This article may contain references to 3PL Central, now Extensiv Order Manager
On-demand Offerings Enable 3PL to Offer More Services with
Existing Resources for a Competitive Advantage
Minneapolis, Minn. and Manhattan Beach, Calif., May 5, 2010 – SPS Commerce (NASDAQ: SPSC), a leading provider of on-demand supply chain management solutions, and 3PL Central, the industry’s leading provider of WMS for small- and mid-sized 3PLs, today announced that Logistix Worldwide, a leading third party logistics (3PL) and distribution company, has implemented the integrated warehouse management system (WMS) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) services to better manage their warehouse and distribution functions, provide visibility to their customers, and comply with supply chain requirements, leveraging the on-demand or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to eliminate the need to invest in hardware, software, IT staff or maintenance to achieve the same customer service levels of larger, or more established, logistics providers.
“3PL Central and SPS Commerce have given us a competitive advantage and without the combined solution we would not have been able to grow our business so quickly,” explained Erik Hinson, managing director at Logistix Worldwide. “We have more to offer our customers and can service large and small accounts alike with our knowledgeable staff. Due to our WMS and EDI capabilities, Logistix has signed on new accounts that desired these services as part of their 3PL relationship.”
The integrated solution from 3PL Central and SPS Commerce provides 3PLs with an EDI and WMS solution that is pre-wired to work together for a more rapid implementation. 3PLs using the solution can more rapidly bring new customers online, eliminate manual entry to improve fulfillment accuracy and reduce chargebacks, and cut order to cash cycle for their customers. Today, Logistix provides 24/7 visibility to the shipping status of their orders and inventory levels for its worldwide customers and uses SPS’ services to process more than a thousand EDI transactions with plans to grow this volume as their business, and their clients’ business grow.
The 2009 Third-Party Logistics Survey, sponsored by the Georgia Institute of Technology, indicates that nearly 60% of organizations ‘feel this is the time in which to re-evaluate their relationships with their 3PLs and possibly drive these relationships deeper.’ It also reported that 42 percent of shipper respondents are converting fixed to variable costs by outsourcing more logistics activities to 3PLs and using SaaS services, with 59 percent of survey respondents indicating this strategy would increase their 3PL use.
“Today’s economy provides an opportunity for 3PLs to grow their services as companies look to outsource key functions, including warehousing and distribution. 3PLs adopting SaaS solutions like SPSCommerce.net and 3PL Warehouse Manager can expand their services without increasing their internal resources and keep their fees competitive,” commented Steven Katz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at 3PL Central. “Our 3PL customers, including Logistix Worldwide, are seeing results in weeks, not months, from the integrated solution. The growing number of joint customers and orders processing through the integrated solution are a testimony to how well it meets the business needs of today’s 3PLs.”
“Teaming with 3PL Central, we offer a more comprehensive and integrated solution that can be rapidly implemented by 3PLs,” stated Archie Black, president and CEO of SPS Commerce. “Retailers, distributors and grocers require their suppliers, and their trading partners including 3PLs, to comply with detailed supply chain requirements. Our expertise and offerings are helping 3PLs to become more attractive trading partners in their marketplaces.”
3PL Central is a new breed of 3PL software provider, offering on-demand supply chain software focused on the needs of 3PLs, public and third-party warehouses. 3PL Central’s 3PL Warehouse Manager, the first on-demand Warehouse Management System (WMS) built to provide public warehouse operations enterprise-class WMS functionality. Offered via an on-demand, or Software as a Service (SaaS) model, enabling 3PLs and public warehouses access to cutting-edge software at a low monthly fee and significantly reducing the total cost of ownership of supply chain execution software from the traditional “buy, upgrade and maintain” software cycle. For additional information, please contact 3PL Central at 888-790-5467 or visit www.3plcentral.com.
SPS Commerce is a leading provider of on-demand supply chain management solutions, providing integration, collaboration, connectivity, visibility and data analytics to thousands of customers worldwide. We deliver our solutions over the Internet using a Software-as-a-Service model to improve the way suppliers, retailers, distributors and other customers manage and fulfill orders. Our SPSCommerce.net platform features pre-built integrations used by current and new customers alike, spanning 2,700 order management models across 1,300 retailers, grocers and distributors, as well as integrations to over 100 accounting, warehouse management, enterprise resource planning, and packing and shipping applications. More than 35,000 customers across more than 40 countries have used SPSCommerce.net, making it one of the largest trading partner integration centers. SPS Commerce has 37 consecutive quarters of increased revenues and is headquartered in Minneapolis. For additional information, please contact SPS Commerce at 866-245-8100 or visit www.spscommerce.com.
3PL Central – For 3PLs on the Grow™
“3PL Central”, “3PL Warehouse Manager”, “Billing Wizard” and “For 3PLs on the Grow” are trademarks of 3PL Central, Inc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements – Any statements in this release that are not historical or current facts are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause SPS Commerce’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties