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— August 16, 2006

Execution Technology

Pittsburgh Logistics Acquires RedPrairie's TMS App; RedPrairie Acquires BlueCube Software
Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc. is a third-party logistics provider serving the metals, lumber and building materials industries. The company has been in operation since 1991. Recently it acquired a new transportation management software (TMS) system to improve its logistics optimization, workflow and event management. The vendor was RedPrairie Corp. According to PLS, the RedPrairie application, known as DLx, will allow it to provide the next generation of technology-based services to clients. PLS singled out RedPrairie's COPLEX optimization engine as a particular reason for its choice. “Once [the software is] implemented, we will enhance our technology to provide automated order and load optimization, continuous move and route optimization, customized event-management triggers and a customizable workflow,” said PLS president Robert J. Dunn. PLS's services include eflatbed.com, a Web-based tool for managing clients' flatbed truck freight. The company's website is www.pghlogistics.com. In a related development, RedPrairie has acquired BlueCube Software, a provider of Web-based operations-management software for retail workforce management and labor scheduling. According to RedPrairie, the combination will unify all products and services from both companies within the vendor's E2e suite of applications.
Pittsburgh Logistics: http://www.redprairie.com/
Blue Cube Acquisition: http://www.redprairie.com/

Organic Farming Concern Adopts Material-Handling System for Wisconsin Distribution Center
Logistics software has gone organic. Cropp Cooperative/Organic Valley Family of Farms, a nationwide cooperative of organic farmers, has purchased a new material-handling and logistics system for its 80,000-square-foot distribution center, now under construction in Cashton, Wisc. Scheduled to open in the spring or summer of 2007, the facility will handle fluid milk, meat, eggs, produce and various dairy products. To manage the operation, Organic Valley has purchased an automated storage retrieval system (ASRS) and warehouse management system (WMS) from Westfalia Technologies, Inc. The ASPR will store a majority of the customer's products that require cooling or freezing. Items with other specific temperature requirements, such as produce, will be kept in a conventional storage area adjacent to the ASRS. The entire facility will be controlled by Westfalia's WMS modular management software, known as Savanna.NET. It will oversee the automated and conventional areas, including internal system operations, operator transactions and all shipping and receiving functions. The system allows for pre-picking and temporary buffering of orders in the ASRS until needed, in addition to controlling and merging product orders from storage and picking areas to shipping. Savanna.NET can also stage products on the conveyor system prior to truck arrival for quick loading and turnaround, Westfalia said.
http://www.westfaliausa.com/

ElectroLux Implements Parts-Management Tool Across Its U.S. Service Business
Electrolux, the venerable maker of major appliances for home and business use, will implement a new software application for managing its service-parts business across the U.S. The company sells more than 55m products globally each year, holding more than $30m worth of service parts inventory in the U.S. To manage those stocks, it has purchased software from Servigistics, the specialist in applications for strategic service management. The new system is expected to enhance Electrolux's customer-service levels while improving first-time fill rates, Servigistics said. The vendor will host the solution for the customer and integrate it with an existing legacy system. Dave Rinker, general manager of the Electrolux Consumer Services Group, said the company was looking for a tool to “streamline our service operations, maximize performance, and help us raise the bar on service.” In addition, it needed a system that could scale with the business. Electrolux products include refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers. Last year, it had nearly $14bn in sales. Servigistics offers applications for service-parts management, workforce management and pricing, all of which operate on a single data model.
http://www.servigistics.com/

Overnight Delivery Service Deploys Mobile Computers to Track 8m Packages
Golden State Overnight (GSO), a California-based overnight delivery service, has deployed more than 800 mobile computers from Symbol Technologies, Inc. The units are being used to manage and track pickup and delivery of the 8m packages processed by GSO each year. The company is using the Symbol MC9060 rugged mobile computer to support core business operations. Its goals, according to Symbol, are to increase revenue, improve operating efficiencies and boost customer satisfaction through better delivery processes. The mobile computers provide real-time communication and continuous access to data across GSO's service region. GSO relies on wireless LAN communications at the distribution centers and wireless WAN voice and data capabilities for communications on the road. Creative Concepts Software, Inc., a business partner of Symbol, provides staging, configuration and support services for the MC9060 mobile computers, which are deployed throughout GSO's 24 distribution centers and fleet of 1,000 trucks. Since acquiring the technology, Symbol said, GSO has reduced by 75 percent the time needed to load packages into trucks each morning, from more than 45 minutes to under 10 minutes. Symbol's products integrate advanced data-capture tools, radio frequency identification technology, mobile computing platforms, wireless infrastructure, mobility software and services programs.
http://www.symbol.com/

SciQuest Inks Marketing Partnership With Informatics Leader
Elsevier MDL has entered into a marketing and referral partnership with SciQuest, Inc. Elsevier is a provider of sourcing, logistics and informatics services for the life sciences and chemical industries. SciQuest is a vendor of supplier-management and procurement-automation systems. The deal calls for integration of the MDL Logistics materials-management system with SciQuest's Spend Director for supplier management. According to the partners, it supports the development of a comprehensive electronic procurement and supply-chain management offering. The effort is aimed at research and development organizations in the life sciences and chemical industries. It will allow for one-stop procurement through the SciQuest Spend Director, as well as greater control and visibility over spending, by connecting an organization's procurement and financial systems to its suppliers. Users will be able to access MDL Logistics from SciQuest's Spend Director application, to procure chemical reagents. Once the scientist has compiled a reagent list in MDL Logistics, the information will be passed to SciQuest Spend Director for processing and procurement.
http://www.mdl.com/

Cognex Has New Version of App to Speed Deployment of Vision-Guided Robots
Cognex Corp., a vendor of machine vision sensors, has released version 3.3 of In-Sight Explorer. The software is intended to speed the deployment of vision-guided robots in manufacturing. It includes new calibration, communication and other tools that minimize integration time when deploying vision in robotic guidance and inspection applications. Features include non-linear calibration, which improves repeatability by correcting for lens and perspective distortion; robot drivers and sample code to facilitate seamless integration, and the component known as PatMax, which locates unfixtured parts. In-Sight Explorer 3.3 is available on a wide range of IP67-rated hardware platforms. From standard to high-resolution models, all sensors are available with high-flex cables designed for robotic applications. For end-of-arm mounting in light payload applications or wherever space is limited, the recently released In-Sight 5400R vision sensor supplies a compact, remote-head camera. All In-Sight vision-sensor models include a library of vision software.
http://www.cognex.com/

PSI Offers AutoSlip Express, to Boost Warehouse Packaging Productivity
PSI Engineering has launched Autoslip Express, a new packing-slip system to boost productivity at packing stations, without the need to allocate additional space for large machinery in space-restricted warehouses. The tool is a standalone version of PSI's inline Autoslip packing-slip system. It prints, folds and inserts up to four shipping documents into a tamper-proof, adhesive pouch, which is applied to the shipping box by the packing station operator. Automation allows packing station operators to be twice as productive as manual systems, PSI claimed. By optimizing packing-station productivity, distribution centers can increase order capacity without a corresponding rise in capital expenditures for additional space or labor resources. Moreover, said PSI, because the system is part of the packing station and not directly connected to the packaging line, companies don't have to time installation of AutoSlip Express with the warehouse's slowest time of year.
http://www.printpsi.com/

Radio Beacon Opens Regional Office for Europe in the Netherlands
Radio Beacon Inc., a vendor of warehouse management system (WMS) software for distributors, manufacturers and third-party logistics providers, has opened a new office in Europe. It is located in Zundert, the Netherlands. According to the company, the Radio Beacon Europe unit will become a center of product knowledge and supply-chain excellence, recruiting channel partners to market the WMS package to the region. The new location is a direct response to growing demand for WMS software tailored to small and mid-sized businesses, Radio Beacon said. Over the past two years, the company has established a network of channel partners and customers in countries such as the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom. The new Europe office will work with customers and partners across a broader spectrum of European countries. The Netherlands was chosen for its multi-cultural and multilingual environment, as well as its central geographical location, the company said. In addition, Radio Beacon has launched a website that is accessible in all of the major European languages.
http://www.radiobeacon.com/

Researcher Recommends Model for Improving D.C. Productivity; Consortium Sees Changing Trends
A University of Arkansas researcher has come up with a new operating model to improve the efficiency of distribution centers. The system is intended to help companies retrieve products from warehouse shelves faster. “Our results suggest that for unit-load warehouses, radically new designs could lead to faster retrieval rates and significantly reduced costs for operating distribution centers,” said Russell Meller, professor of industrial engineering and director of the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution at the University of Arkansas. Along with Kevin Gue, an engineering professor at Auburn University, Meller studied configurations of racks within warehouses. They concluded that despite increased demand for more efficient and rapid distribution of product, conventional designs for distribution centers have not changed. In the course of their research, they discovered two “unquestioned design assumptions”: that cross aisles are straight and must meet picking aisles only at right angles, and that picking aisles are straight and are oriented in the same direction. Meller and Gue developed two alternative designs that accept lower overall density of storage space but improve order-picking response times. Their model inserts two diagonal cross aisles that originate at the same pickup and deposit point. The modification gives works a “straight-line advantage” when traveling to and from some of the pick locations. The second alternative design, called “Fishbone Aisles,” keeps the V-shaped diagonal cross aisles and adds vertical picking aisles for easier access by warehouse personnel. In a related development, a new benchmarking and best practices survey by the Supply Chain Consortium reveals some changing trends in distribution centers. Among the findings: 63 percent of all product storage is still done with floor bulk and single-deep pallet racks; 43 percent of retail operations have moved to highly automated operations, with only 14 percent remaining highly manual; there has been a 28-percent increase in imports over the last three years; 46 percent of cross-dock labeling is done by suppliers; and 60 percent of all operations have a sorter to support either picking or shipping.
Arkansas Study: http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/8982.htm
Supply Chain Consortium Survey:
http://www.supplychainconsortium.com/

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