-- Cargo management planning and efficiency
-- Profitability analysis
-- Internal tracking and management (portals)
-- Customer and partner self service
-- Service-level agreements (SLA) requirements, measurement, and
performance
"As 3PL companies continue to consolidate, grow geographically, and round
out their service offerings, they need versatile integration
solutions like iWay Software," said Gerald D. Cohen, CEO and founder at
Information Builders. "They are also operating at a scale dramatically
impacted by escalating fuel costs so real-time operations management and reporting capabilities like those of WebFOCUS can help
reduce costs as well as increase profit margins in many ways. For instance,
having an external [Web] portal opens the door to immediate invoicing,
versus waiting to issue a bill of lading upon delivery."
Hesse-Noord Natie Sees Profits From Shipping Critical Data to Managers in
Real Time
Hesse-Noord Natie S.A./NV, a major terminal operator in the busy Port of
Antwerp, Belgium, and a division of PSA International, manages thousands of
global containers as well as terminals in the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge,
and Rotterdam. The company has a strong track record of quality service and
operational flexibility in Europe. Core to the success of a terminal
operator is the ability to quickly make decisions within the fixed time
span of a ship docking and leaving port. For instance, knowing the
commodity mix, quantities of each type of cargo, loading status of each
ship, and permits secured, impacts profitability. www.psannn.be
"HNN needed to be able to determine the status of all facets of loading and
unloading in any given time," said Paul Verbraeken, manager of informatics
at Hesse-Noord Natie. "We enlisted WebFOCUS to simplify access to relevant
and pertinent information derived from many existing systems via a
Web-based reporting system and integrated data
warehouse. The resulting centralized, real-time view of the status of
roll-on/roll-off and break-bulk cargo has improved planning and played a
key role in increasing the company's profitability."
Hillman Group Blends BI and GIS to Reduce Freight Costs
The Hillman Group in Cincinnati, which distributes hardware, signs, keys,
and other products, successfully leveraged BI to shrink the time it takes
for business decision-makers to get information they need. The company
recently added a geographic information system to its WebFOCUS BI reports.
By including a map of major bodies of water in its reports users can drill
down to a specific location and see information on all Hillman retail
customers within a certain distance of a particular body of water. They
can also see how much of the company's stainless steel products have been
sold in particular stores.
With 10 distribution centers in the United States, Hillman ships products
to retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot. Using BI and GIS, Hillman
managers determine the most efficient shipping routes to reduce freight
costs. By optimizing shipments, the company has reduced shipping expenses
by 25 percent.
Utz and Others Rely on WebFOCUS for In-House Logistics
Utz Quality Foods, Inc. manufactures and distributes potato chips and other
snack foods in the mid-Atlantic U.S. The company services supermarket
chains and large retail customers like Costco. Utz also coordinates sales
and production of more than 20,000 pounds of chips every hour, managing 600
delivery routes to 30,000 stores. Visit utzsnacks.com for more information.
"In the snack food industry, service and quality are key," said Ed Smith,
CIO of Utz. "Timing is crucial in keeping fresh product on store shelves.
We rely on WebFOCUS for distribution planning and management to coordinate
the timing between production, marketing, sales, and distribution
operations. In 2007, we realized significant company growth and
distribution and sales process improvements because our employees are
better able to rapidly make informed decisions."
About Information Builders
As a leading independent business intelligence (BI) company for the past 30
years, Information Builders has provided innovative solutions to more than
12,000 customers, including most of the Fortune 100 and numerous U.S.
federal government agencies. The company's flagship WebFOCUS product is the
world's most widely used BI platform. Superior architecture and intuitive
nature enables WebFOCUS to address the needs of everyone in the extended
global enterprise -- executive, analytical, operational, and beyond. It
provides the agility to adapt to changing business conditions with the
security, scalability, and flexibility to support dozens to millions of
users.
Unique to the company is the integration expertise it brings to the BI
market. Information Builders iWay Software suite solves complex integration
problems with pre-built components that require minimal custom programming.
The award-winning combination of WebFOCUS and iWay gives Information
Builders customers the ability to embrace the company motto: "Because
Everyone Makes Decisions."
Information Builders is committed to customer service excellence with a
Professional Services division that specializes in building custom
applications using WebFOCUS and iWay Software. Headquartered in New York
City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has
more than 350 business partners. Visit informationbuilders.com.
Contact Information: Press Contacts: Kathleen Moran Information Builders (917) 339-6313 Karyn Martin Emerge PR (617) 729-3173