HighJump Software

Congratulations to HighJump warehouse management system (WMS) customer The Bon-Ton Stores for being featured on the cover of the June issue of Modern Materials Handling! The story highlights the company’s impressive growth, launch of e-commerce, and implementation of the HighJump WMS.

Read the story.

Most recently, The Bon-Ton Stores implemented the HighJump WMS in its Fairborn, Ohio distribution center, which supports operations for 70 retail stores. The HighJump system manages a fully automated material handling system and coordinates movement of store merchandise — 85 percent of which is routed onto outbound trucks within four minutes of arrival at the warehouse. The remainder of the merchandise is routed for value-added services like re-ticketing or tagging before being shipped to stores.

The Bon-Ton Stores has an aggressive growth plan for its online business and expects to double the number of orders it processes over the upcoming holiday season. The company has increased productivity in the area by 13.6 percent.  Additionally, the solution has helped increase inventory accuracy and enhance visibility of the fulfillment workload, aiding planning for daily staffing.
 

What sales model works for you, and why?

Today I would like to discuss some of the points associated with three business models for managing the point of sale inside a direct store delivery (DSD) operational cycle.

The “traditional” view of a DSD route driver is probably best described as one of the peddle salesman. The driver takes his load of goods to his list of daily stops and restocks his customer’s shelf space, while attempting to leverage that relationship by getting the product(s) into more & better shelf space. Despite the changes over the years, this model definitely still exists in one shape or form in many operations. This model certainly helps many smaller-end clients minimize their costs by making last minute purchases of minimum quantities.  However, the cost to taxi product from place to place, and the operational requirements to restock the truck at the end of sales cycle (typically per day) is definitely not favorable for the DSD distributor. It also creates obvious supply chain challenges ensuring sufficient stock is allocated/available, while tying up inventory on the truck that others may have been able to sell had it been in a central location.

If you move beyond the traditional, many suppliers go with what I would call a “Hybrid Presell” model. In this case the driver delivers goods, as well as places the order for replacement stock for future delivery. This model provides the distributor with advanced knowledge of order quantities and can therefore use operational capacity to build deliveries/loads with appropriate resources. However, this combined role can generate new challenges. Traditional compensation/incentive model (i.e. per cases sold) means the driver is better served by having a relationship between the driver and the customer, thus prohibiting the possibility of utilizing a route optimization solution. You also suffer from having contradicting requirements for the driver. This driver wants to get in/out of stops as quickly as possible to maximize delivery cases, but should also want to spend sufficient time to develop account relationships to enhance future opportunities.

If you complete the division between sales and delivery roles, you end up with dual resourcess: one delivery driver responsible for product movement, and a pre-sale resource that is responsible for managing orders and perhaps some additional tasks like merchandising or helping with vendor managed inventory. There are definitely benefits to this model, as you get to utilize resources for specific tasks to their strengths, without having to divide their energy/attention. You also get the freedom to effectively utilize a route optimization package given the established relationship between pre-sales and client with limited risk of damaging customer relations (see my previous blog post on that topic). However, this obviously means an extra set of wheels on the road to get face to face customer interaction, and the costs that go with that.

Changing from the traditional "face to face" model of sales, and utlizing either tel-sell or web-based ordering is yet another method to split the delivery and sales roles.  This reduces the costs listed above, perhaps giving the DSD distributor an "easier" fit, since the benefits remain but you then have to determine the value of that customer interaction.  Is your sales force going to continue to be as effective without it?

So which one is the “best” scenario? As with most things in life, I believe the answer is “it depends”. There are great many factors to consider, some key points to consider are:

-          Geographical distances between stops on your routes and from warehouse to stops.

o   The further you are driving the less likely you want to send a second vehicle to service customers.

-          Ability of resources to handle dual responsibilities.

o   Obviously you need this skill set if you are going to attempt the hybrid model so resource limitations may force your decision making as well.

-          Supply chain costs associated with building orders in advance or at the last minute.

o   Stripping trucks, operational down time during the day, and night crew efficiency all factor in here forcing you to make difficult choices regarding servicing your customers.

-          Customer size and their ability to predict future order requirements.

o   Smaller customers typically suffer from more extreme peaks and valleys of demand, so being able to handle/support these is of utmost importance here.

-          Customer is willing (and able) to support a non face-to-face sales model.

o   Possible resistance to technology changes or ordering limitations may limit the opportunity for benefit here.

What were the key factors that you used to determine your sales model?

I have to admit I am not an avid World Cup soccer fan...but I have enjoyed the coverage and subsequent drama unfold with a few of the higher profile upsets and controversial rulings on the field.  The ironic story regarding the English team's history with the "Ghost Goal" certainly caught my attention (England clinched its only World Cup victory in 1966 with a similar dispute goal line marker) as the one disallowed versus Germany, en route to a 4 - 1 German victory.

What I found particularly interesting was reading how Sepp Blatter (FIFA President) first maintained the "human aspect" of the game was key and could not be replaced, only to later change positions and seem open to technological advances to assist the officials.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/29/sepp-blatter-goalline-technology

How does this relate to direct store delivery (DSD) companies and their challenges?  It seems that Sepp did some soul searching and came around to the concept of at least considering, if not implementing, technological advances.  So what are some signs for DSD companies to recognize when it is time to move forward with a project that advances their use of technology?  Below I talk about five points that really should trigger at least an investigation into what alternatives exist.

1.  Hinderance or Help?
Your company bought that software (route accounting systems (RAS), mobile sales solutions, or maybe an inventory application) or possibly hardware with the intent of helping your employees get the job done faster and better than ever.  At first things were great and you saw immediate improvement in your daily process, but those days are gone.  Today you are more frequently forced to create work arounds or miss opportunities all together due to limitations in your technology suite rather than it helping you achieve improved results.

2.  Reliability Issues?
How often do you hear your route drivers complaining of having to "re-key" a route due to data loss?  Or perhaps a rushed purchase order has been placed due to an unrealized inventory issue from a batch posting failure?  A better question would be - how many times can you let this happen before you realize there is a problem?  Whether it is hardware or software that is letting you down, when these solutions start to impact your business due to failure it may be time to act.

3.  Falling behind competitors?
When the calibre of your lawn falls behind that of your neighbors there may be some good natured teasing involved, but not much more.  When your ability to deliver goods, invoice accurately or manage your supply chain falls behind your competitor you have a much more serious issue to deal with.  In today's economy DSD providers are having their margins tightened while dealing with increased costs, so this is no time to give your competition a head start!

4.  Increasing Cost of Ownership?
What did your IT staff look like when you first implemented your route accounting system?  How did you roll out sales process changes with your route salesmen?  What budget do you allocate to these activities now?  Upgrades, maintenance, support and enhancements are all costs that hit the bottom line.  If your IT spend continues to grow but your ability to handle new functionality (or possibly even maintain the status quo) hasn't progressed, isn't it time to start asking why?

5.  End of Life?
Perhaps one of the more feared phrases of the IT world, if the above listed points haven't triggered the proverbial "spidey senses" then this one surely will start your temperature to rise.  When Microsoft or IBM delivers the notice that product "X" is getting the End of Life treatment you may be able to stretch your utilization past the date, but if anything goes wrong the costs to support / correct / replace will be substantial.  Better to act quickly and start identifying alternative paths to support your business. 

The list of compelling events for your operations may be considerably different depending on the circumstances in which you exist.  But by reading this, I trust that you are actively monitoring where you stand in your technology's life cycle...and good luck making your decisions!

Computer Software Publisher and Distributor Uses HighJump 3PL Billing Management Software to Adapt Its Business Model

HighJump Software, a global provider of supply chain management software, announced Navarre Corporation is extending its service offering to include third-party logistics (3PL) services with the help of its HighJump solutions. Navarre is a distributor and publisher of computer software and home entertainment products. The company processes 2.2 million orders a year and manages 15,000 SKUs on a campus of three facilities with a combined 320,000 square feet in Minneapolis, Minn. and a 30,000 square foot facility in Toronto. After implementing the HighJump Warehouse Advantage WMS, Navarre has seen improvements in efficiency, worker productivity and inventory accuracy.

Read the full press release.
 

The pursuit of revenue growth...while not unique to direct store delivery (DSD) distributors, the challenges/opportunities affecting these DSD businesses, especially some of the smaller distributors, may be. I would like to discuss some of these below.

1)     Market Share: this is a never ending battle. Customer service, marketing, even geographical trends are among the many factors impacting what portion of the “pie” your brand captures.

 

2)     Territories: there have been a lot of headlines dedicated to recent market consolidation efforts. I don’t think I need to say much to illustrate how adding additional territories or “markets” to your existing account base can be difficult for the majority of DSD players.

 

3)     Product Line: just walk past those refrigerated glass doors in a local grocery store and you will surely be surprised by some new product line / package size that has recently been added. This is certainly an area that has been exploited over the years, but as a consumer of these goods, the product line additions can often be qualified as “more of the same”.

 

I would like to expand a little further on one particular area that I think is under utilized by many DSD players, and that is product line. Rather than focusing on ways to place more SKU’s that serve the same market, what about expanding beyond your traditional product line? Here is one example where I would like you to think of a typical soft drink distributor or beverage route. They have delivery trucks visiting restaurants, bars, and the like on a daily basis and the route salesman are trying to pry more (or better) shelf space from competitive products. Rather than continuing the Red vs Blue product battle (no matter where your soft drink allegiances are, I am sure you can relate) what about carrying other consumables that these customers need? This soft drink company already has a relationship with the customer and an established method of distribution. If their trucks are not loaded to capacity every day, why not add a snack component? Or perhaps their customers have deep fryers requiring cooking oil? Some cleaning supplies may not be suitable for storage with consumable goods, but there are many that are. The options are surely far greater than the three obvious ones that I have referenced.

I have seen a great many operations over the years, and during these visits I have heard lots of conversations about promotions and initiatives that help drive sales. However, the number of times that I have heard conversations about customers expanding beyond their traditional product lines pales in comparison, and I have never really understood why.

With today’s economy presenting new challenges on a seemingly daily basis I think any method of increasing the revenue to offset the existing cost associated to your fleet requirements has to be a good thing.

Food for thought – perhaps others can share their stories on how this expansion of product line has helped or hindered their bottom line?
 

After receiving great feedback from my previous video blog, I decided to try it again. This time I'm on the road in Atlanta at the Chief Supply Chain Officer Forum. In this video blog, I discuss the relationship between shippers and logistics service providers and how technology can help.

 

Having trouble viewing this video on YouTube?  Click here to watch this video on the HighJump website.

HighJump Software announced Foster Farms Dairy has selected the HighJump warehouse management system (WMS) to optimize its operations. The company processes a wide variety of dairy products at three plant locations and distributes throughout northern and central California from multiple branch facilities. In the project’s first wave, the HighJump WMS will be implemented in the company’s three manufacturing locations and one of its distribution centers.

Foster Farms Dairy recently began a search for a warehouse management system as part of its commitment to continuous process improvement and satisfaction of customer quality and service needs. Lon Nebiolini, Technology & Systems Director Foster Farms Dairy, said “We selected HighJump Software because of its strong reputation in the marketplace, successful applications in the food and beverage industries, and its full suite of supply chain execution solutions, which Foster Farms Dairy plans to take advantage of in the future. Another important factor was HighJump
Software’s adaptable architecture, which will maximize flexibility with respect to changing business requirements without excessive costs or business disruption.”

Read more about Foster Farms Dairy's selection of the HighJump warehouse management system (WMS).
 

This video blog highlights the potential traps a buyer can fall in with a warehouse management system (WMS) upgrade and the impact it can have on distribution and logistics operations.

It’s the point of decision: the consumer is reaching through the convenience store cooler door to grab her chosen brand. What affected her decision? What if you see each DSD technology touch point involved in getting the product to the store, and understand how it affected the consumer’s decision?

HighJump’s new video makes it easy to understand how a modern DSD suite works together, including route accounting system (RAS), mobile presell and delivery, surveys and data collection, load optimization, GPS tracking and more.

 

Related posts: The Real Components of a Direct Store Delivery Software Solution

 

HighJump Software is proud to have been included once again on the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100.  

About the honor: Each year, Supply & Demand Chain Executive identifies leading providers of supply chain services and technologies who are helping customers/clients achieve supply chain excellence and prepare their supply chains for the post-recessionary return to growth. Based on submissions to the "100" from end users and solution providers, the editorial staff of the magazine has compiled a list of leading supply and demand chain innovators.

Final recipients are featured in the cover story of the May/June 2010 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive, as well as online at www.SDCExec.com/SDCE100.

Walmart….I know it is almost universally recognized as a dirty word for the many challenges they create for their DSD suppliers.  However, today I would like to talk about the beneficial changes to operations that have resulted from their ASN initiative.

Let’s first look at how many “traditional” DSD vendors handled their order flow before ASN’s (I am going to state the implied assumption of pre-sold orders rather than peddle sales here, but really ASN is conceptually impossible without pre-sales).

1. Order is received by vendor “X” hours or days in advance of required delivery (the method of entry is for another discussion at a later date) into route accounting software.
2. Order goes through some level of processing to determine how it will be built.  Eg. Products are aggregated with common packages, or order is built specifically for customer (read my previous blog on whether to build by order or not).
3. Pallet(s) are built by the distribution warehouse staff with paper pick tickets / load sheets.  Possibly with, but more likely without checking of pallet content.
4. Driver shows up the following morning and verifies his load content and has to either manually pick additional product to replace short picks / miss-picks, or if they are lucky gets some help from the receiving staff.
5. Driver delivers goods to store where additional invoice/delivery adjustments may be required due to earlier verification issues.

This process obviously has some fairly inefficient steps here, but I think it is safe to say this was generally accepted, and even still is today with many small to medium sized distributors.

The Walmart ASN initiative continues to roll out across North America.  To be compliant DSD suppliers not only have to pick at a rate of near constant perfection, but they also have to submit this information well in advance of the driver showing up at the back door with product.  Meeting these requirements means manual picking processes have to go away and any pick discrepancies must be accounted for AND communicated in advance of delivery.   This means adding a step to update pick quantities and another step to update delivery handhelds have to above process.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (no offence to the rocket scientists), to figure out the changes required to complete these tasks cost $$.  But let’s look at how these operational changes provide benefit beyond being able to continue to supply Walmart with product.

1. Productivity Metrics:  by using either a handheld or mobile computer solution you should be able to track more data than just updated pick quantities.  Why not select a solution to track picking time to generate productivity numbers?  These metrics could be used for incentive picker compensation or alternative motivation plans.
2. Driver Check Out:  with loads already reflecting the changes to pick quantities driver checkout processes should take far less time, getting them out into the trade faster.
3. Delivery Time Reduction:  similar to point above, with accurate load/invoice information route drivers reduce time required to handle the administration side of mobile sales, and should be able to spend more time actually servicing stops.
4. Risk of Fraud:  unfortunately fraud happens…but with accurate order/invoice numbers the need for invoice adjustment will theoretically go to zero.  While I doubt the zero adjustment goal will be present 100% of time, far fewer invoice adjustments means those that happen need better explanation and can be investigated to confirm legitimacy.
5. Route Reconciliation:  here is yet another spot where accurate orders result in time savings.  The lack of invoice adjustments, and accurate inventory numbers save labor for route drivers and reconciliation clerks alike.
6. Inventory Accuracy:  actual pick quantities rather than relieving inventory based on expected numbers give your operation and sales teams real on hand data to know what needs to be ordered, and what is available to sell.

As you can see there are definite benefits to implementing a process solution where actual picked quantities are efficiently tracked.  To truly reap the benefits of this process though, operations should be applying this supply chain improvement not only to their Walmart ASN accounts but to all (or at least the majority) of their accounts!

Traditional perceived challenges to dealing with Walmart aside, I think this is one area where the supplier integration changes they have created in the DSD supply chain best practices are actually forcing operations to become more efficient!  I hope that you consider some of the points above and how they could help your direct store delivery operations as well.
 

HighJump Software, a global provider of supply chain management software, has appointed Gary Nemmers to Vice President of Sales and Amy Stelling-Kahler to Vice President of Worldwide Support.
 
“Gary and Amy are valuable additions to the HighJump executive management team and bring extensive experience to their roles,” said Russell Fleischer, CEO, HighJump Software. “Amy has served in many key positions at HighJump that make her uniquely suited for this newly created executive position, and Gary has extensive sales leadership experience in the supply chain software industry.”

Read the press release.

HighJump Software is proud to have been named to the Inbound Logistics Top  100.  Every year, Inbound Logistics editors recognize 100 logistics IT companies that support and enable logistics excellence. Drawn from a pool of more than 300 companies, using questionnaires, personal interviews, and other research, Inbound Logistics selects the Top 100 Logistics IT Providers who are leading the way in 2010. Editors seek to match readers' fast-changing needs to the capabilities of those companies selected. All companies selected reflect leadership by answering Inbound Logistics readers' needs for simplicity, ROI, and efficient implementation.

HighJump Resources
Watch a Video: 3PL achieves supply chain success using the HighJump Software warehouse management system (WMS)
Watch a Video: Fox Racing doubles distribution productivity with the HighJump warehouse management system (WMS)

A constant battle in any working environment is finding ways to best utilize your time so that you are doing what you do best and not spending your time on other tasks. As an example I have seen warehouses in which the warehouse manager spent nearly all of their time taking orders from paper and entering them into the computer so that they could print the pick ticket, and then after the order is picked he or she has to update the system and print the invoice. They hardly leave their office, leaving them essentially no time to see what is going on around the warehouse or look for ways to improve operations.

 

I think Marcus Buckingham has it right when he says "Do what you do best, Outsource the rest". We only have so much bandwidth when it comes to day to day activities and sometimes it is important to step back and re-evaluate priorities to find out what tasks can be "redistributed". In the case of the warehouses I mentioned above, a warehouse management system(WMS) would not only be able to free up those warehouse managers' time but allow them to take a look at their warehouses and see where they have opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, etc. In the case of IT personnel who spend all of their time trying to keep their server up and running, a WMS in the cloud might be just what they need to free up the time to improve overall operations. And as for the warehouse logistics workers who spend much of their time fixing errors, running to find missed product, or trying to find where that last shipment was put away, there is substantial time saving. Even the time and hassle of shutting down your warehouse every month to do a physical inventory count can be overcome with cycle counts, also decreasing the number of errors which the people in the office have to sort through. So the next time you find yourself thinking, "There has to be a better way to do this," there probably is and it might be worth your time to look into a system that would help you do what you do best.

No this blog entry is not going to be a behavioral reminder from your pre-school teachers…rather this is about how the supply chain software market continues to change, specifically for DSD users. Long gone are the days where features and functionality were the key factors to any software purchase decision. It is true that without solid functionality and key market features software will quickly drop off the desirable list, but these two points are merely the first gauntlet to pass towards a positive decision regarding software selection.

Today, being able to provide “out of the box” integration options, tool kits and breadth of product solutions are more important than ever in the DSD world. A next generation RAS is great, but what else comes with it? Does it provide a flexible mobile sales solution? What about your inventory and truck loading solutions? Traditional (aka Green Screen style) RAS solutions have been able to provide batch data entry for inventory, and load sheets for your picking team but does this technology really cut it in today’s world? That covers some of the basic points of entry of data into your system…but what are you going to do with it once you have it there? Do you have a robust report generation solution? Even better than that, how about a data mining tool with not only canned reports, but also an easy interface where users can define their own “custom” queries to identify the exact data elements you want and need for executive dashboards?

Beyond what I would consider fairly “standard” offerings listed above, many operations are running back end ERP software solutions as well. Being able to provide reproducible integrations to these solutions is quickly becoming as important as the software solution itself. Software users today have existing structure and systems that are not going away, and any future solutions must integrate easily and seamlessly in order to maximize benefit of your DSD solution. This is one area where most companies want to avoid being on the “bleeding edge” of technology, and would really prefer to see an offering that can reference others.

Another reason to consider integration options is as simply as taking advantage of the strength of other solutions. Leveraging the functionality of other solutions not only provides the users benefit, but can do so in a more cost effective manner (if done properly) than building additional modules outside of your core competencies. This may be a difficult decision for some to make, but I think that this is an area that can definitely be used to your advantage if properly evaluated.

I will end this post with the following question…can you really only consider one component to your DSD solution in isolation, or will you look at the end to end integration of all components?
 

Today marks one year since our very first blog post here on Raising the Bar.  What a year it's been!  We've enjoyed bringing you commentary on all things supply chain, from direct store delivery software to warehouse management to logsitiscs and supply chain management.   

Let's take a look back at our top five most popular posts of the year.

1. Is Wal-Mart Sub-optimizing Its Extended Supply Chain?
2. Why Inventory is Not an Asset
3. Why Cap and Trade is Not the Answer
4. What Makes a Good Metric?
5. Where did my variance come from this time?

We'd like to thank you for your readership and comments. We had some great dialogue and ideas shared here by our readers.  Here's to another great year of blogging!

Greetings from 35,000 feet! I am on my way to the west coast for meetings with another prospective HighJump warehouse management system (WMS) customer. This visit will likely be consistent with several meetings recently with large companies who are looking to standardize their WMS platform and move away from homegrown systems. This sounds like a fairly straightforward proposition…until you get into the details.

In each of my meetings, the company has strong feelings that their current homegrown WMS system provides them a true source of competitive advantage. It is not that the system contains “industry best practices”; these homegrown systems enable distribution processes that are actually sources of differentiation from competition. The processes and the systems supporting them are years in the making and unique to each business. By definition, many of these competitive advantages will not be found in traditional commercial off the shelf software – they are proprietary, confidential, and not available to everyone in a given industry.

These companies are pursuing commercial software as a means to reduce IT complexity and reduce total cost of ownership – common objectives of a WMS standardization initiative. However, there is reluctance to proceed based on the sources of competitive differentiation these companies have with their homegrown systems. In the traditional enterprise software approach, these companies will be forced to purchase commercial software, pay exorbitant fees for customizing it to enable their competitive advantage processes, pay exorbitant fees to upgrade (or elect to stay on old technology), and risk that their technology vendor will think their practices are so great that they should be put in the next version of the “standard package” (thus making the competitive advantage available to everyone).

HighJump offers a unique approach.

HighJump’s Supply Chain Advantage suite is architected with an expectation that you will want to enable business processes that are sources of advantage on our technology stack. It is HighJump’s philosophy that 80% of supply chain practices are not sources of differentiation and should be covered by industry supply chain best practices enabled with standard product. However, we also expect that there are 20% of your supply chain processes that are potential sources of competitive advantage. For this 20%, we provide a flexible workflow architecture that allows end users to modify the workflows in the product to support their sources of competitive advantage.

This presents a “best of both worlds” value proposition for our customers. Customers moving off homegrown systems get the benefits of commercial software (new releases containing technology and functionality updates, a worldwide product support organization, and technology partner that will stand by them in the long term) with the flexibility to support their business processes that are sources of competitive advantage.

Related Resources:

HighJump Adaptability Datasheet
GM2 Video: 3PL achieves supply chain success using the HighJump Software warehouse management system (WMS) 

HighJump Upgrade Video

 

Sitting on the plane heading back from NA 2010, I am looking back over the questions I was hoping to get answered at the show. The first question was: what is the overall attitude toward the economy? The overall sentiment that I heard was a hopeful optimism. There are many signs pointing towards a slow but steady economic recovery. The recovery is being felt currently by some while others wait patiently for the effects to reach them. As one gentleman whose business provides material handling equipment pointed out, their business takes a little longer to incur the effects of the recovery because of the systems that need to be put in place in order for there to be a need for their equipment.

 

The second question asked what technologies would be most talked about at the show. While this is a difficult question to answer because of the many different types of vendors at the show, I will try to sum it up. In the supply chain logistics software industry there was a definite interest in SaaS or "in the cloud" solutions and how they are evolving. In fact, HighJump Software just announced the launch of HighJump WMS in the Cloud.   And while I didn't get a chance to spend a whole lot of time in the material handling areas, there was a continued focus on automating every part of the warehouse to make it most efficient.

 

Finally what changes have been brought about by the economic conditions? The biggest change I saw was questions being asked much more about upfront cost rather than ROI because of the challenge of getting capital expenditures approved. Everyone seems pretty reluctant to call the recession over, but all signs seem to be pointing up.

 

This week HighJump announced a product partnership with MercuryGate to provide extended capabilities in TMS. See the press release: HighJump Software Expands Transportation Management (TMS) Capabilities Through Partnership with MercuryGate.

 

I would like to provide some additional commentary on this partnership and what it means for HighJump customers and prospective customers.

 

HighJump acquired our TMS capability in 2006 when we acquired Pinnacle Distribution Concepts and its Freight Logic product (which we rebranded HighJump Transportation Advantage).  HighJump Transportation Advantage has strong capability for domestic shippers who primarily ship outbound and need optimization across truck load and LTL.  However, HighJump Transportation Advantage has functionality limitations for inbound management, international shipping, multi-mode optimization, and capabilities for some logistics services providers (multi-client consolidation and optimization, cost allocation methods).  We feel that this product partnership with MercuryGate provides a leading TMS with capabilities that are expected from transportation supply chain management users with complex requirements.

 

HighJump will continue to support HighJump Transportation Advantage and the 33 customers using the product.  In fact, we have significantly invested in data center capability and transitioned the SaaS datacenter from Tennessee to Minnesota.  This datacenter move allows us to provide on-going support to customers running HighJump Transportation Advantage.

 

Through this partnership, HighJump will provide a re-branded version of the MercuryGate eTMS and MOJO solutions as part of our Supply Chain Advantage Suite.  The offering is called HighJump Transportation Management.  Workflow integration across inbound, yard, and warehouse is done through the HighJump adaptability platform utilizing the web services available from MercuryGate using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) philosophies.  HighJump Transportation Management will be hosted in MercuryGate’s existing datacenter.  HighJump Supply Chain Advantage may be deployed on-premise or through our recently announced cloud deployment option.

 

For new customers we will offer HighJump Transportation Management.  We will also offer existing Transportation Advantage customers the option to migrate to HighJump Transportation Management through a migration program with preferred pricing.

 

Related Resources:

TMS press release

TMS web pages

Link to MercuryGate website

HighJump Software, a global provider of supply chain management software, announced today it is augmenting its existing capability in transportation management through a partnership with MercuryGate. The partnership will bolster HighJump Software’s current supply chain management software suite by adding new functionality for the management of international inbound and outbound transportation and robust transportation management functionality for third party logistics (3PL) providers.

To maximize the value from a transportation management system (TMS), shippers and 3PL’s are turning to systems that have capability for international and multi-mode shipments. The HighJump TMS can now coordinate and optimize complex multi-stop, multi-modal shipments, including ocean, air, rail, LTL, TL, and parcel. The solution also supports multi-currency and inter-geography shipments. Additionally, more companies are outsourcing their logistics to 3PL providers. The solution allows the 3PL to easily implement and on-board new clients and to leverage transportation across all of their clients reducing costs and maximizing profits. HighJump’s transportation solution continues to be deployed as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which connects shippers with an extensive network of carriers and allows them to begin processing shipments using the system in a matter of weeks. The overall solution is web service enabled and utilizes HighJump Software’s unique adaptable architecture which allows companies to use their supply chain processes as sources of competitive advantage.

Read the HighJump Transportation Management press release.