Event
Summary
At Commerce One's eLink user conference, Logistics.com announced an alliance
that will put its Digital Transportation Marketplace (DTM) in front of
Commerce One.net users. The move will make DTM available directly to buyers
and suppliers of transportation services through Commerce One.net, the
syndicated suite of business services formerly known as MarketSite.net.
"We believe Commerce One.net will significantly increase the visibility
of the burgeoning Digital Transportation Marketplace," said Yossi Sheffi,
CEO of Logistics.com. "While Logistics.com is already handling millions
of dollars in transportation procurement every month through the DTM,
we are now positioning to scale activity within the DTM significantly
and rapidly. Quality channel partnerships, such as this one with technology
industry powerhouse Commerce One, are an integral part of our growth strategy."
The
DTM is distinguished from other transportation software packages by its
broad scope of functionality and detailed feature set. Taken as a whole,
the DTM is a real-time online communications and trading environment for
buyers and sellers of logistics services that supports transaction processing
and plan optimization. Carriers and shippers pay for the services on a
transaction basis that also considers the number of functions involved
in processing each transaction. Hence, participants pay only for what
they need.
Market
Impact
An alliance with Commerce One provides Logistics.com with a level of visibility
usually enjoyed by much larger companies. In spite of the quality and
richness offered by the DTM, Logistics.com will need more than a strong
product to differentiate itself from the multitude of transportation planning
and execution software vendors in the market. The potential of becoming
Commerce One's preferred transportation solution is a clear possibility
for Logistics.com and could ensure its long-term success.
Commerce
One stands to gain logistics services for its marketplace customers that
are superior in many ways to those of one of its most dangerous rivals,
i2 Technologies. i2's FreightMatrix combines the best parts of its Transportation
Management software (acquired from Intertrans Logistics Systems) with
a web-deployed platform that transparently serves as the logistics engine
behind several of its TradeMatrix vertical marketplaces. Logistics.com
can offer better functionality than i2 and has defeated it in more than
one deal. Much of Commerce One's success against i2 rests on how smoothly
Commerce One can deploy Logistics.com's transportation services through
Commerce One.net.
User
Recommendations
Shippers and carriers engaged in global logistics operations should make
Logistics.com a prominent option in logistics services selections that
include other vendors such as i2 Technologies and Descartes Systems Group.
Commerce One.net participants should view the availability of Logistics.com
as a plus but only if integration and support issues are worked out in
the next few months. All users should also request client references from
among Logistics' client partners and inquire about the company's services
it employs in conjunction with its applications as these form a large
part of its business and are integral to its solutions delivery model.
Prospective
users who are not interested in Commerce One.net but could benefit from
DTM services directly through Logistics.com should bear in mind that its
components will be offered only as hosted applications and not in traditional
on-site license formats.