Incorporates Inventory Positioning & Supply Chain Vulnerability Enhancements

Manassas, VA – July 29, 2009 – INSIGHT, Inc., a top international provider of planning solutions that power supply chain design for the world's foremost companies, announces the release of Version 4.5 of SAILS, the industry reference standard for strategic supply chain design. The latest version incorporates powerful new features with respect to manufacturing options, inventory positioning, vulnerability/risk assessment, and green supply chain design.

“More and more companies are developing green sustainable supply chains using environmentally friendly materials whose by-products can be reclaimed and re-used within the manufacturing process,” said Jeff Karrenbauer, president of INSIGHT, Inc. “Others are developing new revenue sources and growing market share from by-products that were previously discarded. Still others are more carefully examining disposal options and costs. One way or another, companies must explicitly account for by-products in the strategic planning process, an issue which has often been ignored in traditional supply chain design studies.”

SAILS V4.5 also features enhanced manufacturing postponement options, which are consistent with the industry’s current emphasis on responsiveness and agility. SAILS 4.5 also includes the most advanced methodology ever developed for representing inventory in a multi-period network model, wherein users can enforce dynamically computed min/max ending inventory targets for a given period as a function of future period demands. This is especially useful for seasonal businesses, which often struggle with balancing inventory levels. INSIGHT continues to enhance SAILS’ supply chain vulnerability analysis capabilities, including options for short-term crisis response planning. For example, natural disasters, terrorist activities, and the recent swine flu outbreak highlight the need for supply chain resilience, including establishing methodologies to quickly mitigate risks and sustain business operations. SAILS V4.5 performs ‘what-if’ analyses and suggests strategies for reacting to volatile conditions in the supply chain.

About INSIGHT, Inc.

INSIGHT provides optimization-based supply chain design software and consulting services developed specifically to meet the dynamic business challenges of globalization, disruptions, and mergers/acquisitions prevalent in today’s business environment. Founded by supply chain and logistics experts in 1978 with the goal of using world-class technology to add intelligence to decision making, INSIGHT solves the supply chain management issues of the world's foremost companies, including Abbott Laboratories, BASF, Clorox, ExxonMobil, Goodyear, GE, Kellogg, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and Unilever.

SAILS, INSIGHT's award-winning flagship product, can accurately represent a company's current business practices, from raw materials sourcing to capacity planning through delivery to the end customer. The X-System®, a proprietary optimization engine, powers a family of planning and scheduling solutions, from the design of a global supply chains to crew scheduling, troop deployments, and transportation procurement. In addition, INSIGHT provides optimization components, partnering with third-party software providers to deliver best-of-breed solutions. Our software and services help design optimal supply chain networks that minimize costs and free up capital, streamline operations, maximize profits, and increase customer service levels. For more information, please visit us on the Web at http://www.insight-mss.com.