i2 Announces New Capabilities for Multi-echelon Inventory Planning for Lifecycle Events

i2 Announces New Capabilities for Multi-echelon Inventory Planning for Lifecycle Events

Dallas, TX -- August 12, 2009

i2 today announced new multi-echelon inventory optimization capabilities for life-cycle events and promotions with the latest release of its i2 Inventory Optimization solution.

i2 Inventory Optimization is designed to allow companies to continuously manage inventory policies to optimize performance against business objectives, changing market conditions and supply chain constraints. The solution supports inventory planning for life-cycle events across the entire supply chain spanning procurement of raw material and components, manufacturing of semi-finished goods and distribution of end-products.With these new capabilities, companies can now apply best practices of postponement and risk-pooling to efficiently handle promotions and lifecycle events such as new product introduction, last-time buy, and product transitions. In today¡¯s economy, companies can leverage these proven practices to reduce cost and free up cash while improving service levels.

¡°Inventory decisions for life-cycle events are tough in today¡¯s supply chain.Planners have been using subjective judgmentor simple calculations to make decisions and as a result, they were coping with these challenges by building excessive inventories,¡± said Kelly Thomas, i2 senior vice president, Product Strategy and Planning. ¡°Our solution enables deep analysis of buying behavior and demand patterns. By going through better processes enabled by i2 tools that close the loop between planning, execution and performance management, we enable our customers to achieve better service levels at a lower cost.¡±

According to AMR Research¡¯s Mike Burkett, ¡°companies have long needed to deliver value to both customers and shareholders to ensure long-term business success. However, this is a challenge that has become more elusive amid global competition, shorter product or extended service lifecycles, and evolving business models that shift increasing amounts of risk to manufacturers and their value chain partners. Both AMR Research and third-party studies consistently show about 65 percent of product launches fail for a variety of reasons, ranging from poor profitability to missed market demand.¡±

As global competition increases, companies need to ensure their inventory plans make the right decisions to support transitions worldwide. A company may have a product launched in Europe, a product in the growth phase in North America, and both regions may share a common supply chain that includes suppliers in Asia. As a result, companies must have the ability to plan safety stock inventories at every level in the supply chain in order to support the launch requirements for Europe, while also supporting the ongoing consumption needs in North America.

According to Thomas, poor inventory decisions duringlifecycle events and promotions are much more costly than bad safety stock decisions during growth and mature stages. ¡°Insufficient inventory during a product launch can result in lost revenue when the product commands the highest price and margins. Excess inventory at the end of the life cycle can result in excessive long-term carrying costs and large aged inventory write-offs or both. Also, poor inventory planning during promotions can damage the brand and lose revenues for the company.¡±

For more information on i2 Inventory Optimization, please visit our Web site.

About i2
Throughout its more than 20-year history of innovation and value delivery, i2 has dedicated itself to building successful customer partnerships. As a full-service supply chain company, i2 is uniquely positioned to help its clients achieve world-class business results through a combination of consulting, technology, and managed services. i2 solutions are pervasive in a wide cross-section of industries. Learn more at www.i2.com.

i2 Cautionary Language
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements regarding i2¡¯s management team and its ability to deliver results to i2¡¯s customers worldwide. For a discussion of factors which could impact i2¡¯s financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, please refer to i2¡¯s recent filings with the SEC, particularly the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 and the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. i2 expressly disclaims any current intention to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.

Rosalynn Vasquez
i2 Corporate Communications
469-357-3208
Rosalynn_vasquez@i2.com