PO Management

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

   In an attempt to unify supply chain activities, eBizNET Solutions and SPS Commerce announced a deal to develop a cloud-based service that focuses on retail, e-commerce, distribution and manufacturing companies.    eBizNet will bring its software-as-a-service (SaaS) supply chain applications, while SPS will mix in its on-demand supply chain management services. The integrated service is expected to provide connections to more than 1,500 customers.

Monday, May 07, 2012

   Third-party logistics services provider Damco said its South Asia operation is focusing on the pharmaceutical industry by offering "green" logistics in India.    The company has started offering a Dynamic Flow Control tool which it says helps static supply chains evolve into "dynamic" systems with a focus on reducing carbon footprints. The company said it expects the system to save companies double-digit percentages on cost.    Gre...

Friday, May 04, 2012

   Yodel has unveiled a new service in response to changing conditions in the online delivery market and demand for increased flexibility.    While pushing further into the online shopping business, Yodel, one of the United Kingdom’s larger delivery companies, has announced plans to alter its service in response to consumer service demands and increasing needs for flexilibity.    The changes will include a six-day week for Yodel service, increa...

Thursday, May 03, 2012

   Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Kenco, a provider of distribution, warehousing, transportation and information technology, is offering new international retail and logistics services with Germany’s Hermes Fulfilment.    The companies said the goal is to serve shippers on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, Kenco will provide warehouseing and distribution of online orders through more than 100 distribution centers and Hermes will provide online support for business...

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

   CargoWise, a provider technology applications for logistics service providers and an established Microsoft partner in logistics, has announced its participation in the launch of the latest version of Microsoft’s SQL database server (SQL2012).    The pair has had a business relationship for more than 10 years and CargoWise has become one of Microsoft’s largest independent logistics software vendors (ISV), especially in Australia.    Microsoft’s ISV alliance manager, ...

Monday, April 23, 2012

   The market for RFID transponders, readers, software and services will create more than $70.5 billion from the beginning of this year through the end of 2017, according to research from ABI Research.    The market experienced growth of $900 million in 2011 and is expected to expand 20 percent year annually through 2017. The biggest drivers for RFID will be increased use in government, retail, and transportation and logistics services. These sectors will account for at leas...

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

   Relex, a Helsinki-based supply chain software company, is reportedly looking to expand in the United Kingdom.    The company offers demand forecasting and replenishment systems as well as varied supply chain management and analytics tools. Customers can use these services on a pilot basis before committing to a full deployment. Relex often touts it has yet to lose any customer that made it through the pilot program and decided to come on board.    The company’s lates...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

   Damco, the logistics arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, has launched a new supply chain service that it says will more efficiently deal with continual changes on the demand and supply side of logistics management.    Damco’s Dynamic Flow Control allows supply chain managers to continually re-plan shipments and redefine what is the most important aspect of the shipment, such as date, cost, or carbon footprint.    The company said the system eliminates the manu...

Monday, March 26, 2012

   SATO, a provider of barcode printing, labeling, and radio frequency identification device technologies, will acquire Achernar, a privately held firm based in Buenos Aires.    Achernar, founded in 1971, is one the region’s largest providers of adhesive labeling services to industries including food, cosmetics, electronics and postal services.    SATO said the acquisition is part of a larger plan to expand its offerings and coverage in So...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

   Webgistix Corp., a provider of electronic order fulfillment services based in Las Vegas, has unveiled its SmartFreight platform offering midsized eCommerce retailers a way to manage international and domestic freight moves.    SmartFreight monitors freight moves from manufacturers, distributors and warehouses to Webgistix fulfillment centers located in the United States, Europe, and Asia with plans to open a U.K. facility in 2012.    The platform is a combination of...

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

   Amazon.com will spend $775 million in cash for Kiva Systems, a material handling technology company that’s known for its automated warehouse fulfillment systems.    The acquisition is part of Amazon’s continued spending on facilities and operations to enhance its growing business. This is Amazon’s second largest acquisition behind its $896.4 million purchase of Zappos.com in 2009.    Kiva’s stockholders have already approved the deal and the companies expect to...

Monday, March 19, 2012

   Accellos, a provider of supply chain management software, will offer more of its software applications to customers via cloud-based technology.    The company said its cloud-based AccellosOne Warehouse Management System contains tools to better manage inbound order-processing, inventory, and outbound orders. Customers can also add other modules from the Accellos platform, such as third-party logistics service provider billing, docu...

Friday, March 16, 2012

   LogFire, a cloud-based supply chain services provider based in Atlanta, has expanded its existing warehouse management software (WMS) to include a new transload and deconsolidation function for third-party logistics providers.    The LogFire WMS Trans Load and Deconsolidation capabilities will help 3PLs move freight from ocean containers to outbound trailerloads based on destination, purchase order, and stock-keeping unit. LogFire said this function will allow 3PLs to do these act...

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

   Asda, a U.K. supermarket chain and subsidiary of Wal-Mart, has selected the supply chain technology service of ediTRACK to manage the franchises for its fashion and clothing brand, George.     ediTRACK's software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform will show inventory at distribution hubs and container freight stations from the United Kingdom to China and the Middle East, updating each product’s progress along the way via control checks. The platform can als...

Monday, March 12, 2012

   As part of its "Powerfully Simple" supply chain planning service, ToolsGroup announced its first outsourced service that gives optimized inventory targets to companies, allowing them to manage and respond to changes in demand.    ToolsGroup, a provider of supply chain software, said the goal of this tool is to help companies collect detailed demand data and analyze it so they can go after the best inventory targets for their customers.    The new “Inventory Optimiza...

Thursday, March 08, 2012

   UHC, an alliance of U.S. nonprofit academic medical centers, has launched a mobile tool for its RxLINK system, an existing online analytics tool that helps hospitals make pharmacy decisions based on price performance.    The iPad app allows UHC pharmacy members to see information that can support decisions as well as provide on-demand insight to industry pricing levels for supplies and related shipping services.    UHC said the goal of its software is to combine cli...

Thursday, March 08, 2012

   Huawei, a communications technology provider, has entered an alliance with IBM Global Business Services to develop an application for the enterprise mobility market.    The work, which will fall under the “Smart Workspace@Mobile” brand, will focus on mobile office needs, specifically automation, service channels, and enhancing asset and logistics management.    Wan Biao, chief executive officer for Huawei Devices, said the application will address growing ...

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

   Research and Markets has added TechNavio’s new Global SaaS-based Supply Chain Management Software Market 2010-2014 report that says the market will see growth thanks to increased usage of Web-based applications and cloud computing.    The global supply chain management market has seen a rapid adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS) models and offerings for transportation management, but the report found security concerns are still prevalent.    The report – which covers...

Monday, February 20, 2012

      SourceProcureDeliver.com (SPD), based in Mumbai, India, has launched a new supply chain and distribution platform.    The service is initially aimed at suppliers looking to enter the Indian market. SPD said companies currently face a risky choice of either shipping stock against confirmed advance paid orders or entering the market on their own without an existing order base.    SPD’s platform introduces a supplier to its target segment and tak...

Friday, February 17, 2012

   The Leeds, U.K.-based logistics company Torque has appointed Paul Boland as its new head of freight.    Boland has been with Torque for more than 10 years and will oversee imports, exports, air/sea, and courier services. He will also take charge of the architecture and implementation of Torque’s purchase order management system, which will be rolled out across Europe, Asia and India later this year.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

     A2b Fulfillment will now provide Kigo Footwear with inventory management and fulfillment support.     An existing agreement required third-party logistics provider A2b to provide Kigo with warehousing, storage, and shipping services.    Kristin Serrano, Kigo's chief operating officer, said the company’s recent growth necessitated outsourcing. She said the footwear manufacturer was “forced …to decide which tasks are the most important for us to do an...

Thursday, February 09, 2012

     SAP has announced two new services to deliver its HANA analytics platform to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).    SAP’s HANA has been extended to power its new Business One application and the new Edge edition of HANA, allowing SMEs to see real-time data and analytics based on individual requirements. The platform is a data management software on SAP partner hardware that powers a wide range of analytics based on this data.    For the Business One appli...

Thursday, February 02, 2012

     RedPrairie, an Atlanta-based supply chain and retail technology provider, announced that its Merchandise Management and Direct Commerce applications are now available as on-demand through the cloud.    RedPrairie is adding cloud versions of these applications as part of an overall cloud platform strategy, touting its ability to save money and provide more efficient systems for small and mid-sized businesses.    The company said these cloud applications will help c...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

   Pennsylvania-based Matthews International has started a new division of its company, Matthews Supply Chain Automation.    The division encompass two established branches, Matthews Marking Products and Holjeron, and two recently acquired companies, Innovative Picking Technologies, Inc. (IPTI) and Lightning Pick Technologies.    The combination of these companies will allow the new unit to offer integrated technology that covers the supply chain from manufacturing to o...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

   Demand Management, a provider of supply chain management software, has expanded its overseas presence by opening a new office in Istanbul, Turkey.    Demand Management focuses on tools for manufacturers and distributors and offers the Demand Solutions supply chain planning suite for forecast management, demand planning, collaborative forecasting and inventory planning.    With the new office in Turkey, Demand Management now has 47 offices globally.

Monday, January 23, 2012

   One Network Enterprises, a cloud supply chain service company in Texas, has announced plans for a new strategic alliance with Arrow Electronics, a Colorado-based global provider of services and products for users of electronic components and enterprise computing applications.    The pairing will focus on delivering manufacturers with a comprehensive supply chain management tool and will have a focus on improving service levels and lowering costs.    One Network said ...

Thursday, January 19, 2012

     Orium, which operates an e-fulfillment and multilingual contact center, has launched a new Website dedicated to helping U.S. e-commerce and multichannel retailers expand their Internet sales to European markets.     In particular, the new site helps facilitate exchanges with clients by streamlining inventory access, e-fulfillment, and shipping options.    The company said the biggest barriers it has found for U.S. retailers successfully expanding to EU market...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

     JDA Software has ended the 2011 fiscal year with numbers mostly in line with its original guidance for full-year 2011, which is good news as software sales declined and as the firm wrapped up legal disputes with Oracle over patent infringements.    JDA has not yet finalized its financial results for the fourth quarter but was prompted to put out preliminary financial data because of the drop in its software license sales. Overall, its unaudited revenue for&nb...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

     Amber Road, formerly Management Dynamics, is building on its global trade management (GTM) offerings with the launch of TradeWizards.com, a free cloud-based portal for global trade operations.    The Website is a combination of nine research tools built around obtaining data related to cost and compliance risks around importing and exporting goods.    The modules available in the suite cover restricted party screening against 40 lists; product classification cover...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

     Descartes Systems Group has unveiled a series of extensions to its Logistics Flow Control application.    The new modules give retailers better means to coordinate with supplier-managed shipments and commercial and logistics documentation for import duty filings, the company said.    The Logistics Flow Control is a multi-party Microsoft-based cloud service that unifies the interface and interactions of retailers, suppliers, carriers, and brokers, and covers a...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

     Phoenix-based Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas has developed a set of apps to manage supply chain activity for use on Apple’s iOS devices.    The new POURS app, whose name comes from Avent’s replenishment system, allows for Web-based inventory management including monitoring and taking action on notifications. Customers can use the app to monitor, approve, and track orders with no need to use the POURS Website.    "Avnet's POURS app gives customers full access...

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

   Florida’s Global eProcure (GEP) has announced its acquisition of Enporion, a Tampa-based supply chain management firm.    GEP has been a provider of sourcing and procurement services since 1999 and has expanded its business to include a SaaS (software as a service)-based source-to-pay platform. Enporion’s operations cover sourcing and e-procurement applications with many customers in the utilities and manufacturing industries.    GEP said it will brand Enporion as a GEP C...

Thursday, December 22, 2011

     Growers Express, a large U.S. supplier of fresh vegetables, has picked Junction Solutions to increase its warehouse efficiency and visibility.     Specifically, Growers will use Junction's Wireless Warehouse platform. The system allows companies to manage their inventory and order management with automatic data collection and wireless connections between the platform and handheld devices.    "Junction Solutions' Wireless Warehouse provides us with greate...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

     IBM has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Massachusetts-based Emptoris, a cloud and on-premise analytics software provider with a focus on supply chain management.    Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.    Emptoris has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil and China, and counts more than 350 customers in 75 countries. Its acquisition is the latest in a series of additions to IBM’s “Smarter Com...

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

     Global enterprise application provider IFS has signed an agreement to purchase 100 percent of the shares of LatinIFS Tecnologia da Informação S.A. in cash.    The acquisition is geared to strengthen IFS in the Latin American market. The move follows other acquisitions by IFS in the Brazil, Russia, India and China economies. IFS specializes in warehouse and supply chain management systems.    LatinIFS is an existing distributor of IFS’ application and was...

Monday, October 03, 2011

   The Paris-based consulting and outsourcing company Capgemini has partnered with Oakland-based supply chain software-as-a-service developer GT Nexus, the companies said last week.    The agreement calls on the companies to jointly market what they call “supply chain orchestration.” Essentially, the two companies will collaboratively sell supply chain applications across North America and Europe, enabled by GT Nexus’ technology platform.    “This is a unique combination of ...

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

   Four Soft, a software provider to the logistics and transportation industry, has partnered with PayCargo, an electronic invoicing and settlement services firm, and part of First Data Corp., a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing.    Under the partnership, PayCargo, which is also part of First Data Corp., will integrate with Four Soft allowing its customers to make accounts receivables available to their clients online. The PayCargo plug-in enables users to se...

Friday, September 09, 2011

   The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to initiate a rulemaking to give more leeway for ocean carriers and shippers to use service contracts with rates linked to freight rate indexes.    To date, the FMC said it has received more than 50 service contracts that reference freight indexes.    Under the commission's current rules, service contracts can only reference outside terms, such as a rate in a freight index, that are 'contained in a public...

Friday, September 09, 2011

    Scott Bergeron was appointed chief executive officer of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the U.S.-based manager of the Liberian Registry.     He joined LISCR in 2000 as chief operating officer. Before that, he worked for shipowner and manager Laurin Maritime, Det Norske Veritas, and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as gained practical seagoing experience on a variety of different types of ships.       Yoram Cohen and Adam...

Friday, September 09, 2011

   Atlas Air said Thursday it will fly and maintain five Boeing 767 wide-body freighters owned by express carrier DHL Express in its North American network starting in 2012.    The company is an all-cargo airline that operates its own planes under contract to airlines. It also offers plane-only leases, charter services, flight training and other specialized aviation services. In 2010 it began offering airlines the ability to simply hire Atlas to provide crews and maintenance for thei...

Thursday, September 08, 2011

   The head of the world's largest container leasing company said Wednesday he expects shipping companies to start adding containers to their fleets next year, with many relying heavily on leasing companies for new equipment.    John Maccarone, president and chief executive officer of Textaine

Thursday, September 08, 2011

   Breakbulk and bulk ship operator TBS International said Wednesday its lenders have agreed to let it not make principal payments due on loans from Sept. 30 to Dec. 15.    "During this forbearance period, the company and its various lender groups will negotiate amendments to restructure the company's various financing facilities and cure any existing defaults," TBS said, adding it "intends to pay only the stated interest on its financing facilities during the forbearance peri

Thursday, September 08, 2011

   DHL will add three Boeing 777 freighters, through an agreement with Southern Air Holdings, that will expand the integrated carrier's capacity and boost transit times along key growing trade routes between the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.    The first B777 freighter, which began service

Thursday, September 08, 2011

   The U.S. House Wednesday evening approved a retroactive renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences.    GSP, which allows for duty-free treatment of certain goods from developing countries, was allowed to expire by Congress on Dec. 31. Since GSP's expiration, it's estimated that U.S. importers pay as much as $2 million a day in duties, according to the Coalition for GSP.    Nearly 130 countries and territories maintain GSP status with the United States. GSP applies ...

Thursday, September 01, 2011

   The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security on Wednesday published a new set of 'best practices,' developed in cooperation with U.S. industry, to help guard against the diversion of dual-use items shipped to a transshipment "hub," or to any intermediate country before being shipped to the country of ultimate destination.    Transshipment is routinely used to move goods throughout the world. However, according to U.S. law enforcement officials, it can be used ill...

Thursday, September 01, 2011

   Major global forwarders are gradually concentrating their control of the fragmented ocean and air freight forwarding sectors, according to research by London-based consultants Transport Intelligence (TI).    Using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, 'an economic tool that more accurately measures

Thursday, September 01, 2011

   Third-party logistics services provider Century Distribution Systems has started a non-vessel-operating common carrier service to serve shippers in the U.S. trades.    Century Express, the U.S. licensed ocean transportation intermediary, is an outgrowth of the company's NVO division Century Shipping, which was started in 2005. Century Shipping has operated in several trade lanes, predominantly Asia/Europe and Asia/Australia, but did not hold licenses from the U.S. Feder

Thursday, September 01, 2011

   Get ready, U.S. East Coast ports, the big ships are coming, warns James Newsome, head of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.    Terminals with the right infrastructure and market attributes need to prepare for the arrival of super-sized containerships, because the Panama Canal's expansion in 2014 will not lead, as many port experts predict, to the proliferation of transshipment hubs in the Caribbean, Newsome said Monday.    A widespread belief amo

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

   The U.S. military has spent more than $720 million since 2001 on container detention fees, according to a USA Today report.    Scott Ross, a spokesman for the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, said his agency has been working to reduce fees paid by the military in r

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

   CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container liner company, said it had profit of $237 million in the first half of 2011, 72 percent less than the $849 million earned in the first half of 2010.    The company had earnings before interest and tax of $592 million in the first half of the year,

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

   Maersk Line said it has launched ECUMED, a weekly liner service between Latin America and Spain, Turkey and the Black Sea.    "Investment in the new ECUMED service has been motivated by customers demand for reliable, fast and high quality refrigerated transportation of fruits, especially banan

Monday, August 29, 2011

   Developing the U.S. government's national strategy for securing the global supply chain has bogged down in the White House's National Security Council, where it has been under review since at least early April, a Department of Homeland Security official told industry members.  

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

   INTTRA, an e-commerce portal for the liner shipping industry, saw an 18.8 percent increase in traffic on its system in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year.    The company noted its growth in bookings and shipping instructions is more than double the 8.1 per

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

   Liner carriers APL and Hamburg S'd said Wednesday they are joining together on two services, connecting Central America to the West Coast of South America and to Mexico.    APL said it is dropping an existing service, the PX2, it operates between Panama and the West Coast of South America and replacing it with a new loop, which it will call WCX and Hamburg S'd will call WECA1 from Sept. 4.    The PX2 service is a one-vessel feeder on which its New W

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday started an online directory to enhance textiles trade and attract job-supporting investments to the United States and six trading partners who are parties to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement.    USTR said the DR-CAFTA Sourcing Directory is a 'timely and practical tool that will help American firms and their estimated 395,000 workers in the U.S. textile industry seize r

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has amended its regulations to allow, under certain conditions the import of commercial pepper imports from Panama into the continental United States without treatment.    'Conditions of entry to which the p

Friday, August 19, 2011

   Damco, the freight forwarding arm of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group said Thursday it has tied up a deal with Sun America Imports Inc., a U.S.-based import wholesaler of fresh produce and perishables from Latin America to North America,    Damco will handle end-to-end management of the company&#

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

   Maersk Line saw its first half operating profit drop 67 percent to $438 million, the line said in its interim financial statement Wednesday.    The steep decline in profit, which includes a $29 million operating loss in the second quarter, still places the Danish line in an enviable position r

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

   The CMA CGM Group said Wednesday it plans to expand its use of a terminal in Kingston, timing improvements there with expansion of the Panama Canal.    CMA CGM said it signed a memorandum of understanding Aug. 4 "for the operation, equipment and expansion of the Gordon Cay Container Terminal

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

   The Port of Hamburg's first half container volume rose 17.4 percent to about 4.3 million TEUs, thanks to new and expanded liners services, the German port said Monday.    'Among the factors generating additional throughput volumes were new or expanded liner services,' the port said