Varsity Teams with NGS for New BI Product

Published: June 17, 2008

by Alex Woodie

Two i OS software vendors, Varsity Logistics and New Generation Software, are teaming up on a new product that will deliver targeted business intelligence and analytics to shippers and other logistics operators. The new product, which will be called ShipView Plus, is expected to ship later this summer.

South San Francisco-based Varsity Logistics develops a collection of shipping applications that run only on the IBM i OS. The company's ShipSoft and TMS suites helps automate a range of shipping tasks, including picking the best carrier, finding the best rate, printing the required documents, and tracking the package to arrival.

Shippers face some of the same business challenges as companies in other industries, and the recent increase in fuel costs only magnifies the need to trim costs and maximize revenues. By partnering with New Generation Software, a proven leader in i OS business intelligence software, Varsity will be able to help its customers maximize their assets.

ShipView Plus is built on New Generation Software's NGS-IQ suite of software, and will use NGS-IQ's multi-dimensional data models, analytical and query tools, and its Flash-based technology for presenting dashboard interfaces. These tools will be brought to bear against ShipSoft customers' databases, stored in DB2/400.

ShipView Plus will focus on controlling shipping costs. Customers will be able to analyze their current and historical data to isolate unprofitable routes, customers, or geographical areas. The results will be presented in NGS-IQ's easy-to-read, Flash-based dashboard interface, as well as Web portals and Excel.

Executives with the two companies say they're pleased with the development of ShipView Plus. "We are responding to our customers' requirements for this kind of supply chain visibility capability that is needed to manage shipping and logistics across many different transportation carriers and service types," says Andrew Karpie, senior director of business development and marketing at Varsity.

NGS president and CEO, Bernard Gough, says the new software will provide managers with "unprecedented" visibility into their data. "We've worked closely with Varsity to combine their valuable knowledge of the needs of transportation and shipping customers with our expertise in developing easy-to-use, yet comprehensive, business intelligence solutions," he says.

As part of its Decision Assist line of software, NGS has been focusing on developing business intelligence solutions for specific vertical industries, and the partnership with Varsity follows a similar mold. NGS, which is based in Sacramento, California, has partnerships with several leading i OS application developers for specific verticals, including Siemens Medical Solutions for healthcare and VAI for distribution.

ShipView Plus is currently being installed at select customers. Version 1 is expected to be generally available by mid summer, the companies say.

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