Camstar Systems Inc. has released the NPI (New Product Introduction) Accelerator for manufacturers. The tool is intended to help users design, test and speed up the NPI process.

With all of the advances in forecasting technology and software, it's tempting to conclude that people don't need to play a direct role in the process anymore. But the opposite is true, says Jonathon Karelse, vice president of corporate development and strategic planning with Wholesale Tire Distributors.

Apriso Corp., a provider of software for managing manufacturing operations, has made available version 2.0 of FlexNet Manufacturing Process Intelligence (MPI).

Acuitive Solutions, provider of a global transportation-management system (TMS) portal for air and ocean freight, has introduced the Acuitive SpotManager.

There are two major challenges that companies face today in forecasting, says Bob Leonard, vice president of sales with Forecast Pro. One is the push to drive down to more detail, including smaller time buckets. The other is the need to treat forecasting as an analytical task, instead of just clerical work.

Valogix LLC, a vendor of inventory planning and optimization software for small and mid-sized businesses, has created the Valogix Inventory Planning SuiteApp, built on the NetSuite Suite Cloud Computing Platform.

One Network Enterprises has introduced ONE Parcel Management, as part of the vendor's ONE Intelligent Logistics suite of software applications.

SAP America, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Germany's SAP AG, has agreed to acquire Ariba, the software vendor specializing in procurement and business-to-business commerce.

Software AG has introduced iKnow, a visibility product for managing the order-to-cash process. According to the vendor, the new tool provides users with the knowledge and context needed to detect and diagnose supply-chain anomalies in real time.

The demand for vendor-managed inventory programs in warehouses behaves "as a pendulum swinging back and forth between supplier and retailer," says John Mayer, vice president of sales with Park City Group. Over the last six to 12 months, he says, it has swung back in the direction of favoring VMI. Mayer has seen particular interest in the technique in the grocery industry.