Markdown Management Inc. (MMI) is a retail management consulting firm based in Columbia, MO. Its founder Murali K. Mantrala (PhD in Marketing, Northwestern University) has researched marketing and retailing management decision problems for the last 20 years. The mission of MMI is to assist retailers in leveraging advanced analytics to increase profitability in an increasingly uncertain and competitive world. Areas of interest include retail pricing, category management, advertising scheduling and marketing resource allocation decisions.

Murali Krishna Mantrala (PhD in Marketing, Northwestern University) will be joining the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO as the Sam M. Walton Professor of Marketing in Fall 2003. Currently, in addition to his work at MMI, Murali is also a Manager at ZS Associates, an international Sales and Marketing consulting firm headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, and adjunct associate professor of marketing in the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Murali was previously J. C. Penney Associate Professor of Marketing and Research Director of the Center for Retailing Research and Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. The B_Line software is based on his research into fashion retail inventory and markdown management. >>>

Surya Mantrala is a founding principal of MMI. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Florida. She has several years experience as a quantitative marketing analyst for AT&T (New Jersey), AT&T Universal Card Services (Florida), A C Nielsen (Illinois) and Bradford Exchange (Illinois). Her areas of expertise include econometric modeling, database analysis and forecasting. >>>

Surya Rao holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and a B. Tech. in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He worked closely with Dr. Mantrala on the development of the mathematical model underlying the B_Line software. He is currently a director of FI Sofex Limited, Bangalore, where he led the team that designed and developed the B_Line software. He has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of marketing and business management.

Vasan H R K holds an MBA from Bangalore University, Bangalore and an M. S. in Electronics from Bangalore University, Bangalore. His area of specialization is decision analysis and information systems. He is currently the CEO of FI Sofex Limited, Bangalore, the company that designed and developed the B_Line software. He has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of marketing and business management.