WATERLOO, Ontario, Feb. 6, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Descartes Systems Group, a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, announced that its new Descartes for Retail suite is being used by retail market leaders around the world to improve productivity and performance of their logistics operations.
The new Descartes for Retail suite offers a global supply chain solution that provides real-time visibility into deliveries to effectively manage and move goods, improve data integrity, reduce transportation costs, handle promotions, improve inventory management, provide supplier and carrier score carding and enhance customer service.
"We have been working with industry-leading retail customers around the world to support their logistics-intensive operations. Based on successful pilots in Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as our customers' continuous feedback and successful results, we've assembled a comprehensive suite of applications designed to meet the requirements of global retail logistics operations," said Arthur Mesher, CEO at Descartes. "When combining these retail applications with our secure Global Logistics Network multimodal community, our customers can easily interact with their trading partners and suppliers to reduce transportation and inventory costs, have real-time visibility of goods and improve service across their supply chains."
Descartes provides functionality and flexibility to retailers to help improve customer service while reducing operations costs. Descartes' portfolio of applications for inbound shipments, facility management and outbound shipments is designed for retail operations and can scale across implementations from a single application to an end-to-end deployment to reduce value added network costs. These applications include:
Inbound Shipments * Manage Contract Carriers -- Retailers can automate carrier bid, tendering, settlement and freight auditing processes to allow for better efficiency and control of common carrier transportation moves. * Improve Inventory Visibility & Flow -- Manage inventory data from a centralized location that provides real-time shipment, storage and stock updates, allowing retailers to optimize inventory flow throughout the supply chain. * Customs Compliance -- Uses a single access point to comply with customs initiatives from various governments around the world, helping improve the efficiency and traceability of the customs clearance process. * Messaging Services -- Connects retailers with trading partners and carriers to increase the value of information moving through the organization and your supply chain. Facility * Dock Scheduling & Yard Management -- Automates appointment scheduling and enables better visibility and collaboration with carriers. * Delivery Performance -- Provides visibility to inventory at a detailed level (e.g. style, color, size or lot/batch number), which enables better decision-making relating to specific product in transit. * Facility Layout & Slotting -- Manages inventory at-rest and in-motion across suppliers and distribution networks and is compatible with most warehouse management systems. Outbound Shipments. * Territory Analysis & Service Day Assignment -- Balances sales and delivery territories to efficiently allocate resources to generate cost savings and improve customer service. * Delivery Appointment Scheduling -- Plans and controls activities of fleets including real-time communication with delivery vehicles and dynamic tracking, pick-up and delivery. * Store & Depot Replenishment -- Uses exception management to detect problems with substitutions, short ships, and goods that won't meet your ship-to arrive date. Manage promotions and replenishment orders whether sourced via long, complex or short, regional supply chains. Order visibility is extended to distribution centers and stores, resulting in more efficient store-level replenishment. * Last Mile Delivery Management -- Provides more efficient home delivery service, helping enhance customer delivery satisfaction and driving down transportation costs. * Mobile & GPS Tracking Solutions -- Ensures delivery drivers are following the most cost-effective routes, reducing wasted time and mileage, and delivering product on time. * Sales & Merchandiser Management -- Improves productivity through resource planning, route building and optimization, and tracking your mobile workforce -- including sales representatives, territory managers and merchandisers -- ensuring retailers have greater visibility and control over all activities in the field.
The new Descartes for Retail suite will be launched at the Retail Industry Leaders Association 2008 Conference in Orlando February 10 - 13, 2008. In addition, Descartes along with its customers will be demonstrating the value and results of the Descartes for Retail solutions at the Descartes Global User Group Conference, April 14th - 16th 2008 at the JW Marriott Buckhead in Atlanta. For more information on our annual user group conference, visit our web at www.descartes.com/usergroup.
About Descartes
Descartes (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX), a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions, is delivering results across the globe today for organizations that operate logistics-intensive businesses. Descartes' logistics management solutions combine a multi-modal network, the Descartes Global Logistics Network, with component-based 'nano' sized applications to provide messaging services between logistics trading partners, shipment management services to help manage third party carriers and private fleet management services for organizations of all sizes. These solutions and services help Descartes' customers reduce administrative costs, billing cycles, fleet size, contract carrier costs, and mileage driven and improve pick up and delivery reliability. Our hosted, transactional and packaged solutions deliver repeatable, measurable results and fast time-to-value. Descartes customers include an estimated 1,600 ground carriers and more than 90 airlines, 30 ocean carriers, 900 freight forwarders and third-party providers of logistics services, and hundreds of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, private fleet owners and regulatory agencies. The company has more than 300 employees and is based in Waterloo, Ontario, with operations in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Washington DC, Derby, London, Stockholm, Shanghai, Singapore and Melbourne. For more information, visit www.descartes.com.
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This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") that relate to Descartes' new suite offering for retail and potential benefits derived therefrom; and other matters. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the factors and assumptions discussed in the section entitled, "Certain Factors That May Affect Future Results" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.