RedPrairie latest E2E platform release adds new functionality

Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 5/16/2008

Supply chain software provider RedPrairie recently rolled out a new version of its E2E supply chain execution suite. The company said that this upgrade will provide shippers with new capabilities for better flow of goods, better integration between warehouse and transportation management systems, advanced recall and quality assurance capabilities, and new parcel manifesting functionality.

In a 2006 interview with LM, RedPrairie President John Jazweic said that the company’s E2E strategy focuses on consumers driving the supply chain as opposed to the other way around. He said the E2E strategy pictures the supply chain originating with the consumer and moving through distribution and down to the manufacturer, or taking it from a ‘bottoms up’ perspective.

And Tom Kozenski, RedPrairie VP of Product Strategy, said in an interview that this E2E upgrade enables shippers to function in diverse distribution environments.

The E2e platform is designed to operate within multiple vertical industries supporting various material flows, and multiple retail channels,” said Kozenski. “It is used by retailers, distributors and manufacturers alike. A key aspect of E2e is its reaction to the demand signal. This signal can come from a variety of sources including, point of sale devices, a production line, or a traditional customer order. E2e will optimize inventory, labor and transportation based on these signals.”

The biggest benefit for shippers, he explained, is leveraging E2E to maximize freight savings while meeting delivery service levels. He said that while transportation management systems (TMS) and warehouse management systems (WMS) operate within their own closed-loop environments, shippers can continuously re-optimize their freight plans throughout the day to address order changes, carrier changes, delayed pickups and deliveries, and emergency orders.

One of the more unique aspects of the new E2E platform is its integrated parcel manifesting capabilities, which it said are embedded within WMS and TMS to provide certified least-cost shipping to major parcel carriers by handling domestic and international shipments and providing shipment visibility to the final destination.  

“The Parcel Manifesting functions can operate as a black-box application within the WMS or TMS,” said Kozenski. “This allows the shipping operations to rate-shop and manifest cartons directly within the order processing workflow. Also, the fact that RedPrairie provides a certified parcel solution eliminates the additional cost and complexity to acquire and integrate a third party parcel product, which is in the midst of a high level of industry acquisition.” 

“With Parcel shipments becoming a larger percentage of transportation spend, it has increased the importance of parcel manifesting applications,” said Adrian Gonzalez, Director Logistics Executive Council for ARC Advisory Group, in a statement. “It is an especially critical factor for sectors such as retail, service parts and direct to consumer.”

In terms of competitive differentiators, between RedPrairie’s E2E functionality and that of its competition, Kozenski said that RedPrairie is the only company that provides E2e capabilities all the way from manufacturing to the store, including the control of inventory, labor, transportation, and warehousing.