|
IDII Software Newsletter May 1st 2008 - Volume 9 Number 3 For PROFESSIONALS in Software for Warehousing, Logistics, and Supply Chain.  |
|
Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management An Essential Guide for the 21st Century Manager. This book does a wonderful job to ramp up new professionals and managers to the important issues in the supply chain. Forty-two topics are covered rapidly with good insights, from the two highly educated authors. One may order this book from CSCMP at https://cscmp.org/cscmpStore/default.asp?XX=1  A bit of wholesome humor is poured into the book, which is greatly appreciated in its 224 pages. For example: • “There are whole books devoted to discussions of ROP, EOQ, MAD, and FIFO as well as our favorite acronyms, FISH (First In, Still Here) and LID (Last In, Disappeared). • A humorous and educational picture is shown with each of the 42 topics, which actually have a point and a thought. • Regarding software vendor selection… the last question of the list is “If things don’t work out, how do we unscramble the eggs?” Excellent advice is given throughout the book. Regarding a 3PL relationship - “You and the LSP need to engage in regular dialogue about where and how they can add value to what you are doing.” Regarding a consultant – “ … The quality of relationships with consultants can have a profound effect on the quality and extent of outcomes. For best results, mutual trust and open communication are required. The more your consultants know about …”. Software providers are discussed. “As for software providers, they are often portrayed as upscale used-car salespeople, without scruple or inhibition. That’s unfair. When it comes to evaluating vendors, your job is to look for and access the qualities that can make for a positive mutual relationship, all the way through a successful implementation.” Every aspect of transportation, procurement, warehousing, metrics, and logistics is covered. From ergonomics to management mindsets to inventory control and RFID technology, this publication covers the full scope of the supply chain. I wish I was given this publication during my first job (IT Manager at a wholesaler) in the supply chain. It would have helped me significantly to understand the many issues that customer service, purchasing, warehousing, and the traffic department were facing. In this manner, you “know” the issues in order to help facilitate results. Reviewed by Phil Obal |
EXCITING RESOURCES
Supply Chain Book Directory - Rapidly find books on 30 topics.spanning Warehouse Management or Inventory Management or Facility Planning & Layout or Software & Technology or RFID or WMS or MRP or Metrics-KPIs-Dashboards or Global Procurement and more!
IDII News
 |
NEW... "Selecting Warehouse Software from WMS and ERP Providers - Expanded Edition" New content in all areas plus new detailed implementation chapter. 205 pages. $125 USD. |
New White Papers - White Paper Index -Suggest A White Paper
Why You Shouldn't Sue Software Vendors--Even If They Deserve It - Interesting!WERC -Bridging the Generational Chasm - Four Generations at the Work Place - People are motivated based on WHO they are and WHEN they grew up!
Technology & Software Product News
IDII announces version 12 of the Advanced Warehouse Management System (WMS) RFP product. One can score card the vendor responses, rapidly develop a short list, and save significant money by avoiding exploratory learning trips. Version 12 has 1,400 detailed questions! Each question has a pop-up box that further explains the question in detail. Vendor Score Card is an evaluation card that calculates the scores & shows side-by-side comparisons using weighted scoring. Two scored summaries are also provided to show summarized weighted totals. Management summary with visual charts are included. See http://www.idii.com/orderdigital.htm for more details.Warehouse Management System Market to Reach $1.8 Billion. The worldwide market for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% over the next five years. The market was $1,257 million in 2007 and is forecasted to be over $1,807 million in 2012, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. “The WMS market is a mature market that has been around for decades. And yet we have year over year growth in the double digits,” according to Steve Banker (sbanker@arcweb.com), Service Director for Supply Chain Management, author of ARC Advisory Group’s “Warehouse Management System Worldwide Outlook” (www.arcweb.com/res/wms).
3PL Central announced the launch of its 3PL Warehouse Manager Spring '08 Release. Key 3PL Warehouse Manager Spring '08 features include:
-- Billing - http://www.3plcentral.com/3PLbillingwizard.htm 3PLs can now automate the burdensome and time-consuming task of calculating and billing customer storage fees. 3PL Warehouse Manager's automated Billing Wizard now supports both system-calculated split-month billing (taking into consideration free day periods) and monthly recurring storage charges.
-- Advanced 3PL EDI - http://www.3plcentral.com/3plediintegration.htm 3PLs can now increase order-handling capabilities - while virtually eliminating data input errors - with support for X12 (940/945), fixed-position flat file and XML EDI integration.
-- Retail Distribution UCC-128 Label Support - Public warehouses can supplement service capabilities with retailer-compliant UCC-128 labeling for all major retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, and Costco.
-- FedEx Ship Manager Integration - Seamless integration with FedEx Ship Manager allows transfer of package details to FedEx and the return of freight charges and tracking numbers. This allows subscribers to handle a higher volume of parcel shipments with less data entry errors and greater worker efficiency.
Cadre Technologies offers advanced storefront capabilities through the release of its new version of Cadence Web Access, an integrated module of the Cadence Fulfillment warehouse management system (WMS).
Web Access offers several unique features:
- - Storefront capabilities that individually present 3PL clients’ products via customer-specific electronic catalogs of inventory in the warehouse. For example, an end-user customer ordering from their supplier sees the retailer’s themed Web page which is actually managed by the 3PL provider with whom the retailer warehouses its inventory.
- - Style sheets that organize information such as product images, units of measure, product specifications, etc. and offer print-on-demand functionality, perfect for literature fulfillment.
- - Self service” capabilities available 24x7 that allow the client to attach product specification sheets, define distribution lists, kitting and product allotments and manage users and customer session histories.
-- - Integrated reporting capabilities give clients the ability to review the Cadence Fulfillment WMS for real-time information about inventory levels, order status, etc.
Descartes Unveiling Intelligent Automatic Vehicle Locator Wireless Services.“Descartes’ AVL offerings do much more than simply provide visibility into shipment arrivals at a customer’s door,” said Chris Jones, Executive Vice President, Solutions and Services at Descartes. “By integrating on-demand route planning and optimization with real-time visibility, dispatchers and customer service staff gain access to a Web-based view of delivery status in real-time. It also provides rapid notification of critical events affecting deliveries, enabling operators to make customer-focused decisions on routes and delivery reservations in real-time to reduce costs, streamline operations, and ensure consistent quality of service.” Descartes AVL provides field data updates and tracking in real-time, from basic GPS coordinates to more complex black-box engine diagnostics. With the depth of data provided, operators can also measure delivery performance against planned routes, and notify dispatch and/or customer service operations of changes made during the delivery cycle. Field workers also have visibility into relevant shipment data to keep up-to-date on delivery status to more effectively coordinate arrival times.
Four Soft (4S) and TAKE Solutions Ltd announced their intent to merge.
Foxfire announced a new product offering, WMS Express. Foxfire’s WMS Express is a preconfigured version of its award-winning, enterprise warehouse management system combined with a rapid implementation service plan that produces quick success. WMS Express is ideal for warehouses and distribution centers that want to be up and running in as little as 90 days without custom modifications. Foxfire is targeting small and midsized warehouses as well as larger operations looking to implement a pilot program. These customers are typically looking for a basic but fully-functional warehouse management system (WMS) with key functionality. With WMS Express, users have the ability to go “paperless” including receiving, put away, inventory management, physical inventory, cycle counting, picking, packing, and shipping.
HighJump Software announced the release of HighJump Supply Chain Advantage suite 10.0.
Warehouse Management The flagship HighJump Warehouse Advantage system now includes a warehouse wizard to support a user-friendly, streamlined approach to warehouse set-up. The system is fully internationalized and includes translations in nine languages, including Japanese. To support optimized outbound fulfillment processes, load and wave planning tools were enhanced and utilize a new Web-based user interface. The 10.0 release also includes a flexible approach for defining and tracking unique inventory attributes without limiting the number of attributes that can be tracked for a given item.
Adaptability Tools - HighJump Software’s service-oriented architecture now provides more features that allow clients to optimize and modify supply chain business processes without changing underlying product source code and impacting their ability to perform fast upgrades. HighJump Software’s supply chain process modeling tool, Advantage Architect, features broader revision tracking and the addition of an enterprise application repository. This helps HighJump solutions fit within client’s enterprise IT environments. HighJump Software’s Web-based, common user interface framework, WebWise, also provides a more user-friendly experience and allows product screens to be run on handheld computers and cell phones.
Billing Management for Logistics Services Providers (LSP) A new, comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing the billing process, HighJump Billing Management enables providers of logistics services and third-party logistics to support the complex contractual requirements that often exist with their clients. With this product release, billing can be based on material handling transactions, storage capacity utilization, and client-specific billing requirements. The solution gives companies visibility into actual costs with comparisons to what was invoiced to replace the oversimplified practice of spreading client costs evenly across all accounts. HighJump Billing Management creates a single billing platform for all systems. This is possible by accepting data imports from other applications, such as those for transportation management, time and attendance, and parcel manifesting.
Labor Management - HighJump Labor Advantage, provides a comprehensive performance management tool to plan and manage the distribution center workforce. In addition to being fully internationalized to support various languages and regions without engineering changes, the latest release includes the ability to forecast and plan for labor within all major fulfillment functions of a facility, such as picking, packing, loading and shipping. These features allow distribution center management to ensure the proper capacity in the workforce and assign employees to the appropriate functional areas.
RedPrairie Corporation announced RedPrairie Performance Management. RedPrairie Performance Management is a web-based analytic solution that leverages the wealth of existing information from RedPrairie’s warehouse, transportation and workforce management applications to monitor, analyze and report on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive an organization’s success. The user interface provides a rich and intuitive experience that guides users to discovering new insights of their business.
Savi business launched SmartChain® 5.0, a platform and application suite providing new leading-edge capabilities that enhance the performance, business processes and efficiency of supply chains for commercial and government customers. Savi SmartChain 5.0, built on 15 years of delivering the industry’s most complete RFID-based solutions. Savi SmartChain 5.0 leverages Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) to provide a framework for integrating real-time data from all types of wireless technologies about an organizations business processes into its enterprise software systems or information services. The Savi SmartChain platform processes and transforms data into actionable information from any standards-based Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) technology, including bar codes, sensors, passive or active Radio Frequency Identification, cellular, GPS or satellite communications system.
Tharo Systems, Inc. presents EASYLABEL® 5 Multi-User software for designing and printing product identification, bar code and RFID labels. EASYLABEL Multi-User is an efficient method for licensing multiple copies of EASYLABEL over a network. It eliminates the need for individually licensed PC’s providing substantial savings. EASYLABEL Multi-User is available in packages of 5, 10 or 25 user licenses.
Scripture to Ponder - List of Scriptures to Ponder from prior issues.
"The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich" - Proverbs 13:4Famous Quotes to Ponder - List of Quotes to Ponder from prior issues.
"Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash." - George S. PattonWebsites To Check Out
"WEAK RIVETS Caused the TITANTIC to SINK! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/science/15titanic.html?_r=1&hp&oref=sloginHEALTH RECORDS SECURITY IS LACKING via Microsoft and Google. Microsoft and Google, the authors note, are not bound by the privacy restrictions of of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, the main law that regulates personal data handling and patient privacy. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/17record.html?ref=health
| IDII Supply Chain Book Directory | Over 30 Supply Chain Topics | |
| Books on Warehousing, Inventory, Logistics, Supply Chain, Metrics, RFID, ERP, MRP, WMS, Software, Project Management, and more! View IDII Supply Chain Book Directory |
Purchase the BEST Publications Save time! |
Valuable Future Events - Event Calendar is online!
Subscribe
to the Supply Chain Event Newsletter - Educational Events - Free!
| Contact
Us |
Feedback |
More Information |
| This newsletter (ISSN 1533-435X) is published twice a month by I.D.I.I. - a research & consulting firm. Free Subscription. Tell-a-Friend I.D.I.I. Advertise:
advertise@idii.com |
We appreciate your valuable input. Send us your suggestions, ideas, short articles, white papers, and useful websites -and- we will review it. Our goal is to educate and inform professionals involved in software & the supply chain. Feel free to send your input to us! Editor: editor@idii.com |
Hundreds of technical white papers to assist your knowledge, whether it is a WMS, TMS, or other supply chain project. An extensive book catalog covers a large number of software, project management, warehousing, and supply chain areas. Additional resources at the IDII.com web portal include lists of trade associations, research, RFPs, educational newsletters & publications, valuable websites, and much more! Check it out! |
|
©
2008 Industrial Data & Information Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Trademarks belong to respective trademark holders. Information accuracy is not guaranteed due to variety of sources. |