ProfitLogic, the industry-leading provider of Merchandise Optimization solutions, today announced its Strategic Partner Program, designed to enable leading companies such as IBM and Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) to deliver the benefits of Merchandise Optimization to retailers.  The cornerstone of ProfitLogic’s Strategic Partner Program is ProfitLogic University™, an implementation training and certification program in which consultants learn ProfitLogic’s Rapid Results Methodology™, designed to provide value within 16 weeks.   ProfitLogic’s Strategic Partner Program is the industry’s first program through which consulting firms are formally trained and certified to implement Merchandise Optimization solutions from start to finish.  Retail industry thought leaders have long recognized the tremendous value of Merchandise Optimization solutions.  Now, through ProfitLogic’s Strategic Partner Program, Systems Integrators and Consultants can directly help retailers capitalize on the large opportunity to maximize return on their inventory investments using Merchandise Optimization solutions.

KSA and IBM’s strategic contributions to Merchandise Optimization are part of a natural industry evolution.  Hung LeHong, Research Director of the Retail Practice at GartnerG2, wrote in a September 2004 report titled, The Process Changes Behind Retail Optimization Technologies, “Consulting firms will play an increasingly important role in helping technology vendors make retail optimization successful.”

“Our mission is to create value for our retail clients through projects with clear strategic and financial benefits,” said Joe Gagnon, Global leader of IBM Business Consulting Service’s retail practice.  “By training and certifying consultants in the US and Europe, we are helping demonstrate that Merchandise Optimization is an important project a retailer can undertake.”

Training and certification are delivered through ProfitLogic’s educational arm, ProfitLogic University™.  Through a combination of distance learning, on-site education, and hands-on application, consultants become familiar with the rigors of ProfitLogic services professionals’ implementation process and 16-week Rapid Results Methodology™.  The result is a flexible and extensible team of world-class consultants who can not only implement ProfitLogic’s solutions, but also integrate the business processes with retailers’ other initiatives.

“Merchandise Optimization is a valuable tool that enables retailers to achieve the best margins from their inventories,” said Jerry Black, Managing Director of Kurt Salmon Associates.  “The potential to have such a dramatic impact on client profitability fits squarely with KSA’s strategy of delivering tangible business outcomes in the value chain.  Our Merchandise Optimization practice looks forward to helping retailers make the best use of this technology.”

“The launch of our Strategic Partner Program marks one of ProfitLogic’s most significant investments in the future of Merchandise Optimization,” said Tom Ebling, Chairman and CEO of ProfitLogic.  “We believe that retailers are best served when they take an integrated and enlightened view of Merchandise Optimization.  KSA and IBM are the definitive leaders in business value creation for retailers, and we are proud to call them our strategic partners.”

ProfitLogic provides industry-leading Merchandise Optimization solutions designed for retailers whose top priority is getting the highest return on inventory investments.  ProfitLogic’s customers have found that using insight into future customer demand results in more profitable merchandising decisions and more time to focus on what matters most: the customers and the merchandise.

For more information, please refer to our recent press release about ProfitLogic’s Rapid Results Methodology™ located at the following link: http://www.profitlogic.com/1_11_05_Rapid_Results.htm

About ProfitLogic ProfitLogic provides an industry-leading suite of Merchandise Optimization solutions designed for retailers whose priority is getting the highest return on inventory investments.  ProfitLogic’s solutions provide merchants with day-to-day operational decision support and workflow for making better-informed assortment execution, allocation and fashion replenishment, promotion, pricing and markdown decisions. ProfitLogic has delivered fast, flexible solutions with significant financial benefit to industry leading retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters, AnnTaylor, Bloomingdale's, Charming Shoppes, Gap Inc., including: Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Gap International and Gap Outlet; JCPenney, Lerner New York, Marshall Field's, Meijer Stores, Northern Group Retail, Sears, ShopKo Stores, Target Stores and Toys R Us.  For more information about Cambridge, Mass.-based ProfitLogic, call 617-218-1900 or visit www.profitlogic.com.