Burlington, MA May 2, 2002 Logistics.com Inc., a provider of integrated logistics planning and execution solutions for shippers and carriers, announced the launch of OptiBid 3, the company's transportation e-procurement solution. Several companies, including REI, Honeywell, Smithfield Foods and United Stationers, have already contracted to use OptiBid 3 for transportation e-procurement.
According to Logistics.com, OptiBid 3 gives shippers control over the transportation procurement process, allowing them to secure transportation contracts across all modes of transportation and giving in-house staff the ability to run some or all of the procurement event.
In addition, Logistics.com said OptiBid 3 is easy for carriers to use, giving them more response time and visibility. "Bid requests prepared by OptiBid are the easiest to complete that we receive," said Dan Gaich, operations manager of Landstar Pittsburgh Agency. "Being able to filter and sort the data, or download it into a spreadsheet for internal analysis, make bid response painless and allow us to spend our time highlighting the value we can bring to the shipper."
OptiBid 3 integrates with Logistics.com's OptiManage 7 transportation management system, bridging the gap between transportation planning and execution. The company said this is in response to the troubles shippers have when executing upon the strategic routing guide developed during the transportation procurement process. Beyond simply following a fixed routing guide, OptiManage 7 dynamically monitors critical metrics and events, making real-time adjustments to the routing guide that raise compliance to a new level and protect the service and savings generated through OptiBid.
"We chose Logistics.com's OptiBid 3 after an exhaustive search for the transportation procurement solution that best fit our overall needs," said Larry Shipp, vice president of logistics for Smithfield Foods. "Achieving transportation efficiencies will have an impact not only on our bottom line, but also on our valued customer relationships."
Logistics.com said that approximately 35 Fortune 500 shippers and third-party logistics providers and 2,000 carriers have used Logistics.com's OptiBid to enable the procurement of over $7 billion in annual recurring freight services, resulting in over $480 million in savings.
