Regal Wine Imports Chooses Blue Ridge to Balance Demand with Inventory

Regal Wine Imports recently selected Ridge to optimize its wine and spirits inventory. Founded in 1980, Regal Wine Imports is an importer and wholesale distributor of fine wines, craft beers and spirits based in Moorestown, New Jersey. Co-owners Charlie Trivinia and Dan Bada have grown the company significantly, now counting more than 75 employees, three offices, and a broad local and national distribution network.


The Blue Ridge supply chain platform was selected for its accuracy in helping retailers and distributors spot and plan for changes in customer demand before they happen. This insight helps Blue Ridge customers reduce costs, improve service levels, and assure product availability to customers without creating a costly inventory surplus.


Blue Ridge’s distribution-focused forecasting and inventory planning technology is particularly effective for wine and spirits distributors. Regal Wine Imports joins fellow distributors Athens Distributing Company, Eder Bros., Georgia Crown Distributing Co., United Distributors, Major Brands Premium Beverage Distributors, Martingnetti Companies and Vectura as Blue Ridge customers.


For more information, visit the Blue Ridge Newsroom.




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Mill Creek Lumber and Supply Company Chooses Kerridge for Growth

Kerridge Commercial Systems recently announced that Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Company has selected its K8 business management software to help prepare for future growth. Mill Creek has been in business for over 80 years and has more than 20 locations across Oklahoma and Kansas.

As a full-service building material supplier, they provide everything needed for building materials including windows and doors, roofing, custom millwork, hardware, and floor coverings. Mill Creek CFO, Wade Lennon, stated, “Kerridge Commercial Systems is a leading software company that provides a highly integrated system with proven capabilities in two core industries that are vital to Mill Creek – lumber and building materials as well as flooring materials. The software, combined with KCS’s culture and drive to work with its customers, proved to be the right solution for our company.”

Kerridge has experienced global success in the lumber and building materials industry with K8. As businesses look to technology to be able to take the next step in efficiency, profitability, and growth, they find K8's solution a compelling one to consider. To read more, visit the Kerridge Newsroom.

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Rhee Bros. Drives Growth With Blue Ridge

Rhee Bros, a leading Pan-Asian food-service distributor, has selected Blue Ridge technology to improve demand planning, forecasting and inventory allocation to solve supply chain challenges associated with global food-service distribution. From food-service to retail, Rhee Bros. carries thousands of Asian products. Based outside of Baltimore, MD, they serve over 800 customers from independent Asian retailers to U.S. food distributors.


Said Kevin Rhee, director of operations at Rhee Bros. “To effectively manage the global sourcing and distribution challenges associated with short shelf life products, long lead times and seasonality, we felt Blue Ridge was uniquely qualified to provide supply chain planning technology that improves forecast accuracy and reduces overstocks, enabling us to meet customer demand.”


Blue Ridge connects the supply chain to customer demand, enhancing customer experience by ensuring products are available at the right time and place without excessive investments in inventory and logistics. With advanced technology and predictive analytics, organizations define specific business goals and receive a calculated, optimized plan with action-ready recommendations to improve financial performance and increase service levels. Food-service distributors benefit from a solution that automatically considers the effects of variable lead times, seasonality, perishables, deal management, promotions and other factors that impact today’s distributors.


Named a leader in the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Systems, Blue Ridge provides cloud-native supply chain planning technology specifically designed for retail and distribution. To learn more about the Rhee Bros. implementation and read additional case-studies and white papers, visit the Blue Ridge Newsroom.


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(Direct link, http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2016_Mid_Year_Supplement.pdf)

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

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Rowmark Poised for Growth with VAI

In 1987, Fred Kremer, the CEO of a drainage pipe manufacturer located in Findlay, Ohio, saw a growing need for extruded sheet materials in the engraving market. Today, that business, now known as Rowmark, is located in a 75,000 square feet facility which houses multiple extrusion lines, press, lamination and hot stamp capabilities, 4 storage silos and a warehouse dedicated to raw materials, a finished goods warehouse, and administrative offices.

In the case of Rowmark, business opportunities began to present themselves across the globe. The success and growth of the company found them outgrowing their ERP software and in need of a solution that would not hinder growth and success. The search for a new supply chain management solution and partner was predicated on scalability, features and functions and value or return on investment (ROI).

After months of research, Rowmark partnered with VAI to deploy its ERP Solution with S2K Smart Center, a browser-based, easy to use application with anytime and anywhere access, and S2K Analytics.

VAI’s unlimited user licensing has been a cost-effective solution for Rowmark during their recent acquisition of Johnson Plastics. “Adopting a new ERP platform is a substantial commitment,” said Gary Justen, director of information technology at Rowmark. “VAI’s unlimited user licensing, though, is a unique feature that we knew would directly impact our ability to scale effectively as our company continues to expand.” Rowmark has been able to confidently manage product and inventory across the globe with faith in the stability and ease of the platform; they plan to bring along VAI’s ERP solutions as they grow their business now and in the future.

To learn more about VAI and the Rowmark case study, visit the VAI Newsroom.

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Iptor Named to Food Logistics’ Top Software and Technology Providers List

Food Logistics, a publication dedicated to covering the global food supply chain, has named Iptor Supply Chain Systems to its 2016 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list. Iptor, formerly International Business Systems (IBS), provides supply chain management, planning and logistics software and services.

The FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list serves as a resource guide of software and technology providers whose products and services are critical for companies in the global food and beverage supply chain.

Iptor’s expertise as a distribution software and services provider to the food and beverage industry is proven among distributors, wholesalers and 3PLs across a number of micro-verticals, including Ardo, SKANLOG, Smeding, Everfresh/Total Produce and many others. These customers use Iptor solutions to achieve added control and flexibility, comply with legal and regulatory demands, automate processes and overcome complexity to strengthen their competitive stance.

“The software and technology sector continues to generate new and exciting opportunities for growers, food manufacturers, grocery retailers and the many logistics providers that support them,” notes Lara L. Sowinski, editorial director at Food Logistics. “Today’s cloud-based solutions and mobile connectivity are helping create tools that are more flexible, affordable and responsive, making software and technology even more valuable to those in the global food supply chain.”

Companies on this year’s 2016 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list will be profiled in the November/December 2016 issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com.

To learn more, visit Iptor's Newsroom.

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The CDA Group Selects Demand Solutions' DSX Platform

Demand Management Inc., a global resource for supply chain management solutions, recently announced that it will be providing supply chain planning solutions to The CDA Group, a major provider of kitchen appliances in the United Kingdom.

Demand Management will provide Demand Solutions DSX Forecast Management and Requirements Planning solutions to The CDA Group to achieve its goal of standardizing its supply chain planning processes on one platform.

“Our existing systems were clunky and we had to use three or four different pieces of software to get the job done. Demand Solutions modules aligned themselves exceptionally well with our processes right out of the box.” explains Steve Boswell, supply chain manager, The CDA Group.

Using the company’s previous supply chain planning applications, The CDA Group’s planning team needed one week to sort through forecast data and get it loaded into the system. With Demand Solutions DSX Forecast Management, they can now update the numbers daily. Rather than continuing to rely on various in-house software solutions and spreadsheets, The CDA Group will now run its business on the integrated, highly stable Demand Solutions DSX platform. This will not only give the company greater protection against system crashes and data loss, but also enable planners to run what-if scenarios that provide a clearer picture of the future.

To read more, visit the Demand Solutions Newsroom.

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I.B.I.S. Announces The New Release Of Advanced Supply Chain Software™ For Microsoft Dynamics®.

I.B.I.S., Inc., a Sonata Software Company, recently announced the new release of Advanced Supply Chain Software™ for Microsoft Dynamics®. This release adds three new modules to Advanced Supply Chain Software™: Advanced Sales and Operations Planning™, Advanced Procurement Management™ and Advanced Demand Planning™.

With the additions of the three new modules, the software now fully supports best practices planning and aligns with the Plan to Profit business management methodology allowing distributors and manufacturers to meet their most important goal – to protect and increase margins. Progressive organizations are embracing an analytics-driven culture with a destination-focused business management approach.

This release features significant enhancements and improvements such as:
◾Sales and Operations planning for manufacturers and distributors by product line, including business impact of promotional events
◾Demand forecasting with industry standard methodologies
◾Smarter buying with a Buyer Console that allows for cost effective consolidation of planned fulfillments driven by vendor minimums and price breaks
◾Lead time management and control over inventory with new calculations for average lead time, economic order quantity with reorder points
◾Vendor sourcing activities tied directly to your selling activities, with end to end margin insight particularly for items not regularly kept in stock (e.g. special or non-stock items)
◾Quote and source new items on the fly, but only release products when you win the sale
◾Advanced purchase and sales pricing with more discount tier options and the ability to have automated selection and pricing of alternate vendors or fulfillment methods, such as drop ships
◾Improved customer service console and robust sales quotation and order management through workflow
◾Automated margin and credit holds
◾New vendor catalog and purchase price update engine
◾Full compatibility with cumulative update 9 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3

To read more, visit the I.B.I.S. Newsroom.
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Vikingbad Selects Blue Ridge Cloud Supply Chain Planning & Analytics To Accelerate Growth

Norwegian bathroom equipment wholesaler Vikingbad recently announced that it has implemented Blue Ridge Cloud Supply Chain Planning and Analytics solution to accelerate growth and increase cash flow.

From 2010 to 2013, Vikingbad more than doubled its annual turnover, and in the Asia-Pacific region are among the preferred brands for total bathroom solutions. Because of their rapid growth, Vikingbad needed a solution to support their ambitious goals without the limitations of traditional supply chain software. Specifically, the company wanted a cloud-native platform with highly accurate demand planning and forecasting to effectively plan their global supply chain with precise supply plans and replenishment.

Blue Ridge was selected for its cloud-native platform with highly accurate demand planning and forecasting abilities to effectively plan global supply chain with precise supply plans and replenishment.

Vikingbad saw planning and optimizing the warehouse capacity as key to the overall performance success. “The detailed plan in Supply Chain Planning combined with Analytic’s easy-to-grasp visualization of the inbound flows, will help us gain a deeper understanding of the supply chain plan. This will allow us to prepare for peak inbound volumes and take proactive action well ahead in time,” stated Kristian Schlanbuch, Vikingbad Founder and COO.

To read more about the implementation and learn about Blue Ridge's supply chain solutions, visit the Blue Ridge Newsroom.

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Akustica Improves Global Supply Chain Performance With NetSuite

NetSuite Inc., a provider of cloud-based financials, ERP, and omnichannel commerce software suites, recently announced that Akustica Inc., a manufacturer of silicon microphones that improve voice-input quality in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile consumer devices, has notably improved the performance of its geographically-diverse supply chain since implementing NetSuite cloud ERP. In recognition of its innovations and improved supply chain efficiency, Akustica has been named to the 2015 list of 100 Great Supply Chain Projects by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine, a top publication for supply chain management.

Akustica is a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff acquired by the Bosch Group in 2009. Akustica maintains its corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA with regional offices in Asia and a worldwide team of distributors. It leverages NetSuite to manage end-to-end sourcing, production, distribution and fulfillment processes for its micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones across in-house and third-party factories in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Since going live on NetSuite, Akustica has markedly improved the speed and precision of supply chain processes while gaining real-time transparency into inventory, production and distribution. For Akustica, NetSuite's cloud-based business management suite, functions as the manufacturer's data warehouse, a single unified store of information gleaned from its entire supply chain including information regarding goods in transit on air shipments.

Approximately 24,000 companies depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission-critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself as a leading provider of enterprise-class cloud ERP suites for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems. To learn more about the Akustica implementation as well as additional NetSuite news, visit the NetSuite Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace 2015-16 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Click to download the: 2015 Distribution Software Guide

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To copy and paste into a browser, use the following:

 

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I.B.I.S. Fosters Supply Chain Collaboration

Modern supply chain management theory emphasizes collaboration – working together with partners for the benefit of the entire supply chain. This makes good business sense. Since the supply chain is intended to operate as a unified team aimed at providing customer value and profits for all participants, it requires that those participants collaborate.

In a practical sense, collaboration involves sharing information and joint decision-making, or at least coordination, on activities to be carried out by multiple parties. It has become a common practice to make point-of-sale data available up through the supply chain to enable more accurate forecasting and distribution planning at the source (manufacturer) and even make that data available to the factory’s suppliers to enhance their planning and support of the factory schedules.

Another common form of collaboration is working together on forecasts. The initial forecast is developed by one of the partners, let’s say the manufacturer, perhaps using data collected by the distributor or retailer. The initial forecast is passed to the retailer, who suggests changes that support planned promotional activities. The manufacturer may suggest changes to the promotion schedule to accommodate more efficient production or distribution.

The end result is a forecast that is a better fit for both production and sales. The retailer is assured of a better inventory plan to support promotions and the supplier is not surprised by unexpected demand driven by promotional activities.

To learn more about I.B.I.S., read case studies, white papers, and view product demos, visit the I.B.I.S. Manufacturing Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace 2015-16 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Click to download the: 2015 Distribution Software Guide

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