Rite Aid Selects Logistics.com Transportation Management System To Improve Supply Chain Effectiveness



 

BURLINGTON, MA Nov. 12, 2002

Logistics.com Inc., the leader in logistics planning and execution solutions for shippers and carriers, and Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), one of the nation's top three retail drugstore chains with annual revenues of more than $15 billion, announced that Rite Aid has selected Logistics.com's OptiManage transportation management system (TMS) to help manage the flow of inbound freight to its 8 distribution centers, which service its 3,400 stores.

 

The OptiManage implementation follows a successful engagement of Logistics.com's OptiBid transportation e-sourcing system at Rite Aid, which generated savings in excess of $1 million annually.

 

"With its advanced automated event-management capabilities, we expect OptiManage to help protect our service levels and extend the savings generated by the OptiBid process," explained Wilson Lester, senior vice president of supply chain for Rite Aid. "OptiManage is a strategic differentiator that will help to improve our inventory turns, keep shelves stocked by reacting to critical transportation events, and anticipate and eliminate supply chain bottlenecks before they occur."

 

Web-native OptiManage delivers full-featured transportation management, including order management, shipment consolidation, carrier selection, tender, track and trace, event management, continuous-move optimization, and freight bill audit and pay.

 

"OptiManage stands apart not only by automating the freight tender process, but also by streamlining the management of exceptions that would otherwise need to be handled by time-consuming, manual overrides," said Bill Hutchinson, vice president of transportation for Rite Aid. "We will improve the utilization of our dedicated and private fleets by setting them up as preferred carriers in the system, and will streamline the spot procurement process that we currently have in irregular traffic lanes. For example, we expect to use OptiManage's automated 'capacity finder' to sequentially or simultaneously offer shipments to multiple contract carriers in the event of a rejection by the primary carrier, reducing the risk of expensive 'maverick' spot transportation purchases."

 

OptiManage is designed to help reduce distribution center inventory, improve service, and provide SKU-level real-time visibility from purchase order to dock delivery, said Todd Kolber, vice president, retail sales at Logistics.com. "We're looking forward to helping an industry leader like Rite Aid, as well as other major retailers, continue to extend their market leadership."

 

About Logistics.com

 

Based in Burlington, Mass., Logistics.com delivers logistics planning and execution solutions that guarantee cost savings to shippers and carriers, while maximizing service and improving capital utilization. The company links all players in logistics and adjacent industries on a standard communication and application integration platform, Logistics Event Management Architecture (LEMA). Logistics.com's three offerings include OptiManage, a comprehensive transportation management solution for shippers; OptiBid, a strategic procurement solution for shippers; and OptiYield, a decision support and optimization solution for carriers. Logistics.com has received numerous accolades and was recently named to the Forbes Best of the Web: B2B for the second consecutive year. The company has received funding, strategic guidance and operational support from Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE). Logistics.com recently signed a letter of intent for its assets to be acquired by Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ: MANH), subject to various closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

 

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