| IDII Software Newsletter To assist the professional dealing with software in Warehousing Distribution, Logistics, and the Supply Chain. December 7th 2001 - Vol 2 No 19 |
Techniques, Vision, & Educational Thoughts "The New Challenges of Retail Logistics Management" The Council of Logistics Management defines logistics as "that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements." To make this happen, retailers, transportation, distribution, warehousing and order management organizations must execute together. This is no small task, especially in an environment that is becoming increasingly demanding and disparate. Most experts talk about inventory and shipment visibility-the ability to see data throughout the four walls and beyond-as the key to successful logistics execution. But, in reality, this "visibility" provides only the status of "in-transit" shipments or inventory. The reality is that knowing the status of something once it is already in-transit adds little value to the retail supply chain. There are four conditions that are changing the way retailers are thinking about the logistics operation as they struggle to meet the ever-increasing demands of their customers:
The four conditions outlined above have significantly changed the role and expectations of the logistician. Companies must radically adapt their logistics management strategy in order to compete in today's tumultuous marketplace, marked with ever-decreasing turnaround times, increased competition and lower profit margins. There are numerous companies in the marketplace that offer technology solutions claiming real-time visibility into inventory levels and logistics; unfortunately, what most offer does not match up with what businesses really need to improve costs and customer satisfaction. In today's volatile economic climate, logistics management is becoming more important than ever before. Getting the right amount of goods to the right place at the right time is critical. In the best of times, logistics managers only execute 80% of the time. However, in tougher economic times, this margin for error is too high. Logistics management is evolving in significant ways to address these problems. Internet utilization, combined with the proliferation of reverse logistics and the impact of technology advancements in real-time logistics event management and visibility, are fundamentally changing the role of logistics management in organizations. In order to succeed in today's global marketplace, companies must be ever cognizant of these trends and develop a logistics management strategy that capitalizes on the best-of-breed technology solutions available today, so that they can meet the demands of their customers today and be well prepared for the future. Editor's Note: This is a short version of a white paper with diagrams and interesting facts & perceptions. Click here for the full white paper. We thank Tilion for the permission to use their white paper. About the Author Christopher Stone, is founder, president and Chief Executive Officer of Tilion. He founded the company to address the unmet business requirement for an on-demand, unified view of the supply chain. Prior to Tilion, he served as executive vice president of corporate strategy and development at Novell, where he played a key role in the turnaround and resurgence of the company. Previously, he was the founder of the Object Management Group (OMG), the largest software development standardization group of its kind. Stone began his technology career at Data General Corporation, where he spent ten years in various roles leading up to his role as the director of software products. |
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IDII News - New Website Features
- NEW - Books on WAREHOUSING, LOGISTICS, SUPPLY CHAIN, SHIPPING,
WMS... We have done the research and built the web
pages - in order to help you! Check it out
- you will be glad you did ! Books are shipped
from Amazon.com or publisher.
Check out Ken Ackerman's new book "Warehousing Tips"!
- FREE - FREE - FREE - IDII Warehouse &
Software Directory From Now until the end of the December, you
can receive a free copy of our IDII Warehouse
& Logistics Software Directory (sells
for $95.00). Provide us with e-mails of 10 associates
& Receive Your Free Copy LIMITED TIME OFFER - Expires 12/31/2001.
FREE Educational Materials - Keep Learning - White Paper INDEX
- NEW White Paper on The New Challenges of Retail Logistics Management.
- NEW White Paper on Warehouse Management Systems - Management Outlook.
- NEW White Paper on Virtual Warehousing - Management Outlook.
- NEW White Paper on XML Options for Transportation Management.
- NEW White Paper on WMS Selection Steps.
- NEW White Paper on WMS Implementation Tips.
- How To Buy A WMS - Philip Obal - Logistics.About.com
Record history of Online Chat - Gives very good detail on the WMS selection process.
| Cadre Technologies |
Software Company News
- Cambar Software (1981, WMS,, TMS) Announces Hosted Warehouse Solution. Customers who choose to use CSI’s Axis Warehouse
Management solution in a secure,
hosted environment
can now select from three levels
of service
– basic, standard and enhanced –
to address
their unique business requirements
and IT
environments:
- Basic – includes non-managed application services with basic hardware monitoring;
- Standard – provides detailed hardware, database and application monitoring between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST; and
- Enhanced – expands coverage under the standard
hosting service level to 24x7.
The deployment of the Axis Warehouse Management at a secure CSI hosting facility using encryption technology allows CSI customers to respond to their clients more quickly and accurately by managing the flow of goods and information in the supply chain efficiently and cost-effectively. The solution also achieves a single point of accountability for the management of hardware and software infrastructures.
- Microlistics Pty Ltd (WMS, SCE, Austrailia,
Asia, UK) delivers one of the fastest implementations of a warehouse management system during
implementation for e-fill (an Australian
3PL). ISIS Express, with a stated feature of 30
day implementations, was up and running
in
the e-fill Fairfield site in less
than 22 days. "In WMS projects, that is the equivalent
of running the 100 meters in 6.8 seconds,"
expressed Stan Bearder, Project Manager,
Microlistics.
Microlistics stepped up to the challenge with ISIS Express, the pre-configured WMS package with sophisticated warehouse functionality built in, and set an aggressive time table for delivery: Within 9 working days the customer was ready to receive stock into ISIS, at day 15 the customer was ready for processing picks and by day 22 a fully operational system was in place and ready to roll. "The reason we were able to deliver this project so efficiently was the teamwork between both e-fill and ourselves" states Mr. Bearder. "Right from the start we had the key people involved and with a blank sheet in front of us, we literally created the procedures together". In addition to fast process design, the team approach also helped prevent common WMS implementation problems from occurring, i.e. unnecessary scope and costs spiraling out of control.
- ServiceWare Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SVCW), a provider of Web-based knowledge management
solutions for customer service and support,
today announced that Fourth Shift (ERP, MRP),
a SoftBrands Company, successfully implemented
eService Suite 4.0. ServiceWare enables Fourth Shift to reduce
the overall number of incoming calls
into
the support center while providing
customers
with an easy-to-use, 24x7 self-service
option.
ServiceWare is a leading provider of intelligent service applications that enable companies to provide enhanced customer service capabilities. ServiceWare's eService Suite(TM) software empowers organizations to deliver superior service and support, while reducing expenses. Powered by MindSync(TM), a patented self-learning search technology, eService Suite enables businesses to develop and manage a repository of knowledge to effectively answer inquiries over the Web and in the call center.
- TALPX Inc. (B2B, E-Commerce) and NxTrend Technology Inc. (ERP, WMS) form alliance to deliver integrated e-commerce
solutions to the building products
industry.
NxTrend’s SX.enterprise distribution software
will be integrated with the industry-leading
TALPXâ eMarketplace Solutions.
TALPX will use NxTrend’s bizLinx Commerce Connect technology to enable real-time XML integration. Commerce Connect supports EDI, e-mail and flat file integration for dealers and distributors who don’t support XML. Once a transaction is completed in the TALPX marketplace, purchase orders, invoices and transportation documents will be automatically generated from, and input into, our partners’ systems.
- Tilion, Inc., (TMS) unveiled its new Solutions for Inbound Freight, a Web-based logistics solution that arms
enterprises with intelligence to drastically
cut inbound freight costs while streamlining the inbound logistics
processes. . Inbound freight is one of the most difficult
areas for logisticians to maintain financial
control, but it offers the greatest potential
for cost savings. Tilion Solutions for Inbound Freight use
data collected from existing enterprise systems
throughout the supply chain to provide greater
level of control over inbound shipments.
This consolidated information eliminates
the use of non-preferred lanes, reduces expedited
shipments, and streamlines the entire inbound
freight process by minimizing the number
of less-than-full truckloads (LTLs). Tilion projects that the solution will slash
premium freight costs by 30 percent and total
inbound freight costs by 15 percent in just
90 days.
Tilion Solutions for Inbound Freight reconciles documents, including purchase orders, ship notices, and carrier status, to generate a real-time picture of inbound shipments to the enterprise. The Tilion Service is unique because it tracks shipments before they leave the supplier’s dock until the moment they arrive at the enterprise. When expedited shipments are scheduled or a non-preferred carrier is selected, the Tilion Service notifies the enterprise logistics manager so that corrective action can be taken before the costly error is made.
Tilion Solutions for Inbound Freight collects critical information and delivers detailed analysis about inbound shipments in a variety of formats, including Web-based reports and proactive alerting to e-mail, pagers, and wireless PDAs. Data can also be fed directly to existing ERP, TMS, and SCM systems. Available shipment critical reports include:
* Supplier Inventory Availability, which compares purchase orders with inventory levels at the supplier to proactively identify short shipments.
* Ship Variance, which matches purchase orders with ship notice data to identify misguided shipments and the use of non-preferred carriers and lanes.
* Shipment Analysis, which sorts all incoming shipments by destination and estimated time of arrival to enable consolidation and improve receiving efficiencies.
- V3 Systems (WMS, TMS) - V3 Systems adds THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS Billing
Component. V3 Systems Billing advances any 3PLs’ ability
to effectively manage billing of
simple or
complex contracts with multiple customers,
especially those implementing a zero
inventory
strategy requiring Supplier Owned
Inventory
(SOI) or Vendor Managed Inventory
(VMI).
Through a simple, intuitive interface, V3 System Billing users can correlate highly complex contracts down to system transaction levels, and ensure that all revenue-generating events are captured and presented for invoicing. Additionally, V3 Systems Billing enables users to assign a billing function to any system- or process-driven event or document. Billing can be based upon storage, transaction, assessorial, frequency, price, unit of measure, or any formulaic combination of these categories.
V3 Systems Billing features highly flexible customer-specific billing configuration capabilities. V3 System Billing also automatically logs billable events and facilitates proper invoicing by allowing modifications to the billing log at any point in the logistics execution process. There is complete visibility to the billing log change history, so 3PLs or their customers can see logged billing events, past invoices, and past billing logs, as V3 Systems Billing uses this data to compile and print detailed, accurate customer invoices. V3 Systems Billing also assigns an ID to each billing transaction, for the purposes of interfacing with any of the more popular Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages (e.g. SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Great Plains, etc.) or custom ERP applications.
Quotes to Ponder - List of Quotes to Ponder from prior issues.
- " Success is a marathon, not a sprint.
Never give up." - IBD November 30, 2001.
Scripture to Ponder - List of Quotes to Ponder from prior issues.
- "Prove ALL things - hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess 5:21..
Websites to Check Out
Many Business Forms & Agreements - from AllBusiness - http://www.allbusiness.com/cmt/information/generic.jsp?fname=24701
Good Book
Software Directory - Released August 2001
| "Warehouse & Logistics Software Directory" Order From Amazon or IDII |
 |
| Obal, Philip | See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com |
WMS Standard Search Bundle
| "Standard WMS RFI Search Bundle" Order From Amazon or IDII |
 |
| Obal, Philip | See reviews and more information on this book at Amazon.com |
WMS Advanced Search Bundle
| "ADVANCED WMS RFI Search Bundle" Available from IDII only |
Advanced Version is available from IDII |
Valuable Future Events
NA2002 - April 8 to April 11, 2002 - Cobo
Hall, Detroit, MI, USA - 800-232-1537 or
visit http://www.na2002.com.
DC Expo - May 21 to May 23, 2002 - Navy Pier,
Chicago, IL, USA - 800-338-4112 or visithttp://www.logistar2.com
About This Newsletter - ISSN 1533-435X
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accuracy is not guaranteed due to variety
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