KXS Kinaxis Inc

Accelerates agility by automatically fusing heuristics and optimization with machine learning to provide both speed and accuracy on the same analysis

OTTAWA, ON and SAN DIEGO, May 9, 2022 /CNW/ - Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX: KXS), the authority in driving agility for fast, confident decision-making in an unpredictable world, today announced a breakthrough in advanced analytics for supply chain planning with the introduction of its new Planning.AI analytical approach at Kinexions '22 (#ReadyTogether), its annual supply chain innovators conference.

Part of the Kinaxis RapidResponse® platform, Planning.AI is the only concurrent planning solution to automatically detect and fuse the best combination of heuristics, optimization and machine learning, providing a highly accurate answer in the fastest time possible. Now companies no longer have to manage the trade-offs that come when choosing between different planning algorithms, like speed or accuracy. Planning.AI delivers the ability to use multiple analytical approaches when solving a single problem, driving even more business value by broadening the types of supply chain problems that can be solved and removing the need for hard-to-find data scientists and deep analytical experts.

When applied to today's complex supply planning challenges, Planning.AI first applies heuristics to a problem, then runs those results through an optimizer or solver. That significantly narrows the scope of what the optimizer must solve for, dramatically reducing the time it takes to get an answer while still preserving the required accuracy. For demand planning, Planning.AI leverages machine learning to gain insights from vast amounts of internal and external data then uses additional analytical approaches as appropriate to improve sensing and forecasting across short and long-term horizons. When combined with Kinaxis' unique concurrent planning technique, which eliminates siloes, continuously balances demand and supply in real-time, and enables what-if scenario management, Planning.AI allows companies to respond faster and more accurately to market disruptions. 

"Supply chain planners and leaders are often in the tricky situation of having to choose between making an accurate decision or making a fast one," said John Sicard, CEO of Kinaxis. "Planning.AI eliminates that struggle by empowering people to make fast and accurate decisions through the use of multiple advanced analytical approaches. This latest breakthrough builds on our revolutionary concurrent planning technique, driving a true step change in supply chain agility and resiliency."

With the addition of Planning.AI, Kinaxis customers will have access to a new category of advanced applications called Amplifiers, which mature planning processes and drive next-level business results across the end-to-end supply chain. The first two Amplifiers using Planning.AI are now available.

• Demand.AI
  Create a true picture of demand by incorporating internal data and outside-in external signals to improve demand and supply plans and deliver insight across all planning horizons using machine-learning based sensing and forecasting.

• Supply.AI
  Drive costs out of the supply chain by using multiple analytical approaches to solve a wider variety of business problems and balance trade-offs incorporating cost, revenue, on-time delivery, capacity and more.

"We expect Planning.AI to help us better support our customers by quickly and accurately determining the best combination of products that could be built using projected on hand inventory," said Mary Simpkins, SCM Processes & Applications Consultant at Celestica. "This will help reduce customer's excess and obsolete materials and significantly improve our planning flexibility in RapidResponse."

In 2021, Kinaxis officially released the Command & Control Center to centralize demand and supply intelligence signals, empowering companies to identify and take action on risk-based alerts and extend the intelligent control of their digital supply chains. Demand.AI and Supply.AI will work with those intelligence signals to further augment and automate planner's decision-making. Kinaxis has also made significant enhancements to the Command & Control Center's digital process automation capabilities. Companies can now quickly and easily setup workflow automations using an intuitive drag and drop interface—all without needing to adjust a single line of code.

Kinaxis is showcasing all its latest innovations, including Planning.AI and associated Supply.AI and Demand.AI Amplifiers, as well as its newly enhanced digital process automation capabilities at its annual supply chain innovators conference Kinexions, taking place virtually and in-person in San Diego from May 10-11.

For more information on Planning.AI and Kinaxis' new Supply.AI and Demand.AI Amplifiers, visit www.kinaxis.com/analytics.

Everyday volatility and uncertainty demand quick action. Kinaxis^® delivers the agility to make fast, confident decisions across integrated business planning and the digital supply chain. People can plan better, live better and change the world. Trusted by innovative brands, we combine human intelligence with AI and concurrent planning to help companies plan for any future, monitor risks and opportunities and respond at the pace of change. Powered by an extensible, cloud-based platform, Kinaxis delivers industry-proven applications so everyone can know sooner, act faster and remove waste. For more Kinaxis news, visit Kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements as to Kinaxis' growth opportunities and the potential benefits of, and demand for, Kinaxis' products and services. These statements are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including our view of the relative position of Kinaxis' products and services compared to competitive offerings in the industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Kinaxis' actual results, performance, achievements and developments may differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results, performance, achievements or developments of Kinaxis to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements can be found in the public documents filed by Kinaxis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Kinaxis assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

SOURCE Kinaxis Inc.