Edge Dynamics’ Commerce Optimization Software Optimizes Order Stream Processing and Enforces Operations Compliance for Leading Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Edge Dynamics today announced the general availability of Edge 2.0, the latest release of its
commerce optimization software, which optimizes manufacturers’ incoming order stream in order to maximize financial performance and enforce operations compliance. By delivering real-time visibility and control to the order stream, Edge 2.0 enables manufacturers to eliminate costly channel problems such as speculative buying, secondary market activity, wholesale and retail stockouts, and unauthorized chargebacks and deductions. In addition, Edge 2.0 delivers continuous channel scorecarding and transaction control to monitor and enforce trade agreements, such as emerging fee-for-service contracts in the pharmaceutical industry, and to support regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and others from the SEC, FASB, and FDA.
Customers that have already deployed Edge 2.0 have reported financial gains of more than $100 million dollars in increased revenue and typically achieve a positive return on investment in less than 90 days. The Edge solution is complementary to existing systems such as ERP and business intelligence and can be deployed in as little as eight weeks.
“ARC Advisory Group continues to promote real-time performance management as a philosophy,” said Steve Banker, service director, ARC Advisory Group. “However, off-the-shelf solutions are beginning to emerge that make it viable to put this philosophy into practice. Edge Dynamics offers a quite interesting and distinctive solution that has strong applicability to pharmaceutical
manufacturers.”
Leading Manufacturers Improve Channel Commerce with Edge 2.0
In today’s environment, pharmaceutical manufacturers are concerned about channel performance and integrity. They must ensure that the right medications reach the right patients at the right time while also maximizing financial performance. Current systems in place at most manufacturers can fill orders that arrive from channel partners but cannot enforce complex and variable rules and business policies without intervention by support staff. The Edge solution radically increases the intelligence, automation, and agility of existing systems while providing precision control over the order stream. Every transaction is evaluated in real time, drawing on thousands of computations and millions of data elements to enforce compliance and optimize the transaction to meet the company’s financial and operational objectives. Although the Edge solution provides sophisticated and comprehensive controls, business users can easily adjust the business policies and rules by which the system operates to produce rapid and dramatic changes to the order stream. Typical Edge deployments realize a return on investment in just a few months, and customers experience no disruption to their order streams or other systems.
“We’re pleased with the validation we’ve received for Edge 2.0 from leading manufacturers, where we have been able to add tremendous business value by optimizing their order stream,” said John McGrory, president and CEO, Edge Dynamics. “Our approach to commerce optimization focuses on the order stream because it is the most powerful and volatile part of the business. By augmenting traditional enterprise systems and analytic tools with our
innovative platform and domain-specific applications, manufacturers can take control of channel commerce and establish a foundation for a demand-driven supply chain. As a result, Edge customers can improve their financial performance and have more confidence in the integrity of their channels.”
Edge 2.0 Optimizes the Order Stream
Edge 2.0 is a commercial-grade software product designed to integrate and interoperate with a broad array of enterprise environments, from legacy systems through current-generation packaged applications. The product architecture consists of four layers:
- A highly scalable data model for transactions and context
- An execution platform that combines a robust transaction processing engine with in-line analytics
- Domain-specific applications with transaction and data specifications, business policy logic, and computational algorithms
- Business user tools that include a policy workbench for configuring business rules; a console for exception review and disposition; and reports for detecting events, patterns and trends
The Edge 2.0 software provides manufacturers with greater visibility into channel inventory; supports more-efficient channel operations; and improves service levels to distributors, wholesalers, and direct customers. The software’s unique capabilities include exception-based order analysis, enforcement of channel agreements, real-time detection and control of forecast-to-order discrepancies, transactional validation of chargeback and deduction claims, a self-documenting system of record for comprehensive transaction audit, and continuous channel partner scorecarding.
Availability and Pricing
The Edge 2.0 solution suite includes the Commerce Optimization platform; the Channel Compliance & Optimization application; and an array of modules including Order Compliance Automation, Continuous Channel Scorecarding, Forecast Gap Detection & Control, Downstream Channel Management, Vendor Inventory Advice, and Chargeback and Returns Compliance. Edge 2.0 is now available for the Windows, Solaris, and Linux operating systems; pricing is on a per-server basis.
About Edge Dynamics
Edge Dynamics provides enterprise software for commerce optimization, enabling pharmaceutical manufacturers to maximize their financial performance and enforce operations compliance. Edge brings unprecedented intelligence, automation, and agility to commercial order stream processing, enabling manufacturers to increase revenue, improve financial predictability, and achieve channel integrity. Edge products and services combine innovative technology and deep domain expertise in solutions that optimize sales, distribution, and supply chain operations while complementing traditional transaction management and analytic systems. Deployed at leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, Edge products are currently optimizing more than $30 billion in annual revenue streams. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the Edge Dynamics team has deep expertise in enterprise software and vertical industries, and is funded by Foundation Capital, a leading venture capital firm. For more information, visit http://www.edgedynamics.com send email to info@edgedynamics.com or call 650-780-7800.
