NATIONAL 2009 CONFERENCE

The Annual National

Demand Solutions™ Conference

has once again been declared a success!

In spite of the current economic conditions the Demand Solutions™ Conference for 2009 registered a large number of delegates representing 32 different organisations. The Conference was a perfect opportunity for all of these people to network with industry colleagues while improving their skills and knowledge base of the Demand Solutions™ suite.

“Your conferences provide excellent value for money … there are not many software suppliers that provide this sort of event that includes information and training”

- Lloyd Bennett—Orica Mining Services

“No death by PowerPoint; hands on is great”

- Felix Langthaller—Ingram Micro

Workshop sessions...

provide practical step by step solutions to everyday challenges faced by Demand Solutions™ users. It gives people the opportunity to discuss these issues not only with the DS team but also with colleagues from other organisations facing similar concerns.

The focus of these hands on workshops was to provide clients with Demand Solutions™ processes to enable them to improve their Forecasting Accuracy.

“Tag it, Flag it, Forecast it”

In this session, Sam and Peter led the delegates through the steps on how to segment the data based on demand profiles using the Demand Solutions™ Filters. Based on these filters various ‘TAGS’ and FLAGS’ were assigned to selected items using the Global Changes utility. This enabled the definition of effective forecasting strategies that could be applied to the Ranges of items.

“ARM yourself with the best forecast - Analyse, Review, Manage”

Tony led the group through examples of how to identify forecast exceptions using Demand Solutions™ Filters. The forecasting options for these difficult to forecast items were tested through the interactive forecast and then finally setup as a forecast batch process for the various item ranges.

Future Demand Solutions™ conferences will continue to conduct hands-on workshops.

“Multi Dimensional ABC Analysis”

Jason explained the benefits of using an ABC Matrix in this workshop. Here he investigated the ABC options within Demand Solutions™ while exploring alternate ABC data sources. He then lead the group in the creation of a multi dimensional ABC Matrix strategy and applied categorisation using the Matrix rules.

Other presentations included a review by Lloyd on the options available within Demand Solutions™ to reflect the impact of a changing economic climate on your forecast.

Peter discussed the developments with DSX—the new “dot net” product and DS Pipeline and Jason outlined some of the new features of the enhanced Version 11.

Client Presentations...

were given by 2 of our revered client representatives. Thank you to both Nathan Doak of BP Australia and Michael Watters of Polyaire. Their presentations outlined various aspects of Demand Solutions™ operations within their business, highlighting the challenges and benefits encountered. We appreciate that client companies are prepared to allocate their time for preparation and on the day share their experiences with their colleagues.

This year saw the conference held at Sea World on Queensland’s Gold Coast, one of the most popular holiday destinations in Australia.

Sea World Resort...

provided excellent facilities not only for the conference but also the accommodation in its newly refurbished rooms. The resort offered delegates a break from the conference with an exclusive Shark Bay Tour which allowed them access to a morning tour before theme park opening hours. Delegates were able to experience the two-level exhibit with spectacular viewing, above and below the water’s surface. Getting up close to the amazing sharks as well as many other species of marine life.

Thank you...

to Bill Harrison, President of Demand Management Inc. for travelling from St Louis USA to attend our conference. Bill highlighted the 22% investment in research and development being undertaken to strengthen the Demand Solutions™ product suite.

New product developments that were highlighted include:

Version 11 Enhancements
DS Pipeline—Collaboration
DS MPS—Manufacturing Planning
DSX—the new “dot net” product

As part of the ongoing enhancement program, all delegates once again had the opportunity to request and vote on enhancements to the Demand Solutions™ suite. Many requests from the previous year’s ballots have already been activated. These requests will be documented and forwarded for consideration in conjunction with requests from US and Europe for inclusion in future versions of Demand Solutions™ softwares.

Congratulations...

This year goes to Syngenta Crop Protection who was presented with their Partnership Acknowledgement Certificate. This was accepted by David Van Ryswyk as an acknowledgement of their relationship with Demand Management Systems exceeding 10 years. Other organisations that have received this Certificate include:

Australian Country Spinners (client since 1992)
Bremick Pty Ltd (client since 1995)
BP Australia Pty Ltd (client since 1997)
Brown Forman Australia Pty Ltd (client since 1997)
Kraft Foods Limited (client since 1990)
Orica Mining Services (client since 1997)
Reckitt Benkiser (client since 1993)
Sanofi Aventis (client since 1995)
Sara Lee Bakery Australia Pty Ltd (client since 1992)
Smith and Nephew Pty Ltd (client since 1996)
The Body Shop (Adidem Enterprises Services) (client since 1997)
Wattyl Australia (client since 1989)
Wyeth Australia Pty Ltd (client since 1993)

The Hard Rock Café...

After being greeted like Rock stars by a number of paparazzi, a full “Elvis” buffet enticed our taste buds while enjoying the sounds of rocks old favourites. A special thank you must go to Kylie Saville of Schwarzkopf and Henkel who entertained us with her karaoke talent and to the winning Hard Rock trivia team! Some may argue that the use of those disposable cameras by certain individuals was probably not such a great idea...I’ll let you all be the judge when I send you a copy of some of those pictures!

Fun and Games...

Were the order of the day, in true Demand Solutions™ Conference spirit. There is nothing better than the DMS team having the opportunity to take some great photographs. As you can see, a picture paints a thousand words!