- No strings attached. Schneider National has purchased Qualcomm's T2 Untethered TrailerTRACS Asset Management Solution and has begun implementing the technology across its fleet of more than 48,000 trailers.
- Powerful solution. Electric utility PacifiCorp has installed supply chain execution solutions from Catalyst International at 18 power plants and warehouses. PacifiCorp provides power to 1.6 million customers in six Western states. The SAPConsole wireless data solution integrates with the company's inventory management and warehouse management systems. It has improved system response times and increased accuracy and real-time validation.
- Primary carrier booked. Bas Bleu, a Georgiabased book catalog company, has selected DHL as its primary delivery carrier. Bas Bleu distributes books for children and adults, as well as stationery, games and gifts for consumers nationwide. After using a combination of carriers, the company will now streamline its deliveries using DHL express and ground options. Items will ship from Bas Bleu's Atlanta distribution center.
- Fast and fresh. Intermec Technologies Corp. and Mobile Tech Solutions have teamed up to create a new version of Intermec's RoutePower route distribution software aimed at the bakery industry. The software will help bakers optimize drivers' productivity, minimize "stales" and maximize profitability. The program automates all route activities, such as customer order information, delivery invoicing, inventory management and product pricing. RoutePower is designed to work with Intermec's 700 Color series mobile computers.
- Start the printers. Printronix, a manufacturer of printers, has chosen Tharo Systems as an RFID label software partner for its SmartLine RFID printers. Tharo will be supplying an RFID Wizard and its EasyLabel software to allow users to print and program high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency smart labels. The RFID tags can be programmed with text on a label along with bar codes for complete product identification.
- Hungary for more. ProLogis, a worldwide provider of distribution facilities and services, will develop a new distribution center near Budapest, Hungary, for Geodis, a global third-party logistics provider. The 250,800-squarefoot facility will be located in Budaors, five miles from Budapest at the junction of two major highways. With the addition of this build-to-suit facility, Geodis will lease more than a million square feet of European distribution space from ProLogis in France, Spain, Hungary and The Netherlands.
- POréal of call. The Port of Antwerp, Belgium, has joined the GTN POréal, an industry-backed multi-carrier transaction platform for sea-freight management. The pOréal provides integrated electronic shipment transaction services for shippers, agents and freight forwarders. It operates using software developed by GT Nexus. The pOréal provides point of entry and standard message processing across many carriers. It also creates a uniform way to transmit booking and shipping instructions, and can perform track and trace with shipping lines.
- Team effort. RedPrairie Corp., RF Code and Avery Dennison have partnered to provide technology for global asset and inventory visibility and security. The solution uses RedPrairie's LENS global visibility product. RF Code contributes its active RFID reader technology, including the TAVIS DataRouter data collection system for active RFIDbased real-time locating of assets. And Avery Dennison will provide the active RFID Secure Strap product for monitoring the integrity of shipping containers, trailers and other mobile assets. Together, the systems provide end-to-end solutions for RFID deployment.
- Swiss movement. Ciba Specialty Chemicals, a billion dollar Swiss chemical company, has implemented a suite of global trade management products from Vastera. The suite includes TradeSphere Importer, Exporter and Customs Manager. Ciba will now be able to reduce its reliance on third-party service providers and streamline the flow of its customs-clearance information.
- Top pick. CVS has selected Witron Integrated Logistics to supply material handling systems at its new Vero Beach, Fla., distribution center. The 400,000-square-foot facility will feature Witron's Dynamic Picking System, which is an automated technology for storage, product retrieval and order picking. This solution is said to provide 30 percent more productivity in half the space of a conventional distribution facility.
- The Redcats' meow. Redcats USA (formerly Brylane) has selected Sandvik Sorting Systems to install a cross-belt sorter at its distribution facility in Indianapolis. The SBIR SD sorter will have a perimeter length of nearly 700 feet and an operating speed of 334 feet per minute. It will be able to process 8,100 cells per hour. The sorter will be used for returned products and will sort items to 76 operator stations, where they will be inspected, bagged and labeled, then reintroduced into the system for sorting to 22 final destination stations. It will also sort returned cartons and bags to recycling containers.
- Where's the beef? Microsoft Business Solutions is implementing an RFID project for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, a snack food manufacturer. The company's RFID data will be integrated into Microsoft Business Solutions' Navison enterprise resource planning (ERP) product. The RFID and ERP integration will allow Jack Link's Beef Jerky to increase visibility and control at receiving, manufacturing and distribution.
- Male order. Men's apparel retailer Casual Male has just completed installation of Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management solution at its Canton, Mass., distribution facility. Casual Male is the country's largest retailer of big and tall clothing, with 489 stores. The software implementation includes labor and slotting applications and will allow Casual Male to gain global visibility, improve efficiency and reduce labor costs for inbound and outbound warehouse logistics.
- Sorting it all out. The U.S. Postal Service has awarded a contract valued at over $24 million to FKI Logistex for a bulk and tray mail sorting and distribution system. The equipment will be placed at the postal service center located at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, N.Y. It will be the largest single-site project the USPS has implemented in several years and is part of an extensive operational upgrade at the facility.
- Zoom, zoom, zoom. Mazda North American Operations has begun using Kewill Solutions' enterprise shipping solution at the automaker's five parts distribution centers in the United States. The shipping software will optimize fulfillment of more than 700,000 parcels and 35,000 LTL shipments annually to some 700 dealerships across the United States and Canada. It will also provide visibility into order status, shipping charges and tracking information. The installation is expected to have a one-year return on investment.
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