Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - October 2008 - (Page 43)

to avoid overpaying. On the back end, the TMS will audit all the freight bills based on the invoices from the carriers. Without a TMS that collects all the freight costs, there is no good way of properly auditing freight bills even using an outside audit company. When Management Dynamics took on the apparel firm Perry Ellis as a TMS client, one of the first tasks was to rerun all of the freight bills through the audit function even though a freight audit company had checked them. According to Pieri, the audit company had not been able to handle the complexity of the contracts. When Perry Ellis implemented the TMS, it found $220,000 savings that had been missed. Managing a global supply chain always requires multiple handoffs, so collaboration with service providers is critical. Management Dynamics provides portals for each major player to organize the collaboration. For example, the supplier portal allows the buyer to post orders, so suppliers can accept the order and build the shipping documents from that same information. The buyer has complete visibility and can do approval through the entire workflow. The supplier can then coordinate with the logistics provider to pick up the goods. The forwarder portal allows exporters to post its shipments when the goods are ready for pickup. The forwarder will update all of the shipping documents through the portal and close out the order. On the inbound side, a portal allows customs brokers to pick up the preentry information that already includes 80 or 90 percent of the data that is required to enter the product. The broker takes the file and loads it into its system to finish the entry. “The portals are a huge area of growth for us,” says Pieri. “The information is in our system for all the partners to use. We are making it more available and extending the processes to trading partners. Electronically extending processes to trading partners eliminates the re-keying of information and keeps everyone informed and aware of what they need to do next.” As Wyland’s report suggests in its title, there are “no excuses” for any company not to optimize its transportation with TMS capabilities. Deployment options abound for domestic and international supply chains at costs that can quickly be recaptured with transportation savings. According to Wyland, there is some good news among the laggard companies that still greatly outnumber the best-in-class companies. More than half of these laggard companies plan on investing in a TMS solution in the near future. “We are probably still two or three years away from the level of technology adoption for TMS that we have seen with other supply chain applications,” says Wyland, “but at least the awareness of the need is there.” To access this article online, visit The Digital Edition at www.SupplyChainBrain.com. Let us help you make the sale. Retailers want orders shipped completely, accurately, just-in-time and exactly as they require. You want to meet customer demand. Regal Logistics delivers faster replenishment cycles, higher sales, better store shelf stock rates, lower logistics costs and superior customer service. We’re the #1 provider of 3PL services to Wal-Mart suppliers in the Paciﬁc Northwest. Choose Regal to improve supply chain efﬁciency, reduce costs and increase proﬁtability. Resource Links Aberdeen, www.aberdeen.com LeanLogistics, www.leanlogistics.com Management Dynamics, www.managementdynamics.com Transplace, www.transplace.com Oracle, www.oracle.com RedPrairie, www.redprairie.com The Company You Turn to When You Want it Done Right the First Time www.regallogistics.com 253.922.2250 www.SupplyChainBrain.com GLOBAL LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES 43 http://www.regallogistics.com http://www.SupplyChainBrain.com http://www.SupplyChainBrain.com http://www.aberdeen.com http://www.leanlogistics.com http://www.managementdynamics.com http://www.transplace.com http://www.regallogistics.com http://www.oracle.com http://www.redprairie.com http://www.SupplyChainBrain.com

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Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - October 2008

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