, paint sundries, farm products and agricultural markets, PRO Group has built a powerful presence in these industries.

Thrives software, called ClearDay©, allows a distributor or retailer to define their strategic service and profitability goals in the software, and then translates those into daily tactical inventory buys. For each item that a company stocks, ClearDay analyzes over 50 variables daily that could impact demand or supply, such as seasonality, promotions, vendor discounts, or changes in lead times. The software alerts buyers in advance of issues that might require attention (eg. stock-outs, excess stock). Thrive customers typically reduce their inventory as a percentage of revenues by at least 15%.

We are extremely pleased to partner with Thrive. Our members are in the business of having products in stock that their customers want, and they are looking for systems that will help them do that while improving their profits," said Steve Synnott, President/COO of PRO Group. Thrives software is server based, providing a lower cost of ownership than competitive systems, and will help our members achieve more in-stocks and higher profits."

The Bostwick-Braun Company is a premier member of PRO Group that uses Thrives inventory performance software. Bostwick-Braun is often profiled in leading distribution industry publications, and is one of the largest full-service, general-line distributors in the country, supplying both retail and commercial/industrial customers throughout a 10-state region. We are extremely happy with Thrives software. We use Thrive to improve the profitability of our inventory as well as our ability to service our customers." stated Mike Dastoli, VP of Merchandising for Bostwick-Braun, We are pleased to recommend Thrive to other PRO Group members."

About Thrive Technologies

Thrive Technologies is a leading provider of advanced replenishment and inventory performance software for distribution intensive companies. Thrives proven products have provided over 70 companies the ability to set strategic customer service and inventory profit goals, which the software translates into optimized daily vendor line buys. Thrives browser-based software is easy to use, and integrates quickly to existing enterprise software. Thrives implementation staff has strong domain expertise in the area of advanced replenishment buying for distributors. For more information, visit Thrive on the Web at www.thrivetech.com.

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