Concentrek Announces Deployment of Advanced Supplier Compliance and Inbound Optimization Suite; First Operational Client Sees Key Compliance Measures Improve by More Than 50%.Business Editors GRAND RAPIDS Grand Rapids, city (1990 pop. 189,126), seat of Kent co., SW central Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1850. The second largest city in the state, it is a distribution, wholesale, and industrial center for an area that yields fruit, dairy products, farm produce, , Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2004 Concentrek, Inc., a leading provider of advanced transportation management and supply chain solutions, announced the deployment of a new integrated suite of supplier compliance applications which allow for the dynamic optimization optimization Field of applied mathematics whose principles and methods are used to solve quantitative problems in disciplines including physics, biology, engineering, and economics. and routing of inbound in·bound 1 adj. Bound inward; incoming: inbound commuter traffic. Adj. 1. inbound shipments to manufacturers. The suite, which was developed internally for a major U.S. manufacturing company, provides tracking, reporting, and statistical process control tools to improve the accuracy and timeliness of inbound supplier shipments. The proprietary applications are fully integrated with Concentrek's i2 Transportation Management and Optimization system. "The biggest hurdle in implementing a dynamic inbound optimization program is getting accurate data," said Mike McClelland, VP of Operations for Concentrek. "We have the optimization technology to increase utilization and decrease empty miles on inbound routes, but if we are expecting 3 pallets and the supplier ships 20, the entire route is compromised and leads to rework re·work tr.v. re·worked, re·work·ing, re·works 1. To work over again; revise. 2. To subject to a repeated or new process. n. and additional cost for our customers." The integrated suite of software applications was conceived during the implementation of an inbound management project for one of Concentrek's clients, a major U.S. manufacturer. "Our analysis showed we could achieve substantial cost savings by moving to a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. daily optimization of the inbound routes," said McClelland. "What we found, though, was that suppliers had become accustomed to some flexibility in shipping, both in terms of pickup time and quantity shipped." What followed was a cooperative effort with both the customer and the suppliers aimed at improving compliance to requested ship dates and quantities. "The informal tracking methods developed by our people were the key to providing the feedback suppliers needed to improve compliance. The subsequent development of these applications allowed us to formalize data collection and provided the reporting and process control tools necessary to obtain a level of data accuracy that allows for daily dynamic routing The ability for a router to forward data via a different route based on the current conditions of the communications circuits. For example, it can adjust for overloaded traffic or failing lines and is much more flexible than static routing, which uses a fixed forwarding path. of inbound trucks," said McClelland. Compliance rates have improved from 38% at the beginning of the project to more than 95%, allowing for a full deployment of Concentrek's Transportation Optimization tools from i2 Technologies. With accurate data now available for daily dynamic optimization, the project is yielding 10% to 15% in cost savings per day and Concentrek expects to drive several million dollars in bottom line savings for their client this year. The extensive data gathering and reporting tools extend the benefits beyond transportation, providing highly accurate information to manufacturing plants, purchasing managers A Purchasing Manager is an employee within a company, business or other organization who is responsible at some level for buying or approving the acquisition of goods and services needed by the company. , and the suppliers themselves. The latest version of the integrated suite is web-based, has multi-customer capabilities, and will be rolled out to other Concentrek inbound management clients throughout 2004. "We believe that our expertise in inbound transportation management, coupled with this new technology, will provide a significant competitive advantage for Concentrek as we continue to build our customer base of world-class manufacturing clients," said John Patterson John Patterson can mean any of the following:
In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. more than static routing Forwarding data in a network via a fixed path. Static routing cannot adjust to changing line conditions as can dynamic routing. See routing protocol. guides to manage to their inbound transportation problems." ABOUT CONCENTREK: Concentrek, Inc. is a leading provider of advanced transportation management and supply chain solutions to shippers with complex distribution networks. With a focus on operational excellence, Concentrek delivers experienced people, effective processes, and the industry's best logistics technology in a unique, flexible service offering that generates bottom-line cost savings and improves service. Concentrek's non-asset based approach ensures an unbiased, targeted solution to any logistics challenge. For more information, visit www.concentrek.com. |
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