SPECIALSECTION WEB_CITE CITY comprehensive Transport & Logistics WEb Directory www.inboundlogistics.com THEMAGAZINEFORDEMAND-DRIVENLOGISTICS•APRIL2009 Choose The Only Push To Talk That Comes With The Network. Make your business instantly more productive by choosing the only Push to Talk service that comes with the Verizon Wireless Network and its reliable voice service. Plus, get coast-to-coast coverage and 24/7 customer service. Verizon Wireless. The smart choice for Push to Talk. Push to Talk is available only with other VZW Push to Talk subscribers; coverage not available everywhere. ©2009 Verizon Wireless. Let Verizon Wireless make your job easier and business more productive. Call 1.800.VZW.4BIZ Click verizonwireless.com/pushtotalk Visit a Verizon Wireless store INTEN RNALL COLLABABORATION page 488 THE MAGAZINE FOR DEMAND DRIVEN LOGISTICS April 2009 • Vol. 29 • No. 4 INSIGHT INPRACTICE 6 CHECKING IN SaaS: A distribution model for READER PROFILE Mike Segal: The Paper Chase tough times? Mike Segal, director of logistics at Sappi Fine Paper North America, 8 DIALOG always keeps one eye on the weather. When you ship paper, water Readers talk back. damage is a constant concern. From his offi ce in Portland, Maine, Segal 14 HOW TO CLOSE THE oversees transportation and warehousing in a network that also includes SUPPLY CHAIN VALUE GAP fi ve regional distribution centers and several smaller facilities. KnowledgeBase sponsored by Panalpina USA, Inc. CASEBOOK GoodSource Finds Instant Gratifi cation 24 IT MATTERS Carlsbad, Calif.-based third-party food distributor GoodSource Solutions’ How e-commerce retailers can build consumer loyalty. new technology serves up its broker’s freshest rate quotes, without the need for phone calls or emails. 26 VIEWPOINT Finding new value in truck leasing. INBRIEF INDEPTH 10 10 TIPS EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH IT Perspectives 2009 Initiating an effective inbound program. Logistics information technology represents an investment, a risk, a market neutralizer, and often a competitive differentiator. Based on our in-depth market survey, Inbound Logistics’ IT Perspectives 2009 presents a panoramic view of the technology sector, framing trends and developments that impress businesses to focus technology investments and applications in new lights. Top 100 Logistics IT Providers 17 TRENDS An improved supply chain helps With so much logistics technology variability, and solution partners to pick Walmart broaden its appeal… from, shippers need to be calculating in fi nding a deployment that best U.S. intermodal growth keeps meets functionality and cost requirements. Inbound Logistics’ annual Top tracking…Identifying the states 100 Logistics IT Providers is a good place to begin. with the highest cargo theft rates… The Northeast’s Patriot Corridor gains approval. 2 Inbound Logistics • April 2009 YOU NAME IT We’ll Customize A Supply Chain Solution For It Whatever you manufacture or wherever you store and distribute your products, Ryder’s end-to-end supply chain solutions are designed to fit perfectly with your company’s unique needs. Unmatched experience, flexibility and innovative thinking. This is what we offer to hundreds of companies, from electronics and car makers to consumer product and aircraft manufacturers. We can do the same for you. Call 1-888-88-RYDER or visit www.ryder.com. SUPPLY CHAIN, WAREHOUSING & TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS ©2009 Ryder System, Inc. All rights reserved. SNAPSHOT: PLASTICS page 55 THE MAGAZINE FOR DEMAND DRIVEN LOGISTICS April 2009 • Vol. 29 • No. 4 INBRIEF INDEPTH 21 GLOBAL LOGISTICS Economic uncertainty creates Internal Collaboration: A Bright Idea a sea of confusion in the ocean Leading companies are plugging into current economic volatility to shipping industry… Volkswagen de-bugs RFID… Wincor Nixdorf collaborate not just within supply chain departments, but across the opens DC nexus in Singapore. entire enterprise. 74 NEW SERVICES SNAPSHOT: PLASTICS 76 TECH UPDATE Remolding the Supply Chain 128 LAST MILE: MODAL TUNING In the face of a recession, plastics companies recognize the importance of effi cient transportation and supply chain management. INFO Fit to Print: Bar-Code Printer Guide 79 SPECIAL ANNUAL DIRECTORY: Increasingly, businesses of all types are WEB_CITE CITY fi nding ways to streamline operations This compendium of leading transportation and technology and reduce costs by implementing sites makes searching the Web bar-code technology for data collection for logistics solutions a snap. and product tracking. To help narrow down your options, we feature some top 124 CALENDAR models from the leading manufacturers in specialty printing solutions. 125 CLASSIFIED 126 RESOURCE CENTER 7 88581 4 Inbound Logistics • April 2009 Select your service level. Tender your shipment. Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a great experience. You’ll notice the difference long before your shipment leaves the ground. We’ve developed proactive. communication tools. Provided increased visibility for tracking and rates. Enhanced our products. Improved the overall experience. Why? Simple really. We may have 3400 fl ights every day around the. globe. But only one true destination. Your satisfaction.. AACargo.com CHECKINGIN Vol. 29, No. 4 April 2009 THE MAGAZINE FOR DEMAND-DRIVEN LOGISTICS www.inboundlogistics.com STAFF PUBLISHER Keith G. Biondo by Felecia Stratton | Editor [email protected] EDITOR Felecia J. Stratton [email protected] SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Joseph O’Reilly [email protected] ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR Catherine Harden SaaS: A Distribution Model [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS For Tough Times? William Atkinson • Dan Calabrese • Merrill Douglas John Edwards • Lisa Harrington • Robert Malone he lead article in our annual technology issue 15 years ago featured Dan McCue • Amy Roach Partridge • Deborah Ruriani Barbara Barnhill, transportation supervisor for Elizabeth Arden. She CREATIVE DIRECTOR Michael Murphy T excitedly shared the details of her company’s “revolutionary” inbound [email protected] transportation program, which racked up million-dollar savings by using the SENIOR DESIGNER Mary Brennan latest technology – a fax machine. [email protected] Times have changed since the fax machine and its dial tone were the technol- PRINT/WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER Shawn Kelloway [email protected] ogy of choice. Today it’s logistics IT tone driven by Software as a Service (SaaS). PUBLICATION MANAGER Sonia Casiano The popularity of subscription-based technology services is fast changing the [email protected] ability of business logistics managers to inexpensively cope in these times of sup- CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Carolyn Smolin ply chain strain. SaaS provides companies with power and fl exibility, without a large capital investment. And, like a dial tone, SaaS is there when you need it. SALES OFFICES While some solution providers explore value-added services to capture more PUBLISHER: Keith Biondo (212) 629-1560 • FAX: (212) 629-1565 consistent revenue fl ow and keep customers from moving on to the next, newest, [email protected] IT offering, technology investment is still becoming less like a traditional capital WEST/MIDWEST/SOUTHWEST: Harold L. Leddy expenditure and more like a contractual expense. Scalability, facility, and speed (847) 446-8764 • FAX: (847) 446-7985 of use allow software buyers to engage and disengage at will. Consequently, IT [email protected] solutions providers grapple with the challenge of engendering long-term buy-in Marshall Leddy (763) 416-1980 • FAX: (763) 201-4010 for a delivery mechanism that fl aunts short-term appeal. [email protected] Our annual logistics IT research study (IT Perspectives, pg. 29) bears this out. MIDWEST/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Jim Armstrong “We’re seeing increased demand for a complete software service solution,” reports (815) 334-9945 • FAX: (815) 334-1920 one IT vendor. “Customers want not only the IT solution, but a higher level of [email protected] support, new development, customer service, and a variety of pricing/payment SOUTHEAST: Gordon H. Harper options.” This singular sentiment refl ects near-unanimous agreement among sur- (404) 350-0057 • FAX: (404) 355-2036 [email protected] vey participants that “technology service” is a phenomenon with staying power. MOBILE, AL: Peter Muller Further proof: 89 of this year’s Top 100 Logistics IT Companies (pg. 38) offer on- (251) 343-9308 • FAX: (251) 343-9308 demand, Web-hosted solutions; this represents a double-digit spike over last year. [email protected] But SaaS is not without its limitations. The robustness, long-term economy, NORTHEAST: Rachael Sprinz and security of home-grown legacy systems are “must-haves” for some IT buy- (212) 629-1560 • FAX: (212) 629-1565 [email protected] ers, regardless of initial investment and operational ease. Notably, 65 of the Top 100 Companies offer both local and hosted solutions, while 11 target this niche FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS alone. Technology’s value is equal parts functionality and accessibility. An on- www.inboundlogistics.com/free demand solution deployed without a targeted demand, or a dial tone without a Inbound Logistics welcomes comments and submissions. number to dial, leaves companies on the hook with a bad IT connection. Contact us at 5 Penn Plaza, NY, NY 10001, (212) 629-1560, Fax (212) 629-1565, e-mail: [email protected]. Market and end-user scalability defi ne