| MarketWatch |
— March 29, 2006 |
Insight Helps Customers to Model Supply-Chain Prototype
Insight, Inc., a vendor of supply-chain planning software, has bundled software and services into an offering that allows users to build a prototype supply-chain design model in a day or less. Companies can quickly assess the capabilities of SAILS 21 V4.0, Insight's latest application for strategic supply-chain planning and design. SAILS is an optimization tool which is intended to minimize costs, boost profits and reduce inventories. The newest version of SAILS 21 contains extensive databases of worldwide geo-reference and mapping coverage, standard location lists, truckload and less-than-truckload rates, parcel rates, regional facility construction and operating cost indices, distance and transit time tables, and other data based on socioeconomic and site-location factors. Insight is also marketing functionality extensions which yield analytics that uncover and mitigate vulnerabilities in the supply chain. The vendor offers a single source of software, training, technical support, professional services, audits and strategic design expertise for supply-chain planners. The one-day prototyping service uses a small amount of easily available summary data from Insight, drawing on the databases included with SAILS 21 V4.0, to build a working model. The exercise illustrates all of the major steps in the analysis, and points the way to the more rigorous study to follow, Insight said.
http://www.insight-mss.com/
Manhattan Offers Latest Update of Fleet Management Software
Manhattan Associates, Inc. has released the newest version of its Fleet Management software, a component of the vendor's suite of Integrated Logistics Solutions. Fleet Management allows companies to manage and optimize their transportation operations, including the activities of private fleets and for-hire carriers, through a single transportation-management application. The product analyzes real-time information on all fleet activity, aiding users in the execution of strategic routing guides and the monitoring of critical metrics and events. Built-in algorithms assess information on fleet resources and customer orders. The system then assigns the best possible routes for drivers to make deliveries. It accounts for numerous constraints and variables, including delivery and capacity commitments, asset utilization and regions. Also figured into the mix are hours of service regulations, company fleet requirements, driver preferences, weight limitations, maintenance schedules and tandem loads. Features include dynamic fleet-planning optimization, asset dispatch and tracking, integration with current for-hire fleet execution capabilities and comprehensive inbound and outbound execution. Fleet Management is Web-native and allows any authorized user access with an internet connection. It can provide trip dispatching for each shipment and workday, as well as printable driver trip information sheets for reports.
http://www.manh.com/
Graybar Opens New Distribution Facility in Kent, Wash.
Graybar, the distributor of electrical and communications products, as well as a provider of related supply-chain management and logistics services, has opened a new distribution facility in Kent, Wash. The 56,000 square-foot warehouse stocks more than 8,000 SKUs of electrical and communications products, including panel boards, load centers, wire and cable, lighting, fittings and tools. A full-service counter and will-call operation is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Graybar now has four distribution locations serving the Seattle metro region. Kent operates with a staff of 15, who provide such services as product selection, technical assistance, training, project management, financing, wire cutting and local delivery. The new facility is located in the Kent West Corporate Park, close to the area's largest commercial and industrial centers, where such major companies as Boeing and REI reside.
http://www.graybar.com/
New RedPrairie-Ortec Deal Provides Load Planning, Scheduling
RedPrairie Corp., the vendor of supply-chain execution software, has teamed up with Ortec, a provider of advanced planning and scheduling applications, to offer a new product for pallet and trailerload building. The software, called PalletCtl, will help users to optimize the positioning of products within a trailer. According to the two companies, customers will realize increased cube utilization, decreased damage during shipping and lower freight costs. Ortec said it has already implemented the software at more than 50 companies in multiple industries throughout the world. PalletCtl becomes an integrated part of RedPrairie's Extended Supply Chain Execution (eSCE) suite of applications. Loading is based on carrier or item characteristics and customer requirements. The tool creates detailed, graphical loading instructions, allowing for optimal utilization of various types of shipping containers. It employs sophisticated logic which can be used with multiple types of items and varying shipping characteristics. Loading processes can be simulated for optimal capacity planning. Optimal load building can be determined in seconds, even for special trucks, the partners claimed.
http://www.redprairie.com/
GXS Partnership Creates B2B Hub for China's Auto Sector
GXS, a provider of business-to-business electronic commerce services, has formed a strategic partnership with China Enterprise Communications Ltd. (China Entercom). Together the two companies are launching China e-Auto Hub, linking more than 8,000 companies in China's growing automotive sector. China e-Auto Hub will permit the exchange of data among original equipment manufacturers, parts and raw-materials suppliers, automotive dealers, aftermarket retailers and third-party logistics providers. Information on design specifications, production planning and materials management will flow in electronic formats. Users of the service can connect directly from enterprise resource planning systems or an integration broker. E-Auto Hub will offer transaction delivery of electronic documents such as orders, shipping notices and billing notes in industry-standard formats, including ANSI EDI, EDIFACT, VDA and XML. Small and medium-sized businesses can connect through Web-based forms, a desktop translator or other types of integration technology. The partnership will offer a full menu of support services, including community ramping, implementation, and technical and change management. The hub will interoperate with the GXS Trading Grid for B2B transactions with trading partners outside China.
http://www.gxs.com/
Blue Agave, VeriSign Join in Promotion of RFID, POS Data
Blue Agave Software, Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with VeriSign to promote the benefits of integrating real-time product movement data, using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, with point-of-sale (POS) sources. The deal combines VeriSign's Intelligent Supply Chain Services platform with Blue Agave's Retail Channel Execution applications. Consumer goods manufacturers will have real-time access to actual consumer demand, down to the most granular levels of store and product sales. They will also be equipped with predictive execution capabilities, in order to respond quickly to variability in consumer demand. VeriSign's Intelligent Supply Chain Services provide scalable infrastructure for critical supply-chain data, including RFID and POS. The result, the partners said, will be enhanced visibility in the retail supply chain, as well as fewer stockouts, excess inventories, promotion and forecast variances, and store-level anomalies.
http://www.blueagavesoft.com/
Nuxeo Delivers New Release of Enterprise Content Management
Nuxeo has delivered the new release of its Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software platform. A full year in development, CPS 3.4 is an open-source application which helps companies to implement global ECM systems focused on specific business needs, Nuxeo said. CPS can adapt to business challenges such as compliance, business-process management, collaboration and user acceptance of new technology. The new release offers a more wide-ranging infrastructure which allows for greater flexibility and is Web-services enabled. Features include Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) for a more responsive user interface, drag and drop, geospatial information browsing, relationship management, a shared calendar and a mail client that is integrated with content management.
http://www.nuxeo.com/
Total Parts Plus Devises Content Adapter for Agile PLM
Total Parts Plus, Inc. (TPP), a provider of obsolescence and environmental compliance systems, has entered into a joint marketing agreement with Agile Software Corp., the vendor of product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The deal calls for the two companies to cooperate on the release of TPP's Content Adapter for Agile. The adapter will allow Agile customers directly to access TPP's component information from within their PLM software. The TPP database includes information on production status, lifecycle predictions, full material content disclosure and flagging of content under Europe's new Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. TPP's database provides customers with the most current information available, the vendor claimed. Agile users can better manage their material content information and integrate it into their supply-chain management systems. Addition of the TPP content adapter to the Agile PLM software eliminates the need for customers to collect and maintain material-content information internally.
http://www.totalpartsplus.com/
RFTrax, Identec Combine RFID With New Sensory Technology
RFTrax, a seller of asset-management software, is combining its technology with that of Identec Solutions, provider of asset-management systems using radio frequency identification (RFID). The deal brings together Identec's products with RFTrax's multimode sensory asset management tool. Companies can monitor and track assets from the warehouse all the way to shipping destinations. In the process, manufacturers, suppliers and carriers gain broader visibility into cargo conditions such as temperature, shock, vibration and container intrusion, and can take action before problems occur. Identec's Intelligent Asset Management systems use RFID to deliver real-time information on mobile resources, such as vehicles, containers, racks and other reusable transport materials. RFTrax combines technologies such as global positioning systems, wireless communications and business intelligence with a full array of sensors, to ensure security and shipment integrity across all forms of freight transport.
http://www.rftrax.com/
SI Systems Unveils New Diagnostic Tools for D.C. Picking
SI Systems, a developer of material-handling systems, has introduced DC Xcellerator, software that analyzes the full range of picking systems in a distribution center, whether manual, semi-automated or automated. Analyses that used to take weeks or months can now be completed in a matter of minutes, the vendor claimed. DC Xcellerator details system effectiveness in its current configuration, then recommends adjustments in product placement, machinery and personnel to optimize picking configurations. The tool consists of multiple modules, including those for analyzing orders, products, and picking systems; item slotting; diagnostics and alerts; order scheduling; workforce planning; simulation management and a picking system health meter. DC Xcellerator reviews information throughout the day and constantly imports orders and data. It also saves historical data and tracks it to the levels of day, product, location and machine. The software can analyze data for a full year or over a specific time period, SI Systems said.
http://www.siingenuity.com/
Click here to subscribe or renew your subscription to Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies magazine
