Terra Technology Provides Kraft Foods with Demand Sensing Solution to Decrease Short-term Forecast Error by 40 Percent
Software enables the food company to decrease costs and reduce inventory
Norwalk, Conn., June 9, 2009 – Terra Technology, the leading provider of demand sensing and inventory optimization solutions for consumer products companies, today announced that Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), the world’s second largest food company, has implemented Terra’s Demand Sensing (DS) solution in North America to decrease costs, improve service levels and reduce inventory. Since going live with the software in January 2009, Kraft has decreased short-term forecast error 40 percent in the businesses where the software has been implemented.
Agnes Feliciano, vice president of customer service and fulfillment for Kraft Foods, said, “Kraft selected Terra Technology’s Demand Sensing as part of our Advanced Demand Forecasting initiative in order to gain greater supply chain visibility and create an actionable response to daily demand information. As a manufacturer of perishable products, Kraft must respond quickly to shifts in consumer preferences or risk unused inventory that has expired. Improving forecast accuracy enables Kraft Foods to produce the right product mix, decrease costs and better serve our customers.”
Terra’s Demand Sensing solution 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. Kraft implemented the software after successfully piloting DS in all U.S. warehouse businesses.
Robert F. Byrne, president and CEO of Terra Technology, said, “Kraft is the second largest food company in the world and has a longstanding reputation for exceeding consumer expectations for high-quality food products. Demand Sensing will enable Kraft to gain visibility into real-time shifts in consumer demand and respond quickly to changes in consumer preferences, ensuring that the right product mix reaches retailer shelves while decreasing inventory and costs.”
About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods (http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe. Our 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about. From American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Cote d'Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, our brands deliver millions of smiles every day. Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is the world’s second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion. The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard Poor's 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index.
About Terra Technology
Terra Technology is the leading provider of demand sensing and inventory optimization software for consumer goods companies. Terra’s solutions incorporate demand signals from throughout the supply chain including retailer data, reducing forecast error by up to 50 percent and inventory up to 20 percent. More accurate forecasts and inventory targets improve customer service, lower inventory, decrease unplanned changeovers and reduce costs. Terra’s customers include Campbell Soup, Kraft Foods, Procter Gamble, Unilever and Ventura Foods. For more information, please visit www.terratechnology.com or call +1 203-847-4007 x111.