The award cited Optiant's ground-breaking software, the PowerChain™ suite, for its ROI-driven solutions that have helped Global 1000 manufacturers dramatically reduce inventory-driven costs, improve service levels, increase inventory turns, and minimize the negative impacts of variability on supply chain performance.

The annual award is designed to honor companies that focus on continuous innovation and excellence in their field. For 2002, the editors evaluated more than 100 submissions and selected Optiant to a short list of six 'Up and Comers', which included companies less than two years old, that have demonstrated technology leadership, cutting-edge research, and rapid and repeatable ROI for its customers.

Optiant was singled out for its broad range of customer successes and focus on delivering best-in-class supply chain performance. In one case, Imation Corporation, the maker of floppy disks and CD-Roms, increased its customer service levels by over 20 points while reducing inventory-related costs by 30 percent and increasing inventory turns 43 percent, in less than 90 days. Multiple Hewlett-Packard product families were able to reduce inventories by 70 percent within six weeks of implementing Optiant-recommended supply chain designs, saving tens of millions of dollars, while maintaining their industry-leading customer service levels and revenues.

"This award recognizes companies that bring visionary approaches to meeting the manufacturing challenges that our readers face," said Peggy Smedley, editorial director of Start Magazine. "Optiant is one company that delivers on its promise of rapid and repeatable ROI as it drives its customers toward a new efficiency frontier through supply chain performance."

Optiant's PowerChain suite is the industry's only solution that helps manufacturers manage the dynamic relationships between costs, lead times, demand variability and supply uncertainty to design the best possible supply chains. The software allows supply chain stakeholders to create 'what-if' scenarios right on the desktop, view the integrated "dollarized" impact of all elements on product margins, and make data-driven decisions aligned with corporate goals for customer service and responsiveness. Fortune Small Business, Computerworld, and Supply Chain Technology News have also recognized Optiant as the expert in inventory realignment and strategic supply chain design. For more information, please see http://www.optiant.com/news_awards.html.

"We're very excited by Start's validation of our market leadership position," said Jim Lawton, vice president of product management. "Start's readership, the leaders in manufacturing, recognize that world-class supply chains drive deeper margins and shareholder value which is exactly what Optiant delivers to its customers everyday."

For more information, please visit the Optiant virtual Press Room.

Company Contact:
Holly Allison
781-238-8855
Holly.Allison@optiant.com