Procter & Gamble Looks to Further Enhance Sales Using JDA; Consumer Goods Giant Implementing JDA Portfolio to Optimize Selling Space

Business Wire, Jan 6, 2005

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- JDA(R) Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JDAS) announced that The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is implementing additional JDA Portfolio(R) space management software and using JDA's new strategic services to achieve verifiable sales improvements across categories. The combined JDA solution of Floor Planning by Intactix(R) and Optimize on Demand(TM) will enable P&G to introduce innovative category management processes proven to optimize selling space for its strong portfolio of trusted, quality, leadership brands.

"As one of the world's foremost consumer goods companies, P&G recognizes that floor space is one of a retailer's most valuable and limited commodities. Through our all-inclusive Optimize on Demand solution for Floor Planning, we are enabling P&G to introduce innovative category management practices to its retail customers. We value our partnership with P&G and look forward to helping them maximize every opportunity to increase sales per square foot for their more than 20 leading brands," stated JDA CEO Hamish Brewer.

According to J.P. Brackman, P&G's global retail presence manager, the consumer goods giant has made its already diverse product line even stronger by introducing a number of new, complete categories within the last 10 years.

"To grow sales and volume across our entire portfolio, it's becoming increasingly important that we work closely with our retail partners to better manage space allocation, including adjacencies, for our products on the store floor," stated Brackman. "JDA's category management applications will help us to better understand how to maximize our available space as we continue to add new categories and meet the unique needs of our retail partners," continued Brackman.

P&G to Create Competitive Advantage Using JDA's Optimize on Demand Services

While computer-aided design (CAD) programs have long been used in store construction departments, Brackman said the resulting CAD layouts weren't helping P&G's customers to enhance their floor space. P&G undertook this initiative in response to their retail partners requesting a better understanding of the merchandising benefits that advanced floor planning could deliver.

"We understand shoppers in our categories and how to educate consumers about our products, but we didn't necessarily have store layout expertise. This is why we hadn't pursued floor planning practices in the past," explained Brackman. "We concluded that if we had the right processes to apply our fresh insight in floor planning, we could create a new competitive advantage by helping our retail customers re-think their approach to category management," stated Brackman.

To address its need to acquire best-in-class floor planning business methodologies, P&G engaged JDA for its Optimize on Demand offering. Taking advantage of JDA's category optimization service, which includes category management process, methodology, tools and expertise, P&G will carry out what Brackman describes as a highly innovative approach to floor planning. Brackman and his team also have discovered how to maximize the best-of-breed functionality in JDA's software to support advanced requirements such as the ability to change space allocations of categories and dynamically reflect those changes in the financial results.

P&G Users Learn Floor Planning Best Practices Using JDA's E-Learning

Since floor planning is a new category management discipline for P&G, the company also is using JDA's e-learning available from www.jdalearn.com. JDA's online courses enable end users to learn industry best practices and the supporting JDA applications at their own pace in an engaging, flexible and cost-effective format.

"Our company has been switching to more online training efforts in general, so JDA's e-learning courses fit well with our employee education philosophy. Also, since we don't have any Floor Planning experts, e-learning offers a convenient way for our users to prepare for the system in a live environment. So far the results are positive. Several users who have completed the curriculum are asking for more," stated Brackman.

P&G to Offer Floor Planning as a Way to Help End Consumers

Once in full production with JDA's Floor Planning solution, P&G will introduce floor planning to retail customers in the product categories that they market.

"We're always focused on trying new and better ways to help our customers help the consumer. We're hoping to stay away from projects that are just pilots that don't turn into anything else. Instead, we want to bring Floor Planning to customers who are willing to invest in the floor planning capabilities themselves for the rest of the store," stated Brackman.

In addition to JDA Floor Planning, P&G is licensed to use Space Planning by Intactix, Space Automation by Intactix, Channel Clustering by Intellect(TM) as well as Marketplace Replenish(TM) collaborative solution. P&G operates JDA's Space Management applications on Intel(R) Pentium(TM) 4 technology.

About JDA Software Group Inc.