• Software Selection & Implementation by Dave Piasecki of Inventory Operations LLC (a consulting group with an educational focus). Very good article on tips for selecting and implementing large software projects.
  
• Order Picking: Methods and Equipment for Piece Pick, Case Pick, and Pallet Pick Operations by Dave Piasecki of Inventory Operations LLC. Good article on strategies for picking outbound orders. Both storage and WMS picking techniques are described. See http://www.inventoryops.com for more white papers, dictionary, useful websites, and educational items.

• FreightMatrix (B2B, TMS, subsidiary of i2, Nasdaq:ITWO) announces strategic alliance which will allow FreightMatrix customers to utilize ReturnCentral's ReturnMatrix(TM), a powerful automated returns management solution that distributes mission-critical information throughout the reverse supply chain. This new service is designed to enforce policies and automate the outcomes, allowing for fewer touch points, fewer write-offs and fewer unauthorized returns. Additionally, by quickly resolving customers' credit lines, trading channels remain open in order to promote active buying, which increase revenues.
  
  
  
• Lilly Software (ERP, MRP, WMS, CRM, 3PL, Multi-Platform, Multi-DB) Announces First Upgrade of its WMS VISUAL DCMS 2.1.5. The main features of the upgrade include -
  
  • Advanced Cross Dock/Flow Through Support
  • Interleaved Cycle Counting
  • Manufacturing Integration using ASN's
  • Paper Based Picking
  • Advanced Reverse Logistics
  • Lot/Trace for the Food Processing Industry
  • Rules Based VISUAL Rate Maintenance and Billing for 3PL
  
  
  ``Those are not nips and tucks,'' said Stanley Chew of Lilly Software, ``But major functionalities, which expand both the best-of-breed nature of VISUAL DCMS, and the tighter integration and interoperability of our supply-chain strategy.''
  
  
  
• interBiz (WMS, NT, AS/400, Division of Computer Associates, NYSE: CA) announced Release 6.1 of its warehouse management system, Warehouse BOSS. Warehouse BOSS is frequently found beside the interBiz enterprise resource planning solution, PRMS, and has been interfaced to many competitors’ resource planning solutions.
  
  Release 6.1 of Warehouse BOSS delivers enhanced support for complex parcel picking and parcel packing, provides additional flexibility for mixed-mode (paper and wireless) operations, and supplies further support for radio frequency devices. “Warehouse BOSS supports both traditional pallet-and-case operations as well as the parcel packing operations necessary for the high volume world of eFulfillment,” said Rod Gifford, product manager for logistics, interBiz.
  
  This latest release of Warehouse BOSS incorporates a parcel content audit function that allows a warehouse to audit packed parcels prior to shipping. “The parcel audit functionality was developed with customers,” Mr. Gifford explained. “Those customers are now achieving an error-free shipment rate above 99 percent,” he said.
  
  The mixed-mode enhancement helps companies improve warehouse productivity by providing more flexibility in how they deploy their workforce. Fluctuations in the volumes of eFulfillment can necessitate rapid changes in a warehouse operation. “The ability to mix directed RF and pick-to-label operations gives warehouse managers more flexibility in how they utilize their workforce in response to those changes,” Mr. Gifford said.
  
  
• J.D. Edwards & Company (ERP, 1977, Nasdaq: JDEC) announced the co-development of an enhanced OneWorld® consumer packaged goods (CPG) solution with Accenture. J.D. Edwards and Accenture leveraged expertise of industry leaders to help create the enhanced solution, which delivers targeted CPG functionality while building on J.D. Edwards' supply chain capabilities.
  
  Customers using J.D. Edwards' enhanced consumer goods solution will benefit from the following features: enhanced price management, buying structures, profitability management, enhanced lot control, dual units of measure, product variants, enhanced cross-docking, and enhanced order to cash. J.D. Edwards anticipates general availability of the enhanced consumer packaged goods solution with the next release of OneWorld®.
  
  
• Manugistics Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MANU, TMS, APS, PRICING OPTIMIZATION) - Pricing optimization is the disciplined process of determining what prices to offer for different products through different selling channels to different market segments. For companies that utilize pricing optimization, the goal is to enhance profitability and meet corporate objectives such as market share or revenue growth.
  
  NetWORKS Target Pricing
  
  Manugistics NetWORKS Target Pricing is designed to enable a company to price with more intelligence, speed, and consistency. In response to everything from simple purchase orders to complex, highly-configurable RFQs or contract quotes, Manugistics NetWORKS Target Pricing calculates the price that a seller should offer to help maximize margin consistent with strategic corporate objectives. The solution combines price responsiveness of the customer, the cost of meeting the RFQ or the contract requirements, current inventory or capacity and competitive information to determine the price that balances the probability of winning new business with enhanced margin creation.
  
  NetWORKS Promotions
  
  Manugistics NetWORKS Promotions predicts the impact that direct promotions and incentives programs can have on revenues and product volume -- considering both current and proposed promotions, and cannibalization effects. The solution then helps a company create a promotion program that can meet specific corporate objectives, such as expanded market share, accelerated market penetration, or improved customer retention -- all while reducing promotional costs by as much as a 5 - 10 percent.
  
  NetWORKS Precision Pricing
  
  Manugistics NetWORKS Precision Pricing predicts the responses of customer segments to a company's products and prices, and based on the predicted customer response, determines the optimal price to offer to which customer segments for each product to enhance profit, increase market share, or achieve other strategic goals. The solution is well suited for multi-product, multi- sales-channel companies seeking to create more globally consistent, effective price lists that are capable of delivery via the Web, printed catalogues, telesales, and related communication channels. NetWORKS Precision Pricing is also sensitive to changes in market, cost, and competitive conditions before making price recommendations.
  
  
  
• Transentric (SCEM, Inventory Visibility, 1987, NYSE: UNP ) introduces new product ItemVision(TM), a supply chain event management tool. ItemVision provides visibility of products on order, in production, in-transit and in-storage across all supply chain participants so companies can execute more efficiently and solve problems more effectively. It exceeds the capabilities of existing tools by not only capturing but also aggregating data to display a complete view of present and future inventory to ensure uninterrupted product availability. ItemVision's decision support capabilities deliver managers a view of the impact any actions will have throughout the supply chain.
  
  ItemVision provides complete inventory visibility through real-time status information from both facility and transportation events. ItemVision, through robust message management capabilities and a unique ``many-to-many'' relationship matrix for trading partners and product identifiers, allows for the easy integration of all supply chain participants regardless of their systems.
  
  All authorized supply chain participants are allowed to view more complete common information surrounding inventory, orders, and shipments by other supply chain participants using identifiers and semantics unique to them. Sophisticated user definable alerts and reports clearly identify decision points and enable users to make better-informed operational decisions. ItemVision is also self-administering. New trading relationships, carrier services, products and facilities automatically come into view as they participate in supply chain operations without expensive, upfront administrative processes.
  
  ItemVision works in conjunction with a company's legacy logistics and inventory systems (WMS, ERP, Demand Planning, OMS, etc) and is available as an ASP hosted service, licensed software, an enterprise-integrated solution, or any optimal combination of services. ItemVision is one of many supply chain technology solutions from Transentric. These solutions include BulkVision(TM), ShipmentVision(TM), YardVision(TM), EquipVision(TM), FuelHawk(TM), and VendGuard(TM). Each brings real-time visibility to products and the assets that move them in support of collaborative trading partner relationships within complex supply chains.
  
  
  

• "Words are one of our chief means of adjusting to all the situations of life. The better control we have of our words, the more successful our adjustment will be." --Bergan Evans
  
  

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

"Warehouse & Logistics Software Directory"
Obal, Philip	See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com

Valuable Future Events



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