Sterling Commerce tackles logistics costs with on-demand solution, networked providers

While consumers rarely think about how products get to the store shelves, many manufacturing executives are preoccupied with the cost of delivering goods. "Most companies are seeing double-digit growth, in percentage terms, in transportation costs," says Ken Ramoutar, a director for EDI services and support vendor Sterling Commerce, which recently extended its footprint in logistics, putting itself, as Ramoutar says, "in the business of end-to-end order fulfillment."

Sterling's transportation management system (TMS) is built on a multi-enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA), and delivered on demand. Cheese maker Sargento, a subsidiary of Plymouth, Wis.-based Sargento Foods, integrated Sterling's TMS with its existing systems, replacing a legacy transportation system.

"Sterling enables us to automate our complex logistics processes so we can focus on our core business of delivering high-quality products on time, and at competitive prices," says Keith Hartlaub, general manager at Sargento Transportation.

The Sterling Commerce TMS offers these components:

• Planning finds routes, plans loads, and structures transportation for efficient carriers that meet delivery times;
• Execution gets goods off the dock and to the end point, and tracks carrier information flow;
• Invoice & settlement standardizes what customers do after a shipment is received via electronic functionality; and
• Analytics show what carriers are performing best, allowing customers to monitor supplier performance.

A fifth component of Sterling's logistics offerings—the Sterling Collaboration Network—could be seen as a natural extension of the company's experience with operating value-added EDI networks. The network connects manufacturers with more than 6,500 transportation carriers, and serves as a platform for automating the entire order-to-shipment process.

With Sterling's recent buy up of transportation solutions vendor Nistevo and e-business software developer Comergent, Sterling is growing its logistics capabilities.

Says Ramoutar, "When manufacturers buy our TMS, they don't just buy the software—they get a network of providers to do business with immediately."