Two solutions bundled together are better than one, the thinking goes. That would explain why logistics software vendors are scrambling to put together deals that will allow them to offer a pair of complementary applications under one banner.

One of the latest alliances involves J.D. Edwards & Co. of Denver and Logistics.com of Burlington, Mass., which plan to develop standardized interfaces between Logistics.com's OptiManage transportation management system (TMS) and Edwards' OneWorld transportation management and enterprise solution. OptiManage automates tasks such as routing, scheduling, and mode selection, while the OneWorld system provides an inter-enterprise backbone for supply chain trading partner collaboration.

Another alliance announced last month links Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn., with Vertex Interactive Inc. of Clifton, N.J. Pitney Bowes says it will transfer its TMS software to Vertex, which sells a Java-based warehouse management system (WMS). In exchange for the TMS, Pitney Bowes will receive an equity stake in Vertex. The two companies say they will work together to jointly develop, market, and support a suite of supply chain applications built around that TMS and WMS application.

Another linkup is taking place between the Descartes Systems Group Inc. of Waterloo, Ontario, and Sameday, which is based in City of Industry, Calif. Descartes says it will integrate Sameday's Syntempo inventory sourcing technology into Descartes' Internet-based inventory management solution. In addition, Descartes is taking an equity position in Sameday.

Finally, supply chain software maker Logility Inc. of Atlanta has struck a deal with 3Plex, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of Web-enabled transportation solutions. The two companies will work together to offer collaborative transportation management solutions to third-party logistics companies.