MarketWatch

— September 27, 2006

Oracle Issues Updated Version of Transportation Management
Oracle Corp. has made generally available version 5.5 of Oracle Transportation Management. The new release is the application's first since Oracle acquired G-Log, a vendor of logistics software. According to Oracle, version 5.5 streamlines global transportation planning, execution, freight payment and business-process automation on a single platform across all modes of transportation. One new feature allows users to identify network-compatible freight lanes with sufficient, repeatable volume, to optimize fleet utilization and dedicated assets in line with common carrier rates and availability. Users can create capacity scenarios that meet an appropriate mix of private, dedicated and contract carriage. The latest release also introduces new Web services, with the intention of evolving into a service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform. Customers can manage transportation processes in the context of overall business-process flows, and vice-versa, Oracle said. Other enhancements include three-dimensional load modeling, dock and yard management, and wireless carrier communications.
http://www.oracle.com/

IBM Releases New Lotus Software With Collaboration Platform
IBM has developed version 7.5 of Lotus Sametime, allowing businesses to create a platform for collaboration with trading partners. The application extends real-time collaboration beyond instant messaging and Web conferencing, integrating a company's key communications tools into their business processes, IBM said. With new “plug-in” functionality built into instant messaging, customers can tap into voice, video and data from other applications, all within the Lotus Sametime environment. Communications can be extended based on open standards, the vendor said. Customers and third-party vendors can rapidly build and deploy plugins. Through Web 2.0 technologies, they can create new solutions such as mashups. Nearly 100 IBM business partners from around the globe are working with the vendor to create new features for Lotus Sametime. More than 30 were recently highlighted at the IBM Virtual Partner Showcase for Lotus Sametime in New York City. Plugins include the ability to display a user's phone “presence” on its Lotus Sametime buddy list and right-click a name to immediately start a phone call. They also allow for the sharing and synchronization of 3D images in a Lotus Sametime chat session, and the escalation of an instant messaging chat session into a multi-party audio or video conferencing session.
http://www-03.ibm.com/

SAP Unveils New Products for SOA, and a Deal With Accenture
SAP AG has released a number of new products related to the development of service-oriented architecture (SOA). It has made available SAP Discovery System software, designed to help customers and partners successfully adopt “enterprise” SOA. They can “test-drive” the new method of composing business processes in a standalone SOA environment. The release offers a pre-configured SOA landscape, giving users access to the latest software and tools available from SAP, as well as a comprehensive set of sample business scenarios. SAP Enterprise Search is an application that allows information workers to locate and use critical business data, both from internal and external sources, to boost productivity. The enhanced capabilities work across a company's existing I.T. infrastructure. Enterprise Search is available for developers to download immediately, with commercial availability planned for 2007. SAP further announced what it said is the industry's first community for business-process experts. New model-driven tools, along with modeled composite applications, have been designed specifically for this new category of business professional, SAP said. Meanwhile, SAP is evolving its product-release “roadmap” for mySAP ERP (enterprise resource planning). All new functional enhancements through 2010 will be made available as extensions to mySAP ERP 2005 in a series of optional enhancement packages, eliminating the need for continual upgrades. Finally, SAP has joined with Accenture to develop a collaborative health network (CHN) application, designed to help healthcare organizations improve patient care through streamlining the way in which they access, integrate and share information. The tool will be based on SAP NetWeaver. It will help organizations maintain reliable, accurate electronic health records that are accessible quickly by multiple parties.
Discovery System: http://www.sap.com/
Enterprise Search: http://www.sap.com/
Business Process Experts Community: http://www.sap.com/
New Roadmap for mySAP ERP: http://www.sap.com/
Partnership with Accenture: http://www.sap.com/

Symbol Introduces Digital Imager, New Mobile RFID Reader
Symbol Technologies, Inc. has introduced a new handheld digital imager scanner. The DS6707 model is designed for barcode scanning and image capture in multiple environments, the company said. It contains a 1.3-megapixel imager, capable of capturing and transferring images up to 8.5 x 11 inches. According to Symbol, pharmacies, retailers and manufacturers can use the devices to store and instantly recover documents and images. The scanner can read one-dimensional, two-dimensional, PDF417 and postal-code labels. (PDF capability enables retailers to capture data embedded in a driver's license, then automatically populate credit-card applications and merchandise credit and return forms.) In stockrooms and back-end retail environments, employees can use the scanner to record damaged shipments. In a related development, Symbol has launched a new radio frequency identification (RFID) reader. The compact, mobile Gen 2 unit can be integrated with forklifts, pallet jacks, stretch wrappers and other types of material-handling equipment. It can also be utilized in various space-constrained environments, Symbol said. The reader features cable-free operation, an integrated antenna, Bluetooth communication capabilities and wireless connectivity.
Digital Imager: http://www.symbol.com/
Mobile RFID Reader: http://www.symbol.com/

Procuri Unveils Web-Based Dashboard With Reporting Abilities
Procuri Inc., a vendor of supply-management software, has created Procuri TotalView, a Web-based dashboard. The tool provides role-based views into all supply intelligence, performance information and related tasks. Users get a personal command-and-control center from which to view all information. The dashboards offer a graphical snapshot of critical information, reports, alerts, tasks and functions across all Procuri Supply Management modules. The views are fully customized and configurable. Customers gain visibility into key data, performance, projects and tasks, allowing for proactive monitoring and management of spending analytics, sourcing, contract, and supplier performance. Functionality includes full project and task tracking; configurable formats, views and reports, and customized interfaces for corporate branding. The dashboards conform with Web portal and portlet standards, and support integration and embedding within existing portals, Procuri said.
http://www.procuri.com/

FastShip Offers Capacity on New Trans-Atlantic Ships
FastShip, Inc. will issue a bid in November for space on the first three of its so-called JetShips, vessels equipped with special technology that will be able to move cargo by sea at twice the speed of conventional surface freight, while costing 70-percent less than typical air service. Together the ships, which have yet to be built and won't begin service for three years, will offer 1.3m metric tons of trans-Atlantic ocean-freight capacity. The JetShip is a semi-planing monohull with a deep Vee bow, a wide beam and a steel hull form which produces high pressure, or “lift,” under the stern. The design provides a 10,000-ton load capacity with speeds of up to 40 knots. Powered by marine versions of Rolls Royce Trent engines, the ships will be able to transport cargo across the Atlantic Ocean in just 91 hours, the company claimed. For loading and unloading, they will integrate with terminals using a link-span and Automated Guided Vehicles, a technology that eliminates the need for crane loading. As a result, vessels can be turned in as little as six hours, compared with the current span of 24. FastShip said it will provide twice-weekly service between Philadelphia, Penn. and Cherbourg, France, beginning in December, 2009. The first three ships will be built at a shipyard in Germany.
http://www.triangle.eu.com/

Horizon Teams Up With Chenega for IT Services, Consulting
Horizon Services Group has formed a joint venture with Chenega Federal Systems, LLC to provide information-technology services and consulting. Horizon is a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon Lines, Inc.; Chenega, the third-largest Alaskan Native Corporation in Alaska, is a subsidiary of Chenega Corp. The new company, Chenega Logistics, LLC, has operations in Sioux Falls, S.D. with a principal office in Anchorage, Alaska. It will offer I.T. services and consulting to Horizon Lines and other companies in the transportation industry, as well as to government agencies. Such services will include software and application development, database development, network and technical architecture support, technical training and help desk services. Chenega Logistics will draw on the Horizon Services Group's experience in supply chain, logistics and transportation, as well as Chenega Federal System's expertise in providing professional engineering services to the U.S. Department of Defense. Chenega will also develop supply-chain security services for multiple government agencies, the partners said.
http://www.horizonservicesgroup.com/

Five Companies Join to Aid Trade and Global Supply Chains
Five companies, all experts in trade compliance and supply-chain security, have formed the Trusted Trade Alliance. The new group will provide consulting, training and technology to help multi-national companies better manage their international supply chains. The alliance will offer help in compliance processes, backed by experienced auditors and trainers, in addition to supply-chain security tools. Staffers will address such issues as new requirements by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, and the rules of some 40 other federal agencies who have control over the importing and exporting of goods. Regulatory programs to be addressed include the U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and the European Union's upcoming Authorized Economic Operator concept. The failure to participate in such programs, even if they are voluntary, can result in significant slowdowns in the processing of shipments, the new group said. Founding members of the Trusted Trade Alliance are Trade Innovations, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn.; MIC Customs Solutions of Linz, Austria; the Centre for Customs & Excise Studies in Canberra, Australia; Customs-Trade Solutions Latin America, S.C. of Mexico City, Mexico, and AWB Foreign Trade Advisory & Tax Consultancy of Muenster, Germany.
http://www.trusted-trade.net/

Zebra Technologies Offers Thermal-Printer Keyboard Display
Zebra Technologies Corp. has introduced the Zebra KDU Plus, a keyboard display unit for use with Zebra thermal printers. The device allows users to generate and customize labels utilizing pre-defined formats without the need for a dedicated computer. The standalone accessory works with thermal printers running EPL or ZPL printer languages, and has built-in memory to store and transfer files. It features a larger-sized keyboard and keys, enhanced digital display and more auxiliary ports than the previous model, according to Zebra. The unit supports European characters, and includes an extended character overlay. Applications for which the KDU Plus was specifically designed include automotive service centers, retail and food service, event and people management, shipping and transportation, and manufacturing and distribution.
http://www.zebra.com/

ABI Research Opens Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Singapore
ABI Research has opened new Asia-Pacific regional headquarters, in Singapore. The location provides ABI with a hub for serving Southeast Asian markets, the technology research firm said. It also complements ABI's ongoing research into the China-centric manufacturing hubs of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as the research and development hubs of Japan and Korea. The new operations center is located near Battery Road in the heart of Singapore's financial and business district. It will also provide overall sales coordination for ABI's activities in Asia, with additional offices in Japan and Taiwan focusing on those specific countries. Based in Oyster Bay, N.Y., ABI Research offers research programs, intelligence services and market reports on broadband and multimedia, radio frequency identification, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation and emerging technologies.
http://www.abiresearch.com/

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