SolveIT Software Goes Live On Time and On Budget at Fortescue Metals Group for Mine-to-Port Supply Chain Optimisation

ADELAIDE, Australia, May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- SolveIT Software Pty Ltd, a leading provider of enterprise software for supply & demand optimisation and predictive modelling, announced today that SolveIT Software's Supply Chain Network Optimiser (SCNO) and Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) system has gone live on time and on budget at Fortescue Metals Group.

SolveIT Software's APS and SCNO applications are configured for optimising Fortescue's mine-to-port supply chain, and incorporate advanced features invented by SolveIT Software, such as decision visibility, dynamic trade-off analysis, and global optimisation. Targeted towards a range of planning & scheduling horizons at Fortescue from medium to short term, SolveIT Software's mine to port product will assist in optimising the mine product blend, train schedules, port operations, berthing and maintenance scenario management.

"With the rapid ramp up in throughput achieved to date and expansions underway to increase production to 155 million tonnes per annum, Fortescue required an integrated planning, scheduling and optimisation capability that could deliver one view of the enterprise for supply chain planning and scheduling," said Mr Stuart Spicer, Manager of Integrated Planning at Fortescue. "Given the requirement to manage moving bottlenecks during multiple growth phases, and a dynamically changing operating environment around factors such as weather, production variability, and market demand, we needed an enterprise system that could handle this complexity while being highly user friendly for a range of stakeholders from the mine, rail, and port operations of our business. SolveIT Software has a proven track record of dealing with complex supply chains, and has delivered on time and on budget for our implementation requirement."

"Fortescue has continued to execute on an aggressive growth strategy from first ore to global leader in record time, and this strategy leverages off an entrepreneurial spirit and use of innovation that closely matches SolveIT Software's core philosophy of pushing the boundaries around next generation approaches to integrated planning, scheduling, optimisation, and simulation," said Mr James Balzary, Director of Natural Resources from SolveIT Software. "In partnering with Fortescue we have applied our software, science and business process know-how to help drive improved supply chain efficiency and we look forward to evolving and enhancing that capability in future."

About FMGL

With operations in the iron ore rich Pilbara region of Western Australia with close proximity to Asia and India, Fortescue is the world's fourth largest iron ore producer and is still growing. Fortescue has an enviable record of rapidly bringing new projects online and is continuing to unlock the significant potential of the Pilbara's vast resources. Fortescue plans to triple production to 155 mpta by mid-2013.

About SolveIT Software Pty Ltd

SolveIT Software Pty Ltd is an Australian company specialising in supply & demand optimisation and predictive modelling. With more than 150 employees across 5 offices, we offer enterprise advanced planning software for supply chain network optimisation, demand planning & forecasting, and mining optimisation. Our mining software applications cover mine exploration planning, mine planning, pit to port & mine to port optimisation, and mining simulation. Customers of SolveIT Software include Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Rio Tinto Simandou, Xstrata Coal, Xstrata Copper, Xstrata Zinc, BHP Billiton Iron Ore, BMA Coal, Fortescue Metals Group, Pacific National Coal, Crossland Resources, Viterra, Visy Industries, Pernod Ricard Pacific, Amcor, CBH Group, Incitec Pivot, ElectraNet, Fosters Group, PFD Food Services, Liquor Marketing Group, Hancock Prospecting, and the Australian Defense Science and Technology.

Forward-looking (safe harbour) statement

Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as "believes", "plans", "expects" or "intends" and other statements which are not historical facts contained in this release are forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.

Contact:

SolveIT Software Pty Ltd
Level 1, 99 Frome Street, Adelaide, SA 5000
P.O. Box 3161, Adelaide, SA 5000
Phone: +61-8 8221-5533  
Fax: +61-8-8221-5677
[email protected]

SOURCE SolveIT Software Pty Ltd