Beverage Distributor Raises a Toast to Supply Chain ROI

Chairman to discuss how Thrive Technologies helped improve customer service while reducing inventory

Atlanta, GA, November 6, 2003 – Thrive Technologies, an Atlanta based inventory optimization software company, today announced that Vernon M. Danielson, Chairman of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (VABC), will present his organizations inventory successes on November 19, 2003 at IQPC Demand Planning 2003 - a conference on best practices in inventory management and supply chain forecasting.
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Mr. Danielson announced the project with Thrive in VABCs 2002 Annual Report as an initiative to improve inventory management efficiency and customer service. After fulfilling that commitment by implementing Thrives ClearDay forecasting and replenishment software, profits in fiscal 2003 increased 19.6% over fiscal 2002. Additionally, through the use of the ClearDay software, VABC has significantly reduced stock outs in the retail stores by meeting the demands of the specific market served by each store.

ClearDay projects future demand based on demand history, trends and seasonality, and automatically creates replenishment orders for more than 2,300 SKUs in every location in the VABC distribution network. VABC ships more than 3 million cases of liquor annually to support the sales and inventory requirements in 275 state-owned liquor stores. Mr. Danielsons presentation will further discuss function and results in his case study on the use and implementation of the ClearDay demand forecasting and replenishment system.

Thrive has made a name for themselves in the mid-market inventory optimization space by bringing Tier One capabilities to small and mid-sized distributors, retailers, and their trading partners, said David Cahn of technology analyst firm Y2G Associates. Success stories, like VABC, demonstrate how Thrives focused solutions bring long needed support to fast growing organizations by providing capabilities that until now have been unavailable to this market."

About Thrive Technologies

Thrive Technologies is a leading provider of inventory optimization software to mid-market distributors desiring best-in-class functionality, yet requiring low total cost of ownership. Easy to use and implement, Thrives proven products have provided over 60 companies the documented ability to reduce inventory by optimizing supply against demand. Thrives software integrates quickly to existing enterprise software, adding significantly greater control over projected inventory levels. Thrives products and services also improve companies competitive advantage and help them attain preferred trading partner status through automated, exception-based, collaborative planning. For more information, visit Thrive on the Web at www.thrivetech.com.