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Webplan seemed like the perfect name for a company selling software that lets manufacturers use the Internet to determine exactly when, where, and how to move inventory through their supply chains. But even some satisfied customers say the name hindered the company's ability to market its product, because it didn't describe its full capabilities.
That logic led the company to adopt the name Kinaxis , which Marketing VP Randy Littleson says is a play on words--kinetic energy and global axis--to illustrate perfectly what the product does: help companies respond quickly to changes in global supply chains.
The new name became effective at the end of May 2005, but the company's transformation began in 2001, when current CEO Doug Colbeth first joined the board of directors. Colbeth previously served as CEO of Spyglass , which developed the underlying technology forMicrosoft 's Internet Explorer.
Upon joining the board, Colbeth learned customers were using Webplan's product--at...