We Blog CRM

Brandvis, an “Irish supplier of bespoke corporate and high visibility workwear” announced its selection XeBusiness’ business management system Xe-ERP2 to underpin its CRM distribution, planning, sourcing and manufacturing operations in Ireland and China.

Brandvis allows its customers to design and customise their own workwear styles online, specializing in smaller corporate and industrial clients. The Xe-ERP2 will provide process streamlining, accuracy and speed for Brandvis. And, sounding like a United Federation of Planets designation, it’ll probably cruise by Jupiter and exterminate a few Borg spaceships invading our solar system.

XeBusiness supplies computer-based supply chain solutions for quick response and cost reduction specializing in the textile and apparel sector. Xe-ERP2 is a business management system for garment, footwear, soft goods and household textile suppliers operating in the retail and corporate workwear supply chains.

Ross Systems, a provider of enterprise software solutions and a division of CDC Software has announced a strategic partnership with SupplyScape Corporation, the provider of “e-pedigree solutions” for the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Under the partnership, the two seek to create a “seamless, integrated, packaged software solution that allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to track their product through the supply chain and meet regulatory and trading partner obligations associated with emerging standards for e-Pedigree.” “E-pedigree” refers to an electronic certified chain of custody detailing each sale and resale of each drug from the manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by any wholesaler or re-packager, until final sale to a pharmacy or other medical profession.

Using Ross’ ERP, drug makers can upload specific lot and shipping information into SupplyScape’s e-Pedigree application, which then verifies, certifies and transmits the pedigree, and provides automated, cost-effective pedigree authentication and tracking through the supply chain. SupplyScape Corporation is a provider of supply chain security software and service.

SupplyScape provides electronic pedigree, digital certificates and drug identity authentication software and services. The company’s solutions are designed for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, repackagers, wholesale distributors, and pharmacies. Ross Systems, Inc. is a software solutions provider for the food and beverage, life sciences, chemicals, metals and natural products industries; Ross software has been implemented by more than 1,200 customer companies worldwide, The Ross line includes product in manufacturing, financials and supply chain management to customer relationship management, performance management and regulatory compliance. Ross Systems is a division of CDC Software.

CDC Software is a provider of enterprise software applications designed to assist organizations in delivering a superior customer experience. The CDC Software product suite includes Pivotal CRM, c360 CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform development tools, Ross enterprise resource planning, Ross supply chain management, IMI warehouse management, order management, Platinum China human resource solutions, and business analytics.

CDC Software now boasts more than 5,000 customers worldwide in the manufacturing, financial services, health care, home building, real estate, and wholesale and retail distribution industries.

Some folks over at Lynn Medical media relations and IT took time today to talk a bit about some of their early results with the Enterprise 21 CRM implementation recently undertaken there. Founded in 1966, Lynn Medical is a leader in diagnostic supplies and equipment for cardiology and imaging. Lynn is also a provider of technology for digital archiving and optical media. Lynn prides itself on customer responsiveness as traditional to Lynn Medical corporate culture.

A supply chain management system was needed earlier this year to meet their commitment to customer support and one day turnaround on stock item orders, no small task for a firm that produces product for hospitals, doctors’ offices, and clinics internationally in cardiac catheterization, electrocardiograms, patient monitoring, stress, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound. Lynn Medical reported benefits derived from Enterprise 21 which included enhanced CRM capabilities with quick online quote generation; kitting and light manufacturing capabilities; complete lot and serial number tracking; bar code- and RF-enabled warehouse functions; and built-in integration to small package shippers.

Toledo, Ohio-based Technology Group International specializes in software solutions for small- and mid-market manufacturing and distribution companies. The TGI integrated enterprise series software suite includes enterprise resources planning, manufacturing resource planning, supply chain management, warehouse management system, advanced planning and scheduling, decision support system, business intelligence, manufacturing execution system, and ecommerce.

CDC Software division Industri-Matematik, a leading provider of supply chain software solutions and services for process manufacturers, wholesalers and logistics services providers today announced that Finland-based grocery and household product wholesaler Tuko Logistics has completed the upgrade of its warehouse system with the new version of Industri-Matematik IMI Warehouse.

The new system was deployed in April 2005 in Tuko’s largest warehouse operation in Kerava. Tuko’s solution is now billed as the largest and most extensive solution using voice-direction deployed within the grocery wholesale business in the Nordics. Under the system, Kerava warehouse inventorists are equipped with a Talkman terminal device and wireless headset, which actually guide the inventory handlers through the warehouse to find the goods quickly – no small feat, considering the warehouse space measures some 625,000 square feet.

With the new system, Tuko claims elimination of most paper and even a cutback in worker injuries, as both hands are now employable in work and not on the clipboard. Tuko’s Kerava warehouse serves 1,000 retail outlets on a daily basis, representing Wihuri Oy, Stockmann Oyj, and the Spar chain. Tuko first started using IMI Warehouse in 1997. The mission statement of Tuko Logistics Oy is to provide the customer companies efficient logistics and an extensive range of products at competitive terms as well as to support the customers in developing their sales and business activities.

Its purchases and logistics clientele consists of its customer chains, private retailers and catering clients. The total sales of Tuko Logistics Oy in 2004 was over €1 billion, turnover was €631 million. Staff today numbers almost six hundred. Industri-Matematik is a provider of supply chain software solutions and services specializing in process manufacturers, wholesalers and logistics services providers across the extended value chain. The company focuses on performance-driven customer fulfillments in an effort to assist its customers automate, streamline and measure order- and manufacturing processes. IMI programs are used by companies including Ahlsell, AstraZeneca, ICA, NorgesGruppen and Canadian Tire.

CDC Software is a provider of enterprise software applications designed to assist organizations in delivering a superior customer experience. The CDC Software product suite includes Pivotal CRM, c360 CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform development tools, Ross enterprise resource planning, Ross supply chain management, IMI warehouse management, order management, Platinum China human resource solutions, and business analytics. CDC Software now boasts more than 5,000 customers worldwide in the manufacturing, financial services, health care, home building, real estate, and wholesale and retail distribution industries.

SaaS is attracting the attention of manufacturers who wish to benefit from hosted software for supply chain functionalities such as demand planning and factory scheduling. A recent survey by AMR Research has revealed that in the U.S 26% of the companies surveyed are exploring the on-demand offering. The reason for this interest in SaaS is the need for applications that can aid in streamlining the B2B activities within highly fragmented supply chains. Also, the perennial attraction of SaaS is the opportunity to cut capital costs, save on deployment space, and avoid license fees.

The manner in which SaaS has succeeded in the CRM domain has caught the attention of vendors who have till now concentrated largely on conventional software. The supply chain functionality first gained exposure to web-centric environments in the nineties when online B2B hubs operated as platforms for partner collaboration and as a marketplace. One factor affecting the take-off of SaaS in the field of supply chain is that supply chain requires intensive computations; this is something that is not easy to achieve with the hosted multi-tenant model. Client-server applications are better suited to provide the speed required for such activities.

However, the availability of wireless and broadband has led to improved access and performance and application integration has become more streamlined with the help of web service APIs. User experience is also being enhanced by the use of technologies such as Asynchronous JavaScript + XML (AJAX) and at the same time data transport requirements are being reduced. Distribution planning, contract management, and factory scheduling are supply chain features that are being delivered on the web by vendors. JRG Software is a company that provides web-based factory planning and scheduling for the purpose of improving retail premises fulfillment rates, response time to variations in demand, and minimize order-to-production times. Hosted supply-chain is also in a position to manage collaborative sourcing and procurement functions. Companies such as Procuri and Emptoris offer SaaS for supplier management, spending analysis, and contract management.

Pfizer intends to tackle counterfeiting of its product, Viagra, by deploying RFID tags on each bottle of Viagra. rfidjournal.com says:

Pfizer sells five different stock-keeping units (SKUs) of Viagra, which total several million units each year in the United States.

Go to: Pfizer Using RFID to Fight Fake Viagra

RFID is changing and changing for the better, active tags are becoming easier to deploy on small items due to reduction in their size and cost. Gen 2 will enable reduced interference in the presence of multiple readers, interoperability between products, better read rates, authentication, etc. The tags will require less power and the “kill” feature will ensure that customer privacy is not compromised.

The Gen 2 standard was ratified by the EPCGlobal group in December 2004. Shipping of the Gen 2 tags has already commenced. The bulk of RFID tags are passive and use power form radio signals emitted from the reader.

Compared to active tags, which can have a range of hundred’s of feet, passive tags can have a range of only up to ten feet. As active tags are internally powered, they are larger in size because of a battery source, radio, and antenna. The large size and high cost, up to $ 80 per tag, limit the usefulness of active tags to high value and large-sized objects. As active tags get cheaper and smaller the advantages they offer will help increase their usage. Their advantages include two-way communication, sensor integration, increased visibility, etc. The active tags are compatible with the 802.11 networks and can therefore become a part of the existing IT infrastructure of most companies.