About ToolsGroup

Who We Are

We are the innovators of “service-driven” supply chain planning software for companies that face high demand volatility, along with distribution and product line complexity.

For more than two decades, we’ve been helping companies around the globe achieve the highest service levels in their industries while streamlining inventory and logistics costs. For example: –
  • The Absolut Company reduced production planning process time by 90%
  • Lennox Industries cut distribution costs 17% and raised service levels to 95% in its complex, multi-echelon distribution network
  • Telecommunications giant O2 reduced days of stock in stores by 30% and improved overall forecast accuracy by 10%
What else do these brand leaders have in common? They run supply chains powered by ToolsGroup software. Why should your company settle for any less? Whether your business aims to free up working capital to make new investments, compete more effectively against Amazon or raise S&OP outcomes to thrive in an uncertain global economy, we have the tools and know-how to help you succeed. Our advanced analytics and machine learning driven technologies help you overcome the toughest supply chain planning challenges – from multi-echelon inventory optimization (MEIO) to long-tail SKU forecasting to sensing demand in extremely volatile conditions – all while raising service levels.
Guitar Center
Our ecommerce business faces an increasing SKU count and highly intermittent demand, and with shifting consumer preferences there could be a potential disruption around every corner. We partnered with ToolsGroup so that no matter what tomorrow brings, we can deliver service to customers while effectively managing our inventory.
Flynn Chernos, SVP inventory management and merchandise support, Guitar Center

What We Do

Our flagship software, SO99+, automates and optimizes supply chain planning tasks including demand forecasting and sensing, multi-echelon inventory optimization, replenishment and S&OP to meet target service levels.

SO99+ models the whole supply chain to help planning teams consistently make the right tradeoffs to meet business and service goals using ‘what-if’ scenario planning. This same intelligence allows planning teams to continually position inventory throughout their distribution networks to minimize costs and maximize service levels. Though highly intelligent and powerful in its ‘engine room’, the software is easy for non-technical people to use, and proven to dramatically improve planning productivity. It allows all planning stakeholders to collaborate in a single, synchronized system, viewing the same set of data differently depending on their role. SO99+’s trailblazing alternative to traditional, ‘deterministic’ planning approach, applies probability forecasting and advanced algorithms to AI. This has earned SO99+ widespread industry recognition by Gartner, Nucleus Research, and IDC, and countless industry awards with customers. Our customers include manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers in a wide range of demand and inventory-driven industries.
Despite its power and level of sophistication, ToolsGroup is highly automated for an extremely low cost of ownership.
IDC

Our History

It all started in 1976 with a young MIT master’s graduate and a major inventory problem.

Eugenio Cornacchia joined MIT-associated Draper Lab to help Fiat Automotive’s spare parts division fix their unmanageable inventories and service levels which was one of the lowest in the European automobile industry. He realized that their traditional inventory theory wasn’t up to the challenge of the real world. So, he brought together a group of talented MIT graduates and together they invented a new spare parts system in less than a year. It was the world’s first “stochastic” software that incorporated probability-based algorithms across an entire supply chain planning system. Fiat was happy. The company increased its service levels to “best in class” 92% while carrying less than two months of inventory.

Then in 1980, Cornacchia met Joseph Shamir, and the two made history.

Working together at ITP, they pioneered the concept of “factories of the future” and paved the way for the Factory 4.0 movement. Finally in 1993, it was time to bring their innovative supply chain planning model to market. Using the same approach that had turned Fiat service levels around, Cornacchia and Shamir launched ToolsGroup. It was the first service-driven supply chain planning and automation software for the commercial market.

Today, ToolsGroup is still finding new ways to help organizations keep up with the shifting trends and unpredictable demands of the real world.

As we’ve grown, we’ve continued to push the boundaries on what’s possible, such as pioneering the use of machine learning and AI years ahead of its time. We’re now helping companies in every major region predict more behaviors, protect against surprises, and perform more efficiently in a constantly changing global economy.

Key Milestones

  • 1993 ToolsGroup founded by Joseph Shamir and Eugenio Cornacchia
  • 1996 ToolsGroup’s first customer BP goes live with SO99+
  • 2010 ToolsGroup is first SCP vendor to integrate machine learning into a supply chain planning project for Danone Italy
  • Jan 2015 ToolsGroup tops the leaders Quadrant in Nucleus Research’s Inaugural Inventory Optimization Value Matrix
  • Jan 2016 ToolsGroup moves to leaders Quadrant in Gartner 2016 Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning SOR
  • 2017 ToolsGroup becomes the first supply chain planning vendor to launch on the Microsoft Azure cloud.
  • May 2017 ToolsGroup debuts as a visionary in Gartner Magic Quadrant for S&OP SOD
  • Sept 2017 ToolsGroup announces a major new AI supply chain planning software release optimized for the cloud
  • May 2018 ToolsGroup secures Accel-KKR funding to boost growth
  • 2019 ToolsGroup Named a Leader in IDC Marketscapes for Worldwide Supply Chain Inventory Optimization and Demand Planning
  • Feb 2020 ToolsGroup new brand identity invites companies to ‘Be Ready for Anything’
  • Oct 2020 Launched Supply Chain Forecast | Inventory on Microsoft Azure Marketplace
ABOUT OUR INVESTORS

Accel-KKR

Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $5 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London.
If you’re ready to transform your supply chain, get in touch with us today.