TradeStone Software, order management solution provider, today announced that Sue Welch, the company's CEO, has been named a 2006 Provider Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation.

Welch earned the honor in large part for her work helping leading retailers such as American eagle, The Children's Place, Federated Department Stores, Guitar Center and Deutsche Woolworth embrace the unified buying process. By helping these companies unite product design/development, planning/forecasting, sourcing and procurement Welch's company enabled them to take weeks out of the design to delivery cycle, saving millions of dollars. Rapid adoption with overseas manufacturing partners helped retailers and suppliers bring more merchandise to market faster and more cost-effectively.

The Supply & Demand Chain Executive Provider Pros to Know is an annual listing of individuals from software firms or service providers, consultancies, and analyst or research firms who exhibit deep domain knowledge and innovative thinking within the supply chain industry.

"This recognition is a tribute to the TradeStone team's commitment to helping our customers successfully establish and grow their global operations. Unifying domestic and international buying processes is a winning situation for everyone in the supply chain, regardless of location," said Welch. "We look forward to pushing ourselves even further in the coming year to provide retailers and manufacturers with the tools necessary to realize healthy margins as they strengthen, speed and broaden their supply chains."

"Sue Welch has shown herself to be a thought-leader in the fields of global sourcing and unified order management," said Andrew K. Reese, editor of Supply & Demand Chain Executive. "Welch's efforts in developing the tools and processes necessary for supply chain transformation, and in promoting new approaches to supply chain enablement, have earned her a place on this year's Provider Pros listing."

In today's global economy, the ability to source internationally is crucial. However, global sourcing also presents various challenges and geographical distance creates many problems within the apparel, footwear, and consumer packaged goods industries. Factors such as plant capacity, quality control, supply chain length, currency exchange rates and international logistics need to be taken into account in order to effectively meet the goals for global sourcing: a more innovative product portfolio timed to capture market trends at a healthy sell-through margin.

Sue Welch believes that until both domestic and international systems are unified into one seamless buying process, companies will continue to struggle to effectively leverage the margins that currently are being 'left on the table,' which can range from 15-30 percent. While retail is not the only market challenged by global sourcing, it is considered by many as one of the most complex. Welch founded TradeStone Software in order to provide the technology infrastructure for companies to engage in a truly unified buying process.

This is the sixth-annual listing of the Supply & Demand Chain Executive's Pros to Know. The full listing of the 2006 Pros to Know is available in Supply & Demand Chain Executive's February/March 2006 issue and on the magazine's website at www.SDCExec.com.