Jacqueline Emigh

Nearly nine months after merging with FreeMarkets, Ariba Inc. is now developing a more integrated procurement lineup, with the ultimate goal of giving users an on demand model for “spend management” software and services. In a presentation at Lehman Brothers 2005 Global Software, IT Services and Internet Conference, Ariba Chief Financial Officer Jim Frankola likened […]

Enterprise resource planning giant SAP AG has begun collaborating with RFID (radio-frequency identification) IP holder Intermec Technologies on new offerings meant to help companies with fewer than 100 employees meet RFID mandates from Wal-Mart, Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Department of Defense and other huge trading partners. In April, Intermec expects to ship EasyADC (Automatic […]

Microsoft Corp. plans to follow up on Tuesdays announcement of its Peak Performance Initiative for manufacturing markets by rolling out a supply chain initiative—as well as new RFID partners—over the next few months. Under PPI, unveiled at the National Manufacturing Week 2005 conference, Microsoft will work with third-party partners on solutions addressing the areas of […]

Users consistently rate best-of-breed supply chain software as better than ERP in most functional areas. But often, companies go ahead and buy ERP (enterprise resource planning) software anyway, due to muddled decision-making and internal politics, according to new research by industry analyst Dan Gilmore. In two new reports, Gilmore also finds that integration costs are […]

Microsoft Corp. marked BizTalk Servers fourth anniversary this week by releasing an upgrade to Accelerator for RosettaNet, one of a series of software accelerators thats been helping to widen BizTalks reach across multiple vertical supply chain markets. Like previous editions of the same product, the new BizTalk Server 2004 Accelerator for RosettaNet is aimed at […]

Alien Technology Corp., a major maker of RFID tags and readers, is using the platform of this weeks RFID World to roll out a set of RFID products, a training course and consulting services targeted at Wal-Mart distributors. A similar bundle is available for Department of Defense trading partners. In an interview with eWEEK.com, Tom […]

The Sun RFID ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) for Manufacturing, released this week at RFID World, is slated to be followed by other RFID (radio-frequency identification) reference architectures from Sun Microsystems Inc. geared to supply chain applications in the pharmaceutical, retail, government and defense markets. Suns RFID ISA for Manufacturing is targeted mainly at CPG (consumer […]

Michael E. McGrath, newly named interim president and CEO of i2 Technologies, predicted this week that the vendors return to profitability will be eased by a growing “blurring of distinctions” between enterprise resource planning and best-of-breed supply-chain software. Yet meanwhile, i2 Technologies Inc. has put a temporary hold on previously announced plans to return to […]

Microsoft Corp. made good this week on earlier promises to overhaul its online collaboration system for partners, a move some analysts and channel members say has been sorely needed for some time now. The new Microsoft Partner Channel Builder online tool, which was released to Gold Certified partners during the first half of January, entered […]

After two years of testing RFID in myriad ways, Bob Nonneman, industrial engineer manager at UPS, has concluded that much progress needs to be made before radio-frequency identification sees widespread industry adoption. Still, Nonneman is optimistic that EPCGlobals new Generation 2 standard will be a step in the right direction. “For the most part, we […]

Microsofts emerging enterprise resource planning (ERP) lineup already contains some supply chain management (SCM) functionality, but ISV partner Prescient this week unveiled a deal to sell its own SCM software to resellers and end users through Vis.align. Microsoft Corp.s ERP customers now deploying Prescient Applied Intelligence Inc.s SCM solution range from food giant Tropicana Inc. […]

Despite barriers ranging from high RFID infrastructure costs to a “murky intellectual property environment,” Avery Dennison plans to pour $35 million into radio-frequency identification in 2005, largely in technology aimed at boosting the availability and accuracy of RFID labels, according to a high-ranking executive. With RFID Generation 2 products expected to be commercially available by […]