Logistics technology: New Infor offering aims to help SMB's better tackle various problems

Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 6/11/2008

ATLANTA—Infor, a provider of supply chain management software technology, recently rolled out the Infor SCM Warehouse Management Business Edition, a Java-based platform geared towards small-to-midsized businesses (SMB).

This application, according to Infor, is tailored for third-party logistics service providers (3PL), as well as manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, among others. And Infor said in a statement its main objective is to help these types of companies with challenges that SMB’s often face, such as improving inventory accuracy, optimizing work and task management, and maximizing the utilization of warehouse space and personnel.

“Smaller companies are looking for repeatability on a consistent basis in different warehouse environments and are looking for a simplified way to do that whether it is through settings, configurations or data set up,” said Wilson Rothschild, Infor SCM solutions marketing manager, in an interview. 

What primarily drove this release he said was its customer needs to get up and running in order to most efficiently serve their customers so they could quickly train users and be “repeatable” from one location to the next.

“With this [platform], we made things like data entry, documentation, and configuration easier so that it is more self-starting,” said Rothschild. “People these days need to be closer to their customers and part of that is through distribution center locations, which affects 3PLs and manufacturers. Distribution centers are often the last place that is closest to customers, so whether you are an asset-based 3PL or a manufacturer, you need ways to serve these needs like storage putaway and asset allocation strategies to help make you sure have the products you want in stock.”

Along with storage putaway and asset allocation strategies, the Infor SCM Warehouse Management Business Edition also provides users with location definitions and area/zone definitions. Infor said that the platform also provides users with the ability to leverage its service-oriented architecture framework to add other modules like RFID, billing, and labor forecasting.

Rothschild said that this platform helps manufacturing customers looking for a richer solution and a lower cost of ownership. He cited smaller manufacturers looking for a finished goods site as an example, noting this new release is ideal because it gives them a best-in-class value system to better work more efficiently on finished goods distribution processes, as compared to a higher-priced and more complex competitive offering.