PHILADELPHIA, June 2, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ICG Commerce, a leading provider of comprehensive procurement solutions, today announced that Pierre Pirard, Executive Vice President of Product Innovation and Global Supply Chain at Elizabeth Arden, one of its clients, was named the 'Practitioner Pro of the Year' by Supply and Demand Chain Executive Magazine. The publication also recognized Michael Gaggiano, ICG Commerce's EMEA Marketing and Professional Services Practice Leader, as a 'Provider Pro to Know.'
Supply and Demand Chain Executive magazine's 'Pros to Know' is an annual listing of top supply and demand chain industry professionals. The 2011 list is comprised of exceptional executives that have demonstrated leadership throughout the past year by managing risk in the supply chain, providing competitive advantage, delivering value to the bottom line and working to align the supply chain function with a company's broader corporate strategy.
Mr. Pirard was recognized for transforming Elizabeth Arden's supply chain to meet changing consumer demands and market dynamics. To improve Elizabeth Arden's ability to react to front-end demand, he led a sales and operations planning initiative that enabled Elizabeth Arden to accelerate business processes, improve decision making, improve product deliverability and reduce inventory. To support the back-end delivery of products, Mr. Pirard led efforts to focus Elizabeth Arden's expertise on what it does best and leverage third party providers' expertise and infrastructure to support contract manufacturing and indirect procurement. Through these efforts, Mr. Pirard has helped the company realize savings that can aid the company in its efforts to expand its presence in markets around the world.
Mr. Gaggiano was credited for his role in developing and implementing a specialized solution to help marketing executives optimize their spending. This solution brings together a team of procurement specialists, steeped in the marketing domain, with optimal sourcing strategies for different types of marketing expenditures and real-time market intelligence. Through this solution, Mr. Gaggiano has helped dozens of clients in both Europe and North America to generate savings that could be reinvested in growth while also driving more value from their agency partnerships.
"Being named to Supply & Demand Chain Executive's 'Pros to Know' list as the 'Practitioner Pro of the Year' speaks to how Pierre has used new and innovative approaches to enhance Elizabeth Arden's procurement and supply chain capabilities and accelerate business impact," said Carl Guarino, CEO of ICG Commerce. "We congratulate Pierre for being recognized for his leadership at Elizabeth Arden."
Mr. Guarino continued, "Additionally, it is extremely rewarding that one of our experts is being recognized for delivering innovative solutions that help clients maximize value from their strategic agency relationships."
About ICG Commerce, Inc.
ICG Commerce, the leading procurement solution provider, is driving a fundamental change in the way today's businesses achieve financial agility and fund growth. ICG Commerce is the only procurement solution provider that has built a specialized infrastructure dedicated to helping companies optimize indirect spend and drive bottom line savings that strengthen their businesses. ICG Commerce is a privately held company and member of ICG's (Nasdaq:ICGE) network of partner companies.
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