- Location, location, location. Nissan North America is deploying the WhereNet active RFID, real-time locating system (RTLS) at its Canton, Miss., assembly plant. The system will help the carmaker automate its inbound supply chain and outbound deliveries. Nissan will also use the WhereSoft Yard Management System and Vehicle Tracking and Management System to boost production speed and throughput, labor productivity and vehicle quality.
- Southern comfort. IBM has inked a $29 million deal with energy provider Southern Co. for a system designed to streamline Southern's financial, supply chain and work management operations. The enterprise solution will give Southern on-demand data and other information needed to improve customer service and reduce the length and frequency of outages. Southern Co. will implement the IBM systems across its subsidiaries, including Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, Southern Power and Southern Nuclear.
- POréals of call. GT Nexus, a company that provides ondemand logistics systems, has partnered with MicroStrategy Inc. to power the customer analytics and reporting capabilities on its Global Logistics pOréal. By embedding MicroStrategy's business intelligence technology into its pOréal, GT Nexus enables customers to analyze their global supply chains and their partners' performance.
- Bon voyage. BBG Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brunswick Corp., has implemented ALK Technology's FleetSuite Tolls to calculate overland delivery costs for Brunswick's sport and recreation boats, which are sold under the Sea Ray, Bayliner, Maxum, Hatteras, Meridian and Sealine names. BBG also uses ALK's PC*MILER software to verify mileage as it delivers some 100,000 boats each year.
- Smart move. Honeywell has licensed the Multistage Inventory Planning & Optimization software from SmartOps Corp. The software will help Honeywell optimize inventories of aerospace and transportation systems, specialty materials, and automation and control systems throughout its supply chain.
- Arctic blast. DHL and Polar Air Cargo have formed a strategic partnership that will provide additional air capacity for DHL Express customers who ship goods between the United States and Asia. The agreement, which runs for 20 years, is aimed at reducing transit times and increasing reliability of delivery on both sides of the Pacific.
- Beautiful! Kruidvat, a leading health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands, has selected Witron Integrated Logistics Corp. to build a new automated warehouse and picking system for retail distribution in Heteren, the Netherlands. Witron's Dynamic Picking System will be implemented within the new facility, which will serve some 900 stores throughout the Netherlands and Belgium.
- Sweet deal. Honeywell International has renewed a contract with AIMS Logistics to provide freight audit and payment services. The two have worked together for more than a decade. Last year alone, AIMS processed more than four million transactions and disbursed over $300 million on Honeywell's behalf.
- Say cheese. Sargento Transportation, a subsidiary of cheese supplier Sargento Foods, has implemented the Sterling Transportation Management system. This ondemand software works with Sargento's existing supply chain software applications and the Sterling Collaboration Network to automate its freight and invoicing processes.
- Vroom. GEMA (Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance), a joint venture of DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors, has just installed two single-aisle mini-load automated storage and retrieval systems supplied by viastore systems. The systems, located at GEMA's engine plant in Dundee, Mich., buffer and store engine blocks prior to final assembly.
- Just the ticket. Federated Department Stores has selected Intelligrated to supply conveyors, sortation equipment and software for the retailer's small ticket distribution facility in Joppa, Md. The new DC is expected to be operational this spring.
- Pack it in. MeadWestvaco, a company that supplies highvalue packaging products to the food and beverage industry, has signed a five-year contract with DSC Logistics for warehouse management services at its new logistics center in Florence, Ky. Among the products that DSC will manage are 9,000-pound rolls of paper.
- Going with the flow. California Cartage Co. has implemented the Navis DC Flow yard management system to streamline the flow of goods that pass through its Georgia Port facilities in Savannah. The Georgia Port Authority also uses the Navis SPARCS terminal operating system to manage its containers.
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