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IDII Software Newsletter
Volume 1 No. 11
August 15th 2000 |
To assist the professional dealing with software in Warehousing Distribution, Logistics,
and the Supply Chain.
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Techniques, Vision, & Educational Thoughts
"Collaborative Commerce: Collaborate or Fail"
The move to Internet Computing over the last
decade has seen a monumental
explosion from
the Business-2-Consumer (B2C)
splash in the
mid-to-late 1990’s to the Business-2-Business
(B2B) roar of the last 18-months. Recently, there has been significant discussion
and movement to a new concept
known as Collaborative
Commerce.
Simply defined, Collaborative Commerce takes
the B2B Model to a new degree
of value--the
apex of the Internet Applications
arena--by
enabling the strategic sharing
of information
and services between Collaborative
Commerce
partners. Collaboration in the New Economy has been
by Webster’s as “working together
in a Joint
Intellectual endeavor.” The Meta Group defines Collaboration as “true collaboration alters business processes
to facilitate mutual goals and
integration
of planning activities through
shared intelligence.
“
What are the Driving Values of Collaborative
Commerce for the New Economy?
- Lower Operating Costs through eliminating
Supply Chain inefficiencies
- Increased Revenue
-
Wealth Creation
-
Value Creation
How can companies today in the New Economy
prepare to exploit the benefits
and value
of Collaborative Commerce? Simply put, there are at least (3) driving
Principles that must be adopted
by any size
Enterprise:
- Flexible Architecture
-
Integrated Enterprise Applications
-
Interoperability
First, there must be a Flexible Architecture
to a Company’s Business System. Without Flexibility in a Company’s Business
System, there is an ultimate
lock-in effect
prohibiting companies from collaborating
with their Partners, Suppliers,
and Customers
in the New Economy. In addition, the “lock-in” prohibits leading
best-in-class companies from
choosing and
leveraging the leading e-Business
Applications
available today and into the
future.
Second, there is the requirement of pre-integrated
Applications, critical to a company’s
ability
to successfully collaborate in
the New Economy. A tightly integrated Infrastructure must
be the foundation to a company’s
efforts
in exploiting the Collaboration
opportunities
within the Global Supply Chain
/ B2B Marketplace
arena.
Third, Interoperability is also a requirement
for Collaboration. Companies must leverage their existing Enterprise
Infrastructure by seamlessly
operating with
other System Components and Processes
within
the (4) walls, and also much
more so outside
of their (4) walls. Interoperability within and outside of a
company’s (4) walls defines the
ultimate
apex of Value in reference to
Collaboration. To businesses, Interoperability of processes
is what is key to success.
Collaboration is leading the next paradigm
in the e-Business revolution. For companies to truly experience and exploit
the value and benefits of Collaboration,
it is critical to avoid the (3)
primary pitfalls: (1) Internal Inflexibility, (2) Proprietary
Integration, and (3) the Lock-in
Effect. Companies who exploit the value of Collaboration
first will definitely experience
competitive
advantage as best in class within
their respective
industries and set the benchmark
for industry-wide
Collaboration.
|
Keep On Delivering!
 |
(Article by Jared S. Faellaci)
IDII News
- NEW - Warehousing SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Directory - See Press Release. IDII has spent significant time to update
our directory of software solution providers.
NEW FORMAT. Has indexes for popular databases
(Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Progress, etc.).
Has indexes for popular operating systems
(Unix, Linux, Windows NT, etc.). Applications
are also listed by type of software - WMS
- TMS - Labor Management - Yard Management
- Slotting Optimization - Shipping Manifest
System. The IDII Warehouse Software Directory
is a thorough guide of solutions in North
America. The Directory includes some European
and Asian/Pacific solutions as well. For more information, See http://www.idii.com/wms-dir.htm.
Price: 100 US and available with bundled
products.
Software Company News
In this issue Tecsys has the correct URL
of www.tecsys.com - we apologize for our last issue's URL
problem!
- Catalyst (WMS, Nasdaq: CLYS) and Kewill (SMS, TMS, WMS) announced that Catalyst will adopt Kewill's new Kewill.ShipT
Server technology as a standard offering within Catalyst's collaborative supply chain
execution (SCE) solutions for integrated
e-fulfillment. Kewill.Ship Server allows
software vendors to incorporate multi-carrier
compliance functionality into their own applications.
Kewill's technology will give Catalyst clients
core functionality for automating multi-carrier
compliance, including rating, routing, bar
code labeling, and electronic manifesting.
Catalyst expects to implement Kewill.Ship
Server in the Snap-On, Inc. WMS implementation.
Snap-On, a leading tool distributor,
will
use Kewill.Ship to automate outbound
distribution
from their 7 distribution locations.
Catalyst
worked closely with EVCOR, a systems
integration
organization recently acquired by
Kewill,
to provide Snap-On with a fully integrated
solution.
- EXE Technologies (WMS, Nasdaq: EXEE) - EXE goes Public - Now trades on the NASDAQ
as symbol EXEE. Editor's Note: Stock initial IPO price
was 8 to 9 - stock is now at 11 to 12. Should
be interesting to follow - make sure you
check out the financials first.
- JD Edwards (ERP, Nasdaq: JDEC) - Announces that it now powers over 45 exchanges and e-hubs currently using J.D. Edwards' collaborative
commerce solutions. J.D. Edwards
customers
can simultaneously communicate with
buyers
and sellers within all marketplaces
whether
powered by technology from Ariba
Inc., Atlas
Commerce, Commerce One, IBM, iPlanet
or i2
TradeMatrix. This allows companies
to take
full advantage of multiple revenue
channels
and can increase profitability while
reducing
costs and streamlining the commerce
process.
``Companies often choose to participate in
multiple marketplaces. To be successful
and
increase revenue and reduce operating
costs
these companies must
collaborate with all buyers and sellers
regardless
of their internally used technology,''
said
Dave Girard, chief operating officer
at J.D.
Edwards. ``J.D. Edwards is the only
vendor
that allows companies the freedom
to choose
what exchanges they want to participate
in,
and how they want to participate.
Other vendors
lock their customers in to certain
types
of digital marketplaces because their
proprietary
technology does not communicate across
multiple
platforms. This is a true obstacle
to success
in the Internet economy,'' said Girard.
``J.D.
Edwards has eliminated this obstacle.''
Editor's Note: ALL Software Vendors should
support multiple Internet exchanges
- BUT
many times the design work is laid
out just
to support a primary one - RATHER
than many
exchanges. Supporting multiple exchanges
as part of the standard base product
- is
a mark of a better product.
- Kewill's (B2B, SMS, TMS, ERP) - ERP Division receives ISO 9001 and European's
TickIT Quality Certifications. ERP products
include MAX and JobBOSS product lines.
- Radcliffe Systems (WMS) - announced new WMS version of ROC v 8.04. New version
offers added Internet capabilities greater
visibility over your entire supply chain.
The added functionality included is Order
Tracking and Inventory Level Tracking.
- Radcliffe Systems (WMS) - announced new product "ROCit", a Paper Based
WMS. ROCit is a paper based version of the ROC
warehouse system, with the identical
interface
and e-business options, ideal for
smaller
sites or satellite operations. ROCit
is a
simplified version of ROC, designed
to work
without Radio Frequency terminals.
Many clients
that currently run ROC at one or
more of
their facilities, wanted to obtain
the same
benefits at their smaller satellite
locations.
Often these facilities have two or
three
employees making it difficult to
justify
the RF investment. The answer was
a version
of ROC that could run a low transaction
warehouse
using desktop confirmation screens
and detailed
reports and labels.
- Tecsys (ERP, WMS, TMS, TSE: TCS) acquires Disticom Systems, a supplier of software specializing in automation
of shipping and receiving processes. The closing of this transaction is subject
to regulatory approval.
"The proposed acquisition of
Disticom
is a key step in the e-fulfillment
race."
said Peter Brereton, President and
CEO of
TECSYS Inc. "Through the acquisition
of Disticom's high-performance transportation
software, TECSYS will be able to
offer its
customers the flexibility to choose
the lowest-cost
carrier that meets their specific
shipment
needs, with excellent shipment tracking,
and freight audit capabilities. Transportation
represents a significant cost in
the fulfillment
process and must be tightly controlled."
he added.
Disticom's Modular ShipWare product, a multi-carrier shipping system, provides standard
shipping software functionality such as carrier-compliant
documents and labels and rate shopping and
also provides unique features like Internet-based
rate updates and Web-based access to courier
package tracking systems. Disticom has also
developed the Mailcenter Tracking System,
a tool for inbound and outbound tracking
and delivery of courier packages, mail and
other deliverable items.
Websites To Check Out
www.logistics.com - Provides a transportation exchange. QuoteShip,
Optibid Online, and other services.
Quotes to Ponder
- "When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is
hard,' I am always tempted to ask,
'Compared
to what?'" -- Sydney Harris
-
"The greater part of our happiness
or
misery depends on our dispositions,
and not
on our circumstances." -- Martha Washington
Scripture to Ponder
The one who is lazy becomes poor,
but the one works diligently becomes
wealthy.
The one who gathers crops in the summer
is
a wise son,
but the one who sleeps during the harvest
is a son who brings shame to himself. Proverbs 10:4-5
Good Book
Valuable Future Events - October
September 12 - LogicTools with academic
and
industry leaders from Logistics.com
and MIT
present "New Tools for Reinventing The Supply
Chain". Rosemont Convention Center, Chicago. Very valuable 1 full day seminar - low cost.
For more information, contact seminar@logictools.com or call 888-265-4706.
October 3-5--Frontline Solutions Expo. Rosemont
Convention Center, Chicago.
Sponsored by: Frontline Solutions magazine
(that's us!). Contact:
http://www.frontlineonline.net
October 3-5--Parcel Logistics Expo. Rosemont
Convention Center, Chicago.
Sponsored by/contact: Advanstar Communications,
800/331-5706,
Web: http://www.parcelexpo.com.
About This Newsletter
We educate and share news on software
for warehousing, transportation, shipping, packing, slotting, loading,
optimization, and enterprise wide software solutions. This free newsletter
is published twice a month and is targeted toward supply chain professionals
involved in software. Currently, it is only available electronically. Feel
free to forward this newsletter to others that you know. One may quickly
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send any news, events, press releases, research, and newsletters to editor@idii.com.
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Data & Information Inc. All Rights Reserved.. Trademarks belong to
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