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— June 7, 2006

Sourcing & Procurement

Custom Manufacturer Sources via SaaS Version of TradeStone Software Suite
IBC Worldwide, which provides marketing and custom manufacturing services to Fortune 100 companies, has selected the new Software as a Service (SaaS) version of the TradeStone Suite to unify its global buying process and gain a better audit trail of ongoing projects.
"Companies like IBC Worldwide are at the forefront of the next wave of borderless, commerce-nimble companies with great ideas who are leveraging technology to better compete on the global landscape," says TradeStone CEO Sue Welch. "As margins on domestically produced goods continue to decline, the ability to effectively source globally is critical to the success of companies like IBC Worldwide.”
The 10-person staff at the product development company currently has as many as 50 requests for quotes in process at any given time, each with varying complexity. IBC Worldwide CEO Pam Howard aims to double that number by the fall. Currently, information is sent via e-mail, calls and faxes, then entered manually into spreadsheets. The process is cumbersome and redundant as numbers are entered multiple times into multiple systems.
"We typically send product requests to several manufacturers in China, then work with them on designs. This includes going back and forth on such cost variables as materials, manufacturing and shipping. We then go through testing and revisions, all coordinated with our customers," says Howard. She says the TradeStone software speeds production.
http://www.tradestonesoftware.com

Aberdeen: More Companies Involved in Supplier Enablement
Aberdeen Group says its latest benchmark research into so-called supplier enablement shows that enterprises using internet-based solutions, such as catalog management tools, content syndication hubs, supplier networks and marketplaces, and Web-based supplier portals, will enable more suppliers, lower their costs and burdens, and improve spend management and cost performance.
The study of 120 enterprises uncovered these key findings:
• There is more emphasis on supplier enablement. More than two-thirds of survey respondents—69 percent—say their companies' emphasis on supplier enablement has increased over the last three years; only 4 percent say it has decreased.
• Most enterprises have established supplier enablement programs. About six of every seven enterprises will have programs in place within 12 months; 77 percent already have them in place, most of them—64 percent—for more than a year.
• More suppliers are enabled. Aberdeen's 2004 benchmark reported that the average e-procurement deployment had only 17 percent of suppliers enabled. Today, that number has jumped to 29 percent. Moreover, companies are sharing more data with their suppliers, even more sensitive information such as product/sales activities, release schedules and manufacturing plans.
• Portals are on the rise. Web-based supplier portals are the fastest-growing supplier enablement technology: Within 24 months, four of every five enterprises—among survey respondents, at least—plan to use them.
http://www.aberdeen.com

Hackett: Companies' Poor Supplier Management Contributes to Encumbering Working Capital
The 2,000 largest companies in the U.S. and Europe have more than $1tr in cash unnecessarily tied up in working capital, in the form of invoices paid late by customers, suppliers paid too early, and inventory moving too slowly through the supply chain, according to research from The Hackett Group advisory firm.
Working capital is the capital invested in operating processes to buy, make, and sell in order to generate profit. The operating working capital comprises trade receivables and inventories less payables. Typically, a reduction in operating capital can be achieved through improved collection, dispute and credit management, inventory and supply chain optimization, supplier consolidation, and more efficient buying.
By implementing best practices and other improvements, companies would reduce annual operating costs by up to $42bn, Hackett found. These working capital improvements could enable companies to boost net profits by up to 11 percent. Hackett's research also shows a strong correlation between companies that consistently grow shareholder value and those that excel at working capital management.
The research shows that European companies are catching up to U.S. counterparts in terms of overall total working capital performance, with significantly higher levels of improvement over the past few years.
The research highlights a range of best practices that leading companies use to enhance their working capital performance. Companies generate significant working capital improvements by better understanding their customers and focusing proactive efforts on those that have the greatest material impact on working capital performance. Customer, supplier and inventory segmentation analysis is a key strategy identified by the research. Hackett also sees next-generation opportunities for companies willing to take an extended view of supply chain operations, collaborating with customers, channel partners and vendors to enable better demand visibility, inventory optimization, and other operational improvements.
“Working capital optimization is inherently complex, as it touches many business processes and people within an organization. It's a balancing act, and companies must manage it carefully to ensure that they keep working capital low and also have the critical resources they need to do things like fund product development, produce and deliver their products, and provide high levels of customer service. But the ability to impact the bottom line through working capital optimization is tremendous,” said Hackett-REL President Stephen Payne.
http://www.thehackettgroup.com/

KFC Selects Wax Digital For E-Procurement
Wax Digital has been selected by Kentucky Fried Chicken to implement an e-procurement system to manage the requisitions from its 282 stores throughout the United Kingdom. The contract, valued at about $158m, is for three years.
The new system will manage procurement from suppliers of MRO goods, such as stationery and IT goods, as well as “goods for resale”—essentially food and drink.
“Each of our store managers requires the ability to manage orders for their own store with increased ease, speed and autonomy and we chose Wax Digital eProcurement for its breadth of functionality and ease of use,” says Strahan Wilson, financial controller, KFC UK. “The manual processes we currently employ are inefficient, prone to error and very difficult to audit, making it hard for us to get an enterprise-wide picture of our spending.
“The Wax Digital solution addresses all of these problems and much more besides, enabling us to automatically apply rolling budget restrictions, streamline approvals, engage with our suppliers electronically and deliver web-based goods receipting to our entire chain of stores.”
http://www.wax-digital.com

Apexon Upgrades Supply Management Solution
Apexon has introduced SPM 2.0, its strategic supply performance management (SPM) suite that links performance metrics with the
ability to initiate and track activities between supply managers and their high-impact suppliers.
The developer says that the product helps manufacturers increase visibility into supplier performance and drive continuous improvements in operational performance.
“Many manufacturers recognize the importance of working strategically with their suppliers to improve performance, but have lacked the tools necessary to put any sort of consistent program in place,” says Emily Liggett, president and CEO of Apexon, San Jose, Calif. “Apexon SPM 2.0 was created to maximize visibility, and provide the type of actionable information necessary to strengthen supplier relationships and performance, as well as anticipate potential problems before they occur.”
Among the SPM 2.0 modules is SPM Analyze, which reportedly provides actionable intelligence that enables sourcing and
supply management professionals to rapidly identify the best supplier substitution, consolidation and development opportunities to continuously reduce costs and improve performance.
http://www.apexon.com

Selectica, Wipro Jointly Provide Manufacturers with Solution for Automating Sales Processes
Selectica Inc., which offers sales execution and contract management applications, and Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited, are leveraging the former's advanced configuration and pricing software and the domain expertise of Wipro to help large manufacturers accelerate product introductions and process more sales transactions.
Wipro needed to deliver an in-depth solution that allows discrete manufacturers—its target group—to reduce inaccurate orders and increase sales execution, productivity and revenue. Together, Wipro and Selectica intend to offer the discrete manufacturing industry a highly scalable, automated approach for streamlining operations and standardizing best practices to reduce costs and increase margins.
"In our efforts to provide solutions across the manufacturing value chain, Wipro will partner with Selectica to meet strong customer demand for an easy to deploy, automated pricing and configuration solution for the high-tech and industrial manufacturing segments," says N.S. Bala, senior vice president, manufacturing solutions, Wipro Technologies. "The partnership will enable customers to address sales execution challenges immediately and improve productivity and profitability.”
"Our partnership with Wipro enhances our ability to integrate and automate the complex product knowledge management and sales execution requirements of manufacturers worldwide," says James Dias, vice president of marketing and sales at Selectica. "Wipro's solutions expertise across sales, marketing and supply chain systems is a strong complement to our software. Together we are bringing a new approach to drive higher levels of performance for this sector." http://www.selectica.com
http://www.wipro.com

Greif Hopes E-Invoicing Leads to Fewer Errors
To ensure accuracy and trim expenses associated with the complex invoice-to-pay process, Greif, a world leader in industrial packaging products and services, and OB10, supplier of a B2B e-invoicing delivery solution, have entered into a five-year services agreement.
Thousands of Greif's suppliers will eliminate sending paper invoices and move to electronic delivery via the OB10 global e-invoicing network, which reportedly has members in 70 countries.
Greif is a $2.4bn corporation that operates three business groups: industrial packaging and services; paper, packaging and services; and timber. It operates in 160 locations in more than 40 countries, with a primary focus on producing containers and containerboard for bulk shippers in the chemical, food, petroleum and pharmaceutical industries. Greif also manages timberland operations in the United States and Canada.
Greif had been using Optical Character Recognition, workflow and Baan systems to manage its A/P and invoice-to-pay processes. Says Barbara Myers, manager of central processing for Greif: “We conducted an exhaustive analysis of the e-invoicing solutions providers and found that OB10 was best positioned to support Greif in our global needs, and offered a process that made sense. OB10 understands the business and the details, and they demonstrated a dedication to assuring we meet our goals. We look forward to working with OB10 on increasing the accuracy and reducing the expenses of our invoicing process.”
OB10 is headquartered in San Francisco and London.
http://www.ob10.com

Quadrem Spend Analysis Functionality on Desktop
Quadrem Spend Intelligence is a new desktop application that enables procurement and sourcing professionals to unearth valuable spend data in a fraction of the time, and at much lower cost, than traditional data warehousing methods require, according to its developer.
Quadrem says QSI enables users to build multi-million-item spend datasets quickly and easily, with robust functionality normally found only in more expensive solutions. With QSI, companies of all sizes can:
• Achieve spend visibility goals
• Improve contract compliance
• Uncover areas for opportunity assessment
• Integrate spend across all categories, systems and divisions
• Put data in the hands of those who use and understand it, and
• Leverage data warehouse information with detailed and flexible analysis capabilities
“The idea behind QSI is to eliminate the inflexibility of data warehouse reporting systems,” says Charles Jackson, CEO of Quadrem. “QSI puts data in the hands of those who use and understand it with little or no IT support required.”
http://www.quadrem.com

PFSweb Signs Agreement with Roots for E-Commerce Support Throughout Canada
PFSweb Inc., a global provider of integrated business process outsourcing solutions, says it has been selected by Roots Canada Ltd., to provide a comprehensive e-commerce solution throughout Canada. Roots is reportedly Canada's leading athletic lifestyle brand, offering a wide range of apparel, premium leather goods and accessories for men, women and children.
PFSweb has supported the Roots online business in the United States (www.roots-direct.com) since 2002. PFSweb provides a turnkey e-commerce solution for Roots in the U.S. that will be extended to Canada, including web-hosting, e-commerce technology, turnkey order management, payment processing and fraud prevention, brand-centric fulfillment, high-touch customer care, freight management programs and logistics.
http://www.pfsweb.com

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