Saddle Creek Creates New Division, Offering One Source for Multiple Transportation Services
Saddle Creek Corp. has created a new, wholly owned subsidiary to provide a wide range of transportation services. Saddle Creek Transportation Services, part of Saddle Creek Transportation, Inc., will provide additional inbound and outbound capacity for shipments, acting as a non-asset-based entity. Historically, Saddle Creek Transportation has provided asset-based fleet services. The new division allows customers to handle all of their logistics needs through a single source. The move is in response to customers with special projects or business surges that require transportation capabilities beyond the traditional scope of Saddle Creek Transportation. The new Transportation Services unit will offer multiple capabilities nationwide, including truckload, less-than-truckload, flatbed and consolidation services. Creation of the division was accompanied by the appointment of two additional executives: John Hahn as manager of operations, and John Lubrecht as director of business development for logistics. http://www.saddlecrk.com
BNSF to Reinstate Intermodal Link Between Memphis, PNW
Beginning in January, BNSF Railway Co. will reintroduce international intermodal container service from the Pacific Northwest to Memphis, Tenn. The move provides shippers with another North American gateway for goods moving between Asia and the growing U.S. Southeast market, the railroad said. Intermodal trains will run to and from the Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. BNSF said it continues to boost capacity and service efficiency on the PNW-Memphis route, as well expand facilities at both ends. In addition to Memphis, BNSF serves Chicago, St. Paul, Denver and Omaha from the Pacific Northwest. A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., BNSF Railway Co. operates a North American rail network spanning 32,000 routes miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. http://www.bnsf.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Invensys Unveils New Tool for Collecting Real-Time Data
Invensys is showcasing InFusion Condition Manager, the vendor's new application for real-time data collection for manufacturers. The offering is part of Invensys's Enterprise Control System (ECS). It builds upon the company's Avantis.CM technology to give users the ability to collect, aggregate and analyze real-time condition data from a broader range of plant data sources. It was designed to interoperate with the full range of Invensys and third-party applications supported through the InFusion environment. Condition Manager supplies tools for analyzing and contextualizing data, featuring an expert rule set which first triggers and then manages the appropriate operations, engineering or maintenance actions. Assets that can be monitored include intelligent field devices such as sensors and actuators; rotating and non-rotating equipment such as pumps, motors, compressors, turbines, dryers and heat exchangers, and entire process units. The real-time asset information is then put into proper context and made available to other plant and business systems within the InFusion ECS environment. http://www.invensys.com
FreeFlow Teams Up With eBay to Auction "At-Risk" Inventory
FreeFlow, a provider of hosted inventory asset-management services, has entered into a partnership with eBay to help customers maximize the sale of excess, aging, returned and refurbished inventory. The deal combines eBay's private marketplace technology with Free-Flow's pre- and post-auction business services, to increase the options for disposal of excess, obsolete, returned or refurbished inventories. FreeFlow provides companies with market intelligence to establish reserve and target pricing, identify the buying community appropriate to each product, configure and merchandise private marketplaces, and perform all financial settlement. Pre-auction services include remarketing strategy and market analysis, market intelligence, auction strategy and pricing advisory. Post-auction services consist of financial clearing, collections and settlement, shipping and logistics support, and performance reporting. The link with eBay gives FreeFlow's customers access to a broad range of auction-format types, buyer classifications, customization and data-reporting capabilities. In particular, they gain the ability to sell into eBay's Reseller Marketplace, accessing tens of thousands of eBay PowerSellers registered to purchase there. http://www.freeflow.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Pilot, PMG Manage Supply-Chain Performance Through SCOR
Pilot Software Inc. has forged an alliance with the Performance Measurement Group (PMG) to help companies track and manage supply-chain performance within Pilotworks, using metrics derived from the Supply-Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. Pilot is a vendor of performance-management software. PMG is part of PRTM, one of the consultancies involved in the creation of SCOR. By incorporating SCOR metrics into PilotWorks, the two partners have made it possible for customers to continuously review operational performance, both from internal and external perspectives. In the past, companies would have to develop customized and non-standard spreadsheet reporting tools in order to use the benchmark intelligence derived from the SCOR model. Now, they can address those metrics through PilotWorks on a real-time basis. They also gain the ability to obtain benchmarks on the SCOR metrics. PilotWorks gives users one comprehensive, modular system for managing the three aspects of performance management: goals, initiatives and metrics. http://www.pilotsoftware.com
Seeburger Doubles Size of Message Catalog for SAP NetWeaver
Seeburger Inc. has doubled the size of the message catalog supplied with its electronic data interchange (EDI) adapter for the SAP NetWeaver Exchange Infrastructure (SAP NetWeaver XI). The catalog now includes more than 200 transaction types in all global EDI protocols. The expanded message library is included with the new Version 1.6 of the SAP NetWeaver Adapter by Seeburger (EDI), an optional add-on to the NetWeaver technology stack. It provides seamless integration with all toolsets for Netweaver XI, along with eliminating the need for a standalone EDI application, the vendor said. The Seeburger catalog includes general and industry-specific trading documents in ANSI, Edifact, Odette, Tradacom and VDA formats. It serves multiple regions and industry sectors, including automotive, banking, consumer products, retail, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and utilities. Messages cover a wide spectrum of transaction types, from purchase orders and invoices to warehouse shipping orders, acknowledgments to advance shipment notices, warehouse shipping confirmations and product catalogs. The adapter also offers data-validation tools, to detect syntax errors and other problems. http://www.seeburger.com
Averitt Initiates Cargo Van Service in Metropolitan Areas
Averitt Express, Inc. has expanded its truck fleet with the introduction of Sprinter cargo vans in key metropolitan areas. The vans will be used for deliveries to customers with small, unpalletized freight, or to those lacking adequate dock space for larger trucks, the carrier said. According to Averitt, the use of Sprinter vans will boost fuel efficiency, getting an estimated 15 miles per gallon versus the six MPG of standard tractors. The vans also have lower emissions. Moreover, they are easier to maneuver in heavily congested cities and narrow delivery zones than full-sized tractor-trailers. Each van will be equipped with Qualcomm communications technology, allowing customers to track their cargo van shipments in the same manner as with any other Averitt shipments. Avertitt said it does not plan to use the vans for residential deliveries. http://www.averittexpress.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Cimmetry Releases Version 19.1 of AutoVue for mySAP PLM
Cimmetry Systems has released version 19.1 of AutoVue for SAP's PLM (product lifecycle management) platform, Enterprise Central Component (ECC) 5.0. AutoVue supports computer-assisted product design (CAD). The vendor's SAP-certified software integrates with mySAP PLM, giving users a single point of access to hundreds of document types stored in the mySAP repository for viewing, printing, markup and real-time collaboration. Web-based streaming technology provides a high level of document security, by ensuring the documents are never transferred to client machines for viewing or annotation, Cimmetry said. AutoVue for SAP PLM works directly with the mySAP PLM CAD integrations, to provide visualization for any supported native CAD format, including CATIA, Pro/E, NX and SolidWorks. It also works with Microsoft Office and PDF document formats, among others. Users can create markups or annotations on all supported document types, including PDF, which are saved back in the SAP repository. Users do not require Acrobat Pro to view and annotate PDF documents with AutoVue, the vendor said. http://www.cimmetry.com
Intalio Will Offer BPM Software Under Open-Source License
Intalio, Inc., a vendor of business process-management software, will release its Intalio/BPMS Community Edition under an open-source license. The product will be released under the Mozilla Public License (MPL), amended with the Generic Attribution Provision submitted to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) earlier this year. Intalio said it has crossed the marks of 100 paying customers and 5,000 organizations using its software worldwide. Intalio/BPMS Community Edition includes an Eclipse-based business process-design tool which supports the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). It also generates executable processes using the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), a BPEL execution engine that can be deployed on top of any J2EE application server, and a workflow framework that supports the BPEL4People model developed jointly by IBM and SAP AG. Users of the open-source Community Edition can later upgrade to Intalio/BPMS Enterprise Edition through a yearly subscription plan. Code for the Community Edition will be released in the first quarter of 2007, and will be available at www.intalio.org. http://www.intalio.com
