o9 Transforms Ainsworth Pet Nutrition's Supply Chain Planning Capabilities with Rapid Deployment of o9's Augmented Intelligence Planning Platform

DALLAS, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- o9 announced the successful implementation of o9 Solutions' Augmented Intelligence Platform at Ainsworth Pet Nutrition® (APN), transforming the company's Supply Chain Planning process. The initial implementation that was started in late Q4 2016, has already been completed on time and within budget and is delivering value.

With the successful launch of their Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® product line, APN experienced tremendous growth and found its current planning systems unable to cope with the growing demands of their business. This, along with the mandate to accelerate digital transformation of their planning systems, led APN to launch an initiative to select an end-to-end planning solution that covered Replenishment Planning, Load Building, Sales and Operations Planning, Demand Planning and Supply Planning.

APN leadership identified core capabilities required of a next-generation planning solution, including 1) cloud-based deployment; 2) accessibility from any device; 3) end-to-end solution capabilities for demand, supply and S&OP; 4) ease of use and 5) domain expertise.  They selected o9 Solutions ahead of more established players because of its rapid deployment and innovation capabilities, as well as its thought leadership in planning and decision management. Furthermore, APN valued o9's ability to continuously upgrade its cloud-based platform with new capabilities, such as state-of-the-art AI features to increase automation of their planning processes.

"We are on an aggressive timeline to replace our supply chain planning systems with o9," said Jaison Klingensmith, Director, Supply and Demand Planning at Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. "We started the journey late last year, and we have already achieved tremendous progress.

"We are particularly impressed with the flexibility of the platform in configuring the solution to our needs," Mr. Klingensmith continued. "We're also impressed with the ease with which we have been able to integrate with internal and external tools to build out our end-to-end solution footprint. Short implementation timeline, solution flexibility and domain knowledge are other key aspects that reinforce our belief that we made the right decision to partner with o9," Mr. Klingensmith concluded.

To meet APN's goal of integrated supply chain planning, o9's platform integrated with APN's existing ERP platform. o9 additionally enabled exception-based workflows to streamline the deployment orders and factory direct shipments, while enabling collaboration with manufacturing partners.

Speaking on behalf of o9 Solutions, Co-Founder and CEO Chakri Gottemukkala said, "It's exciting to see a fast-growing company such as APN align with our vision with such vigor and passion. The result is better service to their end customers, increased market share and explosive revenue growth."

About Ainsworth
Founded in 1933, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition is a fifth generation, primarily family-owned and operated company headquartered in Western Pennsylvania and focused entirely on pets.  With a goal of changing the way consumers shop for Super Premium pet food, Ainsworth's mantra is "Pet Store Quality.  Supermarket Easy." They achieve this promise by providing consumers with the high-quality pet food where they currently shop for the rest of their families.  The company makes multiple brands and types of dog and cat food, including the Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® line, as well as Super Premium retailer specific brands.  Ainsworth Pet Nutrition is committed to food safety and prepares all of its dry pet food in the United States using high-quality, natural ingredients with added vitamins and minerals.  To learn more, visit www.ainsworthpets.com.

About o9 Solutions, Inc
o9 Solutions is the premier AI platform for integrated planning and operations management, helping bring demand management, supply chain management and integrated business planning processes into the digital age. o9's clients span a variety of industry segments including consumer products, manufacturing and retail. Bringing technology innovations in enterprise modeling, big data, analytics and easy-to-use interfaces together into one platform, o9 Solutions delivers systems that empower enterprise users with superior visibility, insight and cross-functional collaboration in planning and decision-making processes.

Contact
o9 Solutions, Inc.
1501 Lyndon B. Johnson Fwy Ste. 140
Dallas, Texas 75234
Drew Larson, 214-729-0239

SOURCE o9 Solutions, Inc.