May 10, 2005

KSS deliver RackPrice – a unique wholesale fuels pricing system

Florham Park, NJ – (May 10, 2005) – KSS, the leading provider of pricing solutions to the petroleum, convenience, chain drug and grocery sectors is pleased to announce the availability of RackPrice, the most advanced pricing system available for supporting the needs of the wholesale fuels sector.

Benefits

RackPrice helps fuels wholesalers address three (3) key aspects of their pricing processes – (1) streamlining the pricing process to exert greater control over price volatility and improve consistency, (2) delivering unique insight into competitor pricing strategy, including predicting competitor price moves and (3) using price sensitivity modeling to segment customers, terminals and channels and applying optimization to meet volume plans at higher margin rates.

Modules

RackPrice has been developed in a truly modular fashion. The following modules will be available for deployment on the RackPrice Workbench individually or as an integrated suite:

RPdata

Automated import, validation, transforming and presentation of external data ready for use within pricing
RPpredict
Industry leading competitive tendency modeling and price prediction
RPauto
Pricing rule automation to eliminate errors, improve consistency and provide audit trail
RPelasticity
Advanced modeling and tracking of price sensitivity and demand segmentation
RPopt
Improved control of volumes and increased margins through price optimization
RPreport
Pre-configured, updated & auto-distributed reports on key pricing/sales indicators
RPolap
Slice/dice and ad-hoc querying of pricing data along consistent dimensions
RPsimulate
Leading-edge probabilistic compression of pricing history to identify competitive tendency and simulate competitor response under different market conditions

Additional modules under development and available later in 2005 include:

RPdiscount-manager

Improved control, allocation and management of rack allowances and rack allowance strategies

Technology

Developed in conjunction with leading operators in the US, RackPrice is a multi-tier J2EE web application delivering enterprise ready integration with a range of client technologies and database platforms and compatibility with hosted or in-house deployments. RackPrice delivers our proven demand modeling and price optimization technology in a platform-independent, open standards environment enabling quick modular integration of our pricing technology into the customer’s workflow and ensuring rapid ROI.

“We’re very excited about the potential for RackPrice to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fuels wholesalers pricing operations. With price volatility reaching new highs and organizations having to cope with more pricing decisions than ever, there’s a clear need for technologies that can streamline the process and support the development of optimal strategies and tactics,” commented Iain Cockburn, CEO of KSS.

About KSS

KSS is the global leading provider of pricing analytics, price management, rules-based pricing and optimization technology and services to fuel retailers and wholesalers in the oil and gas, convenience store, grocery and big box retail industries. KSS clients include global, national and regional companies managing a total of over $100 billion in revenue through more than 20,000 fuel sites and rack terminals, throughout the world. KSS US headquarters are located in Florham Park, NJ with European headquarters in Manchester, UK.

For further information please visit the website at www.kssg.com or contact:

Bob Stein, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +1 (973) 549 1850
Mark Hawtin, Vice President Marketing Tel: +44 (0)161 228 0040

For media inquiries, contact Roy Miller Tel: +1 972 717 3500 ext 235 or rmiller@transsynergy.com

Arrange a consultation, USA (973) 549 1850, Europe +44 (0) 161 228 0040, Contact us

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