OMI Acquires Assets and Technology of Supply Science

June 16, 2003
DALLAS - June 12, 2003 - OMI International, Inc., a leading provider of supply chain management solutions, today announced it has completed the acquisition

DALLAS - June 12, 2003 - OMI International, Inc., a leading provider of supply chain management solutions, today announced it has completed the acquisition of certain assets of Supply Science, Inc., Boston, MA, and Supply Science, Ltd. Tel Aviv, Israel (collectively, "Supply Science"). Supply Science is a leading software developer of forecasting technology enabling retail store management to better plan, control and maximize in-stock conditions based on intra-day item demand patterns and computer assisted ordering. The acquisition will enable OMI to become a key provider of advanced forecasting and replenishment solutions, and significantly broaden their application suite to include the handling and analysis of store-level point-of-sale demand data.

Jim Meece, OMI's Chairman/CEO commented, "Adding store-level applications to OMI's solution suite is the keystone in completing our end-to-end supply chain integration and visibility strategy. This proven solution extends the use of RFID technology downstream to create a quality store level replenishment order and reduce out of stocks at retail. Almost three quarters of the 8-10% out-of-stock situations occur as a result of problems at the store level. The Supply Science technology addresses this issue based on analytics utilizing advanced mathematics and operations research. The result is a forecasting methodology that finally solves the store problem without the need or cost of maintaining a perpetual inventory or additional labor at retail."

Founded in 1996, the Supply Science team worked closely with leading retailers and manufacturers to create the DemandAnalytX - Demand-based Store Replenishment Software application and FORS - Demand-based Distribution Center Forecasting software. By accurately forecasting consumer demand and optimizing order quantities and their timing, the application enables retailers to maximize on-shelf availability, minimize inventory levels, reduce spoilage and obsolescence, improve sales and profits, and lower the cost of keeping shelves stocked. Using complex analytics, the application first optimizes inventories at the store, which impacts the amount of transportation and ultimately recommends distribution center inventory levels - all using demand-based point-of-sale data.

"We're excited to integrate Supply Science's CAO store-level forecaster and their centralized forecasting methodologies for distribution center replenishment with current and future OMI applications," commented OMI President/COO Dick Oksanen. "This is truly a breakthrough for the industry - now we can implement a clear supply chain from manufacturer to consumer and back that will allow all solutions to work in concert to optimize the total supply chain. We are convinced that when our suite of solutions has visibility to store level planning and the execution of orders, our clients will be able to optimize workflows and reduce the structured silos of inefficiencies that hide costs within the supply chain. Similar systems are what have driven Wal-Mart to new levels of efficiency. Now OMI has a fully integrated suite of products offering this powerful competitive advantage."

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