IDII Software Newsletter Volume 2 No. 2 February 5th 2001

To assist the professional dealing with software in Warehousing Distribution, Logistics, and the Supply Chain.
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• New Version of the Standard WMS RFI is Now Available.See our press release. Version 3 is now out.
  
• Consulting services are available for software selection, implementation, and enhancement. Business reviews and ROI studies are also done for both supply chain companies and software companies. Contact Phil Obal at 918-464-2222.

• Advanced Systems Consultants (ASC, WMS) announces new product "eDocuments." It allows more electronic documents in a WMS than the average WMS. It allows:
  
  • 1- customer defined forms (uses plain white paper) (Any table, any format, any script, etc)
  • 2- customer defined labels (was there before; uses any Thermal printer)
  • 3- customer defined documents in any format
  • 4- all the above - via RF request (i.e. from a fork truck) and wireless to a printer that can be anywhere on the Enterprise
  
  These are attached by item, by lot, by pallet, etc. Great for MSDS, QC inspections, MAF forms, live Bill of Ladings, live bar coded packing slips, etc.
  
  
• Berger Software (OMS, WMS, ERP, CRM, eCommerce) releases eZorder, an Internet based B2B Order Management system. eZorder provides B2B Order Management facilities including;
  
  • B2B Order Entry
  • Product Search by code, description, and product category
  • Comprehensive Product Information
  • Full Order History
  • Import/Export facilities to external systems
  • Interfaces to Berger's Contract Warehousing and Distribution packages.
  • Comprehensive importing and exporting facilities in XML format are provided to facilitate simple integration with external, non-Berger applications.
    
    
    
• EXE (WMS, OMS, 3PL, Nasdaq: EXEE) To Acquire AllPoints Systems (WMS) AllPoints Systems extends EXE's presence in high volume, piece pick and parcel environments such as catalog, general merchandise, apparel, consumer electronics, and eCommerce companies. Complementary Product and Services Offerings
  -- AllPoints Systems' product suite includes an advanced Supply Chain Event Management (SCEM) infrastructure product, the GlassPipeline(TM). By integrating EXceed Collaborate with Glass Pipeline(TM), EXE plans to accelerate the availability of a broad range of features and strengthen certain verticals above.
  
  
  
• Fourth Shift Corporation (ERP, MRP, CRM, Nasdaq: FSFT, SQL Server, NT/2000) releases of Fourth Shift 7.10. The release features a web-browser UI, new connectivity tools, and more.``Fourth Shift 7.10 offers enhancements to virtually every aspect of a manufacturing operation including sales order processing, shop floor planning, manufacturing analysis, production, accounting, shipping, reporting, purchasing, EDI, and system administration,'' said Dick Schultz, Director of Product Management.
  
  The release introduces ``My Fourth Shift Workplace'' using a web browser and an Internet or Intranet connection. My Fourth Shift Workplace also enables users to create configurable views of Fourth Shift data called portals. A portal can include the web-based version of the Fourth Shift program itself, as well as existing Internet resources, third-party browser-based applications, or even external Internet web sites.
  
  
• HighJump Software (1983, WMS) and Ironside Team to Broaden Access to Real-Time Fulfillment Information for B2B Order Management. Ironside has supplier-focused business-to-business electronic commerce solutions, powering e-Commerce strategies for more than 170 manufacturers and distributors.
  
  
• Interlink Technologies (WMS, AS/400) to adopt Kewill’s Enterprise Shipping Management Solution. Kewill.Ship Server allows business-to-business software vendors to incorporate multi-carrier compliance functionality into their own applications. Kewill’s technology will give Interlink clients core functionality for automating multi-carrier compliance, including rating, routing, bar code labeling, and electronic manifesting. Links to Kewill’s business portal, Kewill.Net, also will provide Interlink customers’ trading partners full in-transit shipment visibility.
  
  
• LIS (WMS, SMS, US, EUROPE, UK) enhances SCE Suite with SHIPPING MODULE. Dispatcher-ShippingManager, a new carrier selection and rating module designed to group and prioritise orders by carrier and pick-up time. A module of Dispatcher-SCE, LIS' supply chain execution solution, the system increases operational efficiency by ensuring orders are picked and despatched on time.
  
  
  
• Manhattan Associates, Inc. (WMS, LMS, YMS, NT, UNIX, IBM, Nasdaq: MANH) launches SMARTINFO - business intelligence tool that enables optimization and analysis of information generated from the company's LES/SCE.
  
  
  
• Retek Inc. (WMS, OMS, E-Commerce, Nasdaq: RETK) announced Retek Collaborate, a communications platform developed to support Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards (VICS) Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR®) guidelines for supply chain optimization. This solution enables collaboration between buyers and sellers throughout the retail supply chain in areas such as sales and order forecasting, planning, exception reporting, and business trend analysis.
  
  CPFR processes are designed to help retailers and their supply chain partners share critical information and develop joint plans that accurately reflect market demand. Historically, CPFR solutions have tended to focus on shared distribution center data, a complication that had the potential to result in large discrepancies between retailer and supplier plans due to the aggregated nature of the information. The real value for retailers and suppliers comes from shared visibility to precise store level data -- allowing a manufacturer to better optimize plans, and leading to potentially huge savings in production costs.
  
  
  
• Vigilance (Supply chain monitoring and event management) announce alliance with RedKnife Inc. (B2B Hub) This offering will allow RedKnife customers and trading partners to respond to unplanned events in their supply chains on an exception basis. Vigilance will enable RedKnife to track the flow of business documents, detect missing or overdue processes, and generate alerts to customers and their trading partners to ultimately improve delivery of service.
  
  Vigilance provides a suite of web-based, real-time SCEM applications that enable managers to define and personalize any event, such as late orders in customer service, shipment arrival or purchase order generation. Once defined, Vigilance immediately detects exceptions to rules and enables people to notify all members of the community affected by the event, via any wireless device, and enables them to assign action items, track status and collaboratively resolve issues.
  
  
• Yantra Corporation (WMS, ERP) forms alliance with Evant Solutions for managing Complex Supply Chains. Capabilities of the dual solution include:
  
  -- Inventory planning and forecasting
  -- Product, vendor, price, purchase order and event management
  -- Order management and fulfillment
  -- Workflow Management
  -- Complete reverse logistics Profitability analytics
  -- Web based supplier integration
  
  The Evant solution manages the complete merchandising, planning, and decision support spectrum, giving companies a comprehensive view of inventory, product flow, demand and sales across multiple e-commerce channels. The technology also enables users to perform a wide range of functions and tasks that support daily product, merchandising and inventory-related activities.
  
  

• "Just do what you do best."
  --Red Auerbach
• Live as if you were going to die tomorrow."
  --Anon.
  

"Keeping Score : Measuring the Business Value of Logistics in the Supply Chain" "
Keebler, Manrodt, Durtsche, Ledyard	See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com

"Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): The Dynamics of Operations Management"
Shtub, Avraham	See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com

"Computerized Shipping Systems: Increasing Profit & Productivity Through Technology (New Millennium Edition)"
Taylor, Mark A.	See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com

"What To Look For In Warehouse Management System Software"
Obal, Philip	See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com

Valuable Future Events

February 12-15, 2001 - ProMat 2001 - Chicago's McCormick Place North. Good show. Material handling and logistics solutions. Also the ProMat 2001 Educational Conference. For more information see www.promat2001.org or MHIA (sponsor) at www.mhia.org

April 2-4, 2001 - Supply-Chain World North America Conference and Exposition - Hilton New Orleans Riverside - New, Orleans, Louisana, USA. Conference by the Supply-Chain Council. For more information, call 412-781-4101 or visit www.supply-chain.org or www.supplychainworld.org.

MAY 9 TO 11, 2001 - E-LOGISTICS EXPO - The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech, GFB, Announce an Educational Conference and Team-focused Tradeshow in Atlanta, GA. Responding to the need to bring leading-edge education and world-class solutions providers together in a "team environment," the e-Logistics Expo announced today the creation of a new "knowledge tradeshow" to be held next May in Atlanta. The Expo will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Expo features a full three-day educational conference led by The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. Contact Carrolyn Prescott at GFB at 404-524-7777, or e-mail to cprescott@gfb-expo.com

May 22 to 24, 2001 - Distribution/Computer EXPO 2001 at Navy Pier - Chicago IL. Distribution/Computer EXPO is the largest and longest running exhibition of software and systems with applications in logistics, distribution, transportation, warehousing, supply chain management, e-logistics, B2B, B2C, and e-commerce. Over 60 educational seminars in the above applications makes this the largest collection of seminars for the industry. For a full color brochure call, write, fax, or email mdulaney@logistar.com. Full details are on our web-site. May 22-23 - Seminars. May 23-24 - Exhibition. http://www.logistar2.com or e-mail mdulaney@logistar2.com

DC Expo is organized by C.S. Report Inc. Toll free - 800-338-4112 Phone - 610-458-6410 Fax - 610-458-6415

June 11 to 14, 2001 - Supply Chain Expo at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. For more information or to register for Supply Chain Expo 2001, visit www.supplychainexpo.com; or call 800-964-9665 (in the U.S.) or 610-458-7737 (outside the U.S.)

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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. Feel free to forward this newsletter to others that you know. One may quickly subscribe by accessing our website at www.idii.com. '

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