The Trucking Technology Report and Alert are compiled by Information Inc., a supplier of news summaries for vertical markets. Avoiding other businesses' past mistakes during the decision process is essential and businesses should make sure logistics professionals are included in the planning process for the front-end supply chain. The logistics application needs to be defined by the business strategy and not vice versa, says eSYNC International's Thomas K. Ryan. The overall management system will need to complement customer service, inventory, and warehouse management platforms as well as manufacturing planning and business analysis platforms, says UPS' Arnaud J. Wilson. All this information will then need to be available in real time on pagers, cell phones, PDAs, and other wireless devices, says Oracle's Burton Davis.
Software implementations can help to integrate all the disparate systems and functions.
Maersk Logistics Signing Top Retailers Maersk Logistics, a sister company of the leading worldwide shipping firm, has signed up Ikea, Wal-Mart, Federated Department Stores, and other top retailers looking to move into new areas of the globe. The logistics company has attracted these clients in part because it already has a global reach, which cuts down on the difficulties of moving into developing areas and ensures a consistent experience anywhere in the world. Because many logistics customers avoid logistics providers that are seen as having substantial links to one carrier, Maersk Logistics emphasizes that it is independent from its sister company. Md.-based BroadPoint Communications has begun a local advertising campaign intended to give it 100,000 new customers in the Washington area. The company, which offers free long-distance phone service, is providing 30,000 trial cards that enable area consumers to try out its FreeWay phone service without providing the personal data the service typically requires.