Steelwedge, the leader in Cloud-based Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) solutions, announced today that it has established a European headquarters in Birmingham, UK to support growing demand from international manufacturers. John Sookias will spearhead Steelwedge's expansion as the newly appointed Managing Director for EMEA.

"Our presence in Europe positions us to satisfy the need for collaborative S&OP technology beyond North America and provide better service to our multinational client base," explained Glen Margolis, CEO of Steelwedge. "Large scale manufacturing companies around the world are increasingly turning to Steelwedge's S&OP solutions to control spiralling supply chain costs and manage fluctuations in demand."

Steelwedge's collaborative S&OP solution helps companies to accurately predict demand and balance supply while ensuring executive control over enterprise performance. The solution's One-Click Planning process drives communication and consensus among sales, marketing, finance, operations and third-party suppliers, allowing decision makers to assess market demand, align sales and production plans, and measure performance. Deployed via the world's most robust computing cloud, Steelwedge provides a scalable and secure solution that's both easy to implement and affordable.

"In today's challenging economy, companies are redoubling their efforts to ensure predictable revenue and margins by improving forecast accuracy, optimising inventory and improving on-time delivery performance," said John Sookias, Managing Director of EMEA for Steelwedge. "Steelwedge's collaborative S&OP solution will give European manufacturers the ability to effectively manage diverse demand streams while balancing an increasing complex global supply base. A supply chain technology industry veteran, Sookias brings 20 years of sales and operations planning expertise to his new role. He previously held senior European management positions with Infor, Syncron and Mercia Software.