News Release

Kinaxis New AI Capabilities Accelerate Intelligent End-to-End Supply Chain Control from the C-Suite to Production Floor

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  • New Command & Control Center delivers agility to manage disruptions
  • Enhanced demand management improves accuracy of short- and long-term forecasts
  • First supply chain planning solution provider with AI-based solutions for both supply and demand

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX: KXS), the authority in driving agility for fast, confident decision-making in an unpredictable world, is launching new and enhanced AI-based capabilities to empower companies to take intelligent and increasingly automated control over their operations. From the C-suite to the production line, companies will be able to more confidently manage risk, seize opportunities and cope with escalating volatility.

The supply chain engineer dashboard as part of the new Kinaxis Command & Control Center. (CNW Group/Kinaxis Inc.)

The network planner dashboard as part of the new Kinaxis Command & Control Center. (CNW Group/Kinaxis Inc.)

The global management dashboard as part of the new Kinaxis Command & Control Center. (CNW Group/Kinaxis Inc.)

As global disruptions rise, businesses are facing extraordinary pressure to speed up digital transformation initiatives to deal with unprecedented demand fluctuations, supplier shutdowns, material scarcity and an influx of big data. Kinaxis is expanding its industry-recognized control tower capabilities on the RapidResponse® platform with a new dedicated Command & Control Center application to enable the visibility, agility and efficiency needed to respond confidently to these shifting realities.

"The unexpected levels of disruption companies are currently facing is driving an increased need for resiliency and end-to-end visibility across supply chain partners," said Steve Banker, Vice President, Supply Chain Management, ARC Advisory Group. "Businesses need the right tools to proactively automate enough of the decision-making process for planners to be able to respond to risk in time to mitigate negative impacts. The Kinaxis Command & Control Center represents an exciting and innovative way for companies to achieve this without requiring a PhD to use and implement."

The Command & Control Center app gives companies instant visibility and actionable insights into the health of its business through an intuitive dashboard that combines traditional data with digital disruption detection signals. Companies can manage day-to-day variability and unexpected volatility in real-time by prioritizing and automating routine responses, thanks to prescriptive recommended actions based on KPIs. The automatic capture of decision data leads to future AI-based decision-making and recommendation improvements. 

"Before Kinaxis we were always looking backwards, trying to solve problems from the day before," said Bob Herzog, Senior Director of Planning, P&G. "We had too many people spending the bulk of their time manually trying to mitigate low-impact disruptions instead of proactively looking at our highest priority exceptions. Using Kinaxis as a control tower enabled us to finally start focusing on the future by providing instant updates into the status of our end-to-end supply chain and freeing up our planners' ability to manage these high-impact exceptions in real-time."

Recently, Kinaxis announced the introduction of partner-built apps. Some of these will extend the power of the Command & Control Center application with new planning capabilities and digital inputs. In addition, several existing Kinaxis Global System Integrator partners, including Genpact, will be offering business transformation services to support the Command & Control Center, helping companies understand what this new way of working means for their teams, and how best to maximize the potential of their planners.

Kinaxis is also strengthening its demand management portfolio. With enhanced demand sensing capabilities, companies can increase revenue, keep customers happy and significantly reduce stock outs by incorporating real-time demand signals, data inputs and automatic machine learning. The result is light-touch short-and long-term forecasting and improved accuracy, without the need for a team of data scientists. The addition of AI-powered promotions planning capabilities helps consumer product and retail companies identify the best business opportunities, reduce missed-dollar opportunities and increase promo revenue uplift. When combined with The Self-Healing Supply Chain™ offering, Kinaxis becomes the first supply chain planning solution provider with AI-based solutions for both supply and demand planning.

"Planners are dealing with unprecedented levels of change and need to make critical decisions that traditional planning tools and control towers cannot support," said John Sicard, CEO of Kinaxis. "Without the ability to confidently respond to shifting realities, companies risk devastating impacts to their bottom line. The enhanced demand management capabilities and new Command & Control Center application combined with our growing partner network will empower companies to mitigate risks and quickly manage operations in response to any potential disruption."

The new Kinaxis Command & Control Center application and enhanced demand management capabilities will be available mid-2021.

Editor's Note: Kinaxis is launching its new and enhanced innovations during Kinexions '20, its supply chain innovators conference, taking place Oct. 20-21. For more information visit Kinexions.com.

About Kinaxis Inc.
Everyday volatility and uncertainty demand quick action. Kinaxis® delivers the agility to make fast, confident decisions across integrated business planning and the digital supply chain. People can plan better, live better and change the world. Trusted by innovative brands, we combine human intelligence with AI and concurrent planning to help companies plan for any future, monitor risks and opportunities and respond at the pace of change. Powered by an extensible, cloud-based platform, Kinaxis delivers industry-proven applications so everyone can know sooner, act faster and remove waste. For more Kinaxis news, visit Kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements as to Kinaxis' growth opportunities and the potential benefits of, and demand for, Kinaxis' products and services. These statements are subject to certain assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, including our view of the relative position of Kinaxis' products and services compared to competitive offerings in the industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Kinaxis' actual results, performance, achievements, and developments may differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results, performance, achievements or developments of Kinaxis to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements can be found in the public documents filed by Kinaxis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Kinaxis assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

SOURCE Kinaxis Inc.

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