At Retail Industry Leaders Association Conference
New Suite Assembled Based On Successful Global Pilot Strategy

WATERLOO - Descartes Systems Group, a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, announced that its new Descartes for Retail suite is being used by retail market leaders around the world to improve productivity and performance of their logistics operations.

The new Descartes for Retail suite offers a global supply chain solution that provides real-time visibility into deliveries to effectively manage and move goods, improve data integrity, reduce transportation costs, handle promotions, improve inventory management, provide supplier and carrier score carding and enhance customer service.

"We have been working with industry-leading retail customers around the world to support their logistics-intensive operations. Based on successful pilots in Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as our customers' continuous feedback and successful results, we've assembled a comprehensive suite of applications designed to meet the requirements of global retail logistics operations," said Arthur Mesher, CEO at Descartes. "When combining these retail applications with our secure Global Logistics Network multimodal community, our customers can easily interact with their trading partners and suppliers to reduce transportation and inventory costs, have real-time visibility of goods and improve service across their supply chains."

Descartes provides functionality and flexibility to retailers to help improve customer service while reducing operations costs. Descartes' portfolio of applications for inbound shipments, facility management and outbound shipments is designed for retail operations and can scale across implementations from a single application to an end-to-end deployment to reduce value added network costs. These applications include:

Inbound Shipments

* Manage Contract Carriers -- Retailers can automate carrier bid, tendering, settlement and freight auditing processes to allow for better efficiency and control of common carrier transportation moves.

* Improve Inventory Visibility & Flow -- Manage inventory data from a centralized location that provides real-time shipment, storage and stock updates, allowing retailers to optimize inventory flow throughout the supply chain.

* Customs Compliance -- Uses a single access point to comply with customs initiatives from various governments around the world, helping improve the efficiency and traceability of the customs clearance process.

* Messaging Services -- Connects retailers with trading partners and carriers to increase the value of information moving through the organization and your supply chain.

Facility

* Dock Scheduling & Yard Management -- Automates appointment scheduling and enables better visibility and collaboration with carriers.

* Delivery Performance -- Provides visibility to inventory at a detailed level (e.g. style, color, size or lot/batch number), which enables better decision-making relating to specific product in transit.

* Facility Layout & Slotting -- Manages inventory at-rest and in-motion across suppliers and distribution networks and is compatible with most warehouse management systems.

Outbound Shipments.

* Territory Analysis & Service Day Assignment -- Balances sales and delivery territories to efficiently allocate resources to generate cost savings and improve customer service.

* Delivery Appointment Scheduling -- Plans and controls activities of fleets including real-time communication with delivery vehicles and dynamic tracking, pick-up and delivery.

* Store & Depot Replenishment -- Uses exception management to detect problems with substitutions, short ships, and goods that won't meet your ship-to arrive date. Manage promotions and replenishment orders whether sourced via long, complex or short, regional supply chains. Order visibility is extended to distribution centers and stores, resulting in more efficient store-level replenishment.

* Last Mile Delivery Management -- Provides more efficient home delivery service, helping enhance customer delivery satisfaction and driving down transportation costs.

* Mobile & GPS Tracking Solutions -- Ensures delivery drivers are following the most cost-effective routes, reducing wasted time and mileage, and delivering product on time.

* Sales & Merchandiser Management -- Improves productivity through resource planning, route building and optimization, and tracking your mobile workforce -- including sales representatives, territory managers and merchandisers -- ensuring retailers have greater visibility and control over all activities in the field.