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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. /eNewsChannels/ — The Engines & Power Products Division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., which recently announced a distributor and dealer service-oriented change to its warehousing and distribution system, has indicated it will be relying on software from Baxter Planning Systems, Inc. to help manage the new process.

The software – Prophet by Baxter – is a software-as-a-service solution to support Kawasaki’s parts, power products and engine distribution business.

Kawasaki will use Prophet to forecast inventory purchases, determine warehouse stocking levels and initiate inventory replenishment and re-balancing of inventory between stocking locations. The Baxter system will also automate the planning for Kawasaki’s large OEM and distributor customers by aggregating common part orders and facilitating drop-ship orders direct to suppliers.

The implementation of this new software service coincides with Kawasaki’s announcement that the company has engaged UPS to warehouse and ship all of its parts, power products and engines. This approach, intended to accelerate the process of moving items through the system and ultimately delivering them more quickly to distributors and dealers, is being initiated this month.

“As we continue our sales growth, we’re constantly seeking new ways to improve our service levels to OEMs, distributors and dealers,” said Rodger Howe, Kawasaki’s Director of Operations.

“The tools offered by Baxter Planning Systems will enhance our sales forecasting and optimize our stock planning. They will also simplify the task of dealing with demand spikes caused by seasonality,” Howe said.

Greg Baxter, CEO and President of Baxter Planning Systems, said “Our ability to seamlessly integrate with Kawasaki’s systems and 3PL were key considerations in their decision to use Baxter. Prophet will provide operational efficiency and high service levels as Kawasaki continues their course of strong growth.”

About Kawasaki Motors Corp.:

Kawasaki Engines and Power Products, a division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., distributes gasoline engines and professional handheld power products for landscape, industrial and consumer markets. The division is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., and services customers through its network of more than 8,000 independent dealers throughout the United States, Canada, and U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific, including Guam.

About Baxter Planning Systems, Inc.:

Since 1993, Baxter has pioneered the development of Web-based solutions to meet the unique demands of after-market, service, repair, and spare parts industries. The Prophet by Baxter(TM) suite of integrated forecasting and planning applications enables Baxter’s clients to achieve industry-leading customer service levels while significantly increasing profitability. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Baxter is privately held, self-funded, and profitable. Global 2000 and Fortune 500 enterprises deploying Baxter solutions include Agilent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent, Enterasys Networks, Extreme Networks, Fujitsu, InfoPrint, Kodak, NetApp, Philips, Healthcare and Talaris. For more information, visit Baxter at www.bybaxter.com or call (866) 323-5959.

This story was issued by Send2Press® Newswire (Send2Press.com) on behalf of the news source and is Copyright © 2010 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.

Story References: Prophet by Baxter, Engines and Power Products Division of Kawasaki Motors Corp, parts, power products and engines, CEO Greg Baxter, SaaS, software as a service, forecast inventory purchases, determine warehouse stocking levels, integrated forecasting and planning applications, ERP, Rodger Howe.