Special Announcement: SAP America Slates June 14th Webcast on Managing IT Maturity for LSPs
SAP America will host a webcast panel discussion on June 14 on the topic of managing information-technology maturity for transportation and logistics service providers (LSPs). The event will examine how LSPs can achieve business-wide visibility, cost control and technology integration through IT. "Globalization, outsourcing and shrinking cycle times are adding risk, cost and complexity to transportation operations," said Adrian Gonzalez, director of the Logistics Executive Council of ARC Advisory Group, and a member of the webcast panel. "Companies that take an end-to-end, process-centric perspective will achieve greater financial and operational success." Other panel members include Rodney Strata, industry principal, logistics and transportation industries, SAP America; and J.P. Wiggins, director for industry solutions marketing, travel and transportation, SAP Labs. The moderator will be Jean Murphy, editorial director of Global Logistics &Supply Chain Strategies magazine. http://supplychainbrain.com
Pacer Stacktrain Teams Up With Trailer Bridge in Door-to-Door Domestic Service Between U.S., Puerto Rico
Pacer Stacktrain and Trailer Bridge, Inc. are cooperating in a new venture to move 53-foot domestic containers between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The partnership will create door-to-door service in that corridor. Pacer Stacktrain is a division of Pacer International, Inc., a provider of freight transport and logistics services. TrailerBridge operates U.S.-flag vessels between Jacksonville, Fla. and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fully integrated, wholesale intermodal offering is an expansion of Pacer's recently launched "PacerDirect" door-to-door service in the U.S. The Puerto Rico service will focus on freight with a U.S. West Coast origin, providing a single point of contact for the management of all intermodal and vessel details, an all-inclusive rate quote, and one invoice consolidating all land and ocean activities. According to Pacer, the service is aimed specifically at freight intermediaries such as intermodal marketing companies, freight brokers and truckers. Freight will move in Pacer Stacktrain's 53-foot containers over the company's double-stack rail network, then be turned over to Trailer Bridge in Jacksonville. Trailer Bridge will provide the marine freight portion between the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, utilizing its Triplestack Box Carriers, built exclusively for the 53-footers, and triple-deck, roll-on/roll-off vessels. http://home.businesswire.com
Intermec Debuts Safe Mobile Computer; Links CN3 Model to AT&T
Intermec Inc. has introduced a rugged handheld computer designed for safe operation in hazardous-material environments. The CK32IS is aimed at such industries as chemicals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, grain, textiles and mining. According to Intermec, it will carry the most extensive list of global hazardous environmental ratings--including ATEX and IEC at launch, and UL shortly thereafter--of any handheld computer. The CK32IS was designed from inception for hazardous environments, meeting requirements for flammable gases, vapors and liquids as well as dust, fibers and flyings. The mobile computer has been ATEX-certified for use in Zone 0 (gases) and Zone 20 (dusts and fibers) environments. Running Windows Mobile 5.0 software, the unit features an Intel XScale processor, 128 MB of DRAM memory and 64 MB of non-volatile Flash memory. Intermec also announced that its CN3 mobile computer has been approved for voice and data transmission on AT&T's nationwide wireless data network. The CN3 is bundled with software from Intermec Honours Partner Cheetah Software Systems. It provides optimized route planning, intelligent dispatch, real-time tracking of pickup and delivery information, signature capture, GPS location and navigational capabilities, and driver voice and data communications.
CK32IS for HazMat Environments: http://www.intermec.com
CN3 Certified for AT&T: http://www.intermec.com
Penske, ABX Extend Global Alliance to Joint Venture in Brazil
Penske Logistics and ABX Logistics have formed a new joint venture in Brazil, the first such arrangement since they announced a global alliance in September of 2006. ABX-Penske Air & Sea and ABX Logistics will each hold a 50-percent stake in the company, which will have its headquarters at Penske's South American headquarters in Barueri, Sao Paulo. Together the partners will provide international freight-management services to customers in Brazil. The deal formalizes the companies' existing relationship in that country, while allowing both to pursue new business opportunities in the region. Penske Logistics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Penske Truck Leasing, a joint venture of Penske Corp. and General Electric. It provides supply-chain management and logistics services to industrial and consumer companies throughout the world. ABX operates in 100 countries, including 35 with its own subsidiaries. http://www.gopenske.com
Savi, Unipart Get Together on RFID Services to Europe
Savi Technology, Inc. and Unipart Logistics Limited have formed a "preferred partnership" market Savi's radio frequency identification (RFID)-based supply chain technology to commercial customers in Europe. Unipart, one of Europe's largest logistics service providers, will sell and implement Savi's products and services to companies in the region, especially in the automotive sector. Unipart will rebrand Savi's products into offerings that bear the label "Powered by Savi." At the same time, Unipart will provide supply-chain expertise to enhance customers' use of the RFID systems. For its part, Savi will supply technical training and strategic counsel. The two companies will jointly pursue projects based on their combined logistics and technology expertise. Savi and Unipart began collaborating late last year, when they participated in the Jaguar Tradelane Evaluation Project, for which Unipart deployed the SaviTrak information service to ship Jaguar car parts from the United Kingdom to the U.S. http://www.savi.com
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OceanSchedules.com Translates Into Spanish; Signs Up Crowley
OceanSchedules.com, the free online service that allows shippers and freight forwarders to select ocean carriers, has created a version of the site in Spanish. The move is in response to large-scale adoption of the service in Latin America. OceanSchedules.com offers free hosting of any carrier schedules via an electronic data interchange (EDI) connection. Registered users can now configure the interface to operate in Spanish, with the site's navigation working exactly as it does in English. They can search carrier schedules for all global ports of origin and destination, independent of the user's location. The site gathers data through integrated electronic links with carriers, providing information on the voyages of carriers representing more than 80 percent of the slot capacity of the world's top 25 ocean carriers. OceanSchedules.com uses AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) to create fast interactive searches. It allows only those schedules that need updating to be instantly displayed, avoiding the need to reload an entire Web page every time a user makes a search or applies a filter. In a related development, Crowley Maritime Corp. is now listing its schedules on OceanSchedules.com. Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Crowley provides liner, logistics, petroleum and marine services in domestic and international markets. http://www.oceanschedules.com
QAD Inks Marketing Pact With LANSA, Offers SOA With Progress
QAD Inc., the business-software vendor, has entered into a co-marketing arrangement with LANSA, a developer of data-synchronization and supply-chain automation tools. QAD will offer LANSA Data Sync Direct along with its own QAD Enterprise Applications to customers in a variety of industries. The technology will enable users to participate in the supply-chain initiatives of large retailers and distributors, the partners said. Data Sync Direct, aimed at mid-market companies, arose from the mandate of a major international retailer and was first offered to the marketplace in June of 2002. LANSA recently announced the release of version 6 of the browser-based tool, with enhancements to facilitate migration by suppliers, distributors and retailers to the new 1SYNC data pool platform. QAD also announced a new agreement to license and distribute the application infrastructure products of Progress Software on a global basis. QAD has been an application partner of Progress for more than 20 years. The expanded agreement allows QAD and Progress to extend their joint offering beyond the Progress OpenEdge application platform to include Progress Sonic ESB (Enterprise Service Bus), Progress Actional for service-oriented architecture, the Progress EasyAsk national language and query product, and other technologies.
LANSA: http://www.qad.com
Progress: http://www.qad.com
Inttra Welcomes Hanjin to Its Network of Member Carriers
Inttra, the electronic-commerce platform for the ocean industry, has added South Korea's Hanjin Shipping to its network of carriers. Inttra claims to represent nearly 70 percent of ocean freight capacity among the world's top ocean carriers. It initiates more than 200,000 container orders a week, and originates more than $12bn worth of ocean freight. Hanjin said it chose Inttra because of the latter's electronic-commerce capabilities, its high level of global customer service, and its extensive support by industry. The Inttra platform offers a wide range of e-commerce tools, including tender, sailing schedules, booking, shipping instructions, bill of lading, track and trace, and reports. The platform can be accessed through any combination of the vendor's channel options, including Inttra-Link (an electronic data interchange-based, system-to-system connection), Inttra Desktop (off-line PC application), or Inttra-Act (a Web-based application). http://www.inttra.com
DHL Global Forwarding Consolidates Operations in Atlanta
DHL Global Forwarding is combining its operations in Atlanta, Ga. with the move to a 220,000-square-foot facility adjacent to Hartsfield-JacksonInternationalAirport. The facility will serve as DHL's southeastern U.S. gateway for international air and ocean freight services, as well as the domestic "pivot" for the company's heavy-freight network. The location will also house its Atlanta-based multimodal transportation, customs brokerage and distribution operations. The building will be certified under the guidelines of the Technology Asset Protection Association (TAPA). DHL is also considering a cold-chain logistics operation that would serve the supply-chain needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The new facility combines operations of the former DHL Danzas Air & Ocean and Exel Freight Management, each of which had maintained separate locations in Atlanta. The location, with 190,000 square feet of warehouse space and 30,000 square feet of office space, is 40,000 square feet larger than the two former facilities combined, DHL said. http://www.dhl-usa.com
Axeda Upgrades Device Relationship Management Software App
Axeda Corp. has developed a new release of its flagship product suite for business intelligence and device relationship management. Axeda ServiceLink5 includes new applications and features for service intelligence, collaboration, management and delivery. A fully integrated business-intelligence engine supports tracking and reporting of service metrics, including time to repair and mean time between failures. Information is presented through Axeda Report and the new Axeda Dashboard application, which provide displays and reports highlighting key performance indicators. An intuitive Web-based report builder enables users to create ad-hoc reports and management dashboards with I.T. assistance. Users get a complete view of all service actions performed for a customer at the device level, within the call center and in the field. Time-based service and inspections are based on actual numbers, eliminating premature site visits, the vendor said. http://www.axeda.com
U-Freight Offers Cargo Commitment at Guangzhou Airport
U-Freight, an international provider of freight forwarding and logistics services, has become the first logistics company to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with China's GuangzhouBaiyunInternationalAirport. The company is guaranteeing a minimum level of cargo throughput, a move it said will help boost the airport's efforts to serve as an air-cargo hub for southern China. Under the agreement, U-Freight promises to move a "significant" volume of airfreight through the airport each year, as well as helping to introduce and recommend foreign airlines to initiate direct connections with BaiyunInternationalAirport. In return, U-Freight will benefit from simplified customs clearance at the airport, which will include a Safe & Honest Forwarder System, a green channel for cargo-security checks and extended terminal operating hours. Ultimately, the agreement will allow U-Freight to operate at Guangzhou Baiyun 24 hours a day. http://www.ufreight.com
