JDA has announced that the purchase of i2 is back on after they signed a definitive merger agreement for a value of approximately $396 million. The benefit for JDA is that it will acquire a company with a long history of successful supply chain planning which is required by companies in today's economy. Integrating i2's solutions and expertise will give JDA access to a new customer base for their other business solutions.

Back in December 2008, JDA and i2 halted the merger announced August 2008, when i2 was valued by JDA at approximately $346 million. It was the i2 board that scuppered the deal when the terms were amended by JDA. With JDA already absorbing Manugistics, i2's discrete manufacturing focus completes JDA's appeal across a broad spectrum of industries. The deal is expected to be completed in December.

Follow me on Twitter

Herman Miller and Rea Magnet Wire were America's award winners in the 2009 Supply Chain Excellence Awards given by Boston Strategies International. The company conducted an in-depth global supply chain benchmark study and awards were given in three categories; Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, Process Industries, and General Industry. The winners were those who scored highly in their demonstrated supply chain processes and performance on four dimensions: cost leadership, reliability, customer satisfaction and innovation.

Herman Miller won the Supply Chain Synchronization Award in the General Industry category based on its superior order cycle time consistency, supply management and return on capital employed. Rea Magnet Wire Company won the Supply Chain Management Award in the process industries category for its superior performance in product customization, capacity flexibility, customer responsiveness and cost management.

Other winners included Bharat Petroleum Corporation of India, FMC Kongsberg Subsea of Norway, Dangote Sugar Refineries of Nigeria and Henkel's Laundry and Home Care of Germany.

Follow me on Twitter

For more than 70 years, generations of British families have purchased a round tin of Cadburys' Roses chocolates for the holiday season. But Cadburys has decided to make Roses a nice shade of green. They are about to try a square box made from cardboard that can be easily recycled. Replacing the tins, which were introduced in 1938, will cut packaging by 45 per cent per pack and save more than 200 tons of steel each year.

This holiday season there are many examples of the use of green packaging. But the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently tightened its code around "green marketing" after it was found that many businesses were exaggerating claims about the environmental credentials of their products. Because of the trend towards green products, many companies have been guilty of the trend now known as greenwash. CAP has reminded companies that claim specific environmental credentials should not be used without credible evidence.

Follow me on Twitter

Founded more than 60 years ago in Chicago, Turtle Wax, world leader in car care, has chosen LeSaint Logistics, a Chicago-based third-party logistics firm, as the provider of Turtle Wax's warehousing, fulfillment and transportation needs. Turtle Wax expects to obtain significant cost savings by using LeSaint's end-to-end supply chain solutions, backed by real-time inventory tracking and control.

LeSaint's support begins at the start of Turtle Wax's production cycle, in the logistics of moving raw materials into manufacturing, which continues through end-product warehousing and distribution to retail customers. Both companies follow product and inventory progress via LeSaint's automated technologies. Additionally, a inbound planning system is provided to Turtle Wax customers through LeSaint's website.

Follow me on Twitter

Natural gas vehicles (NGV) have been available for some time, but even with significant improvements in technology it is still not widely accepted as a transportation fuel in many parts of the world. However, according to a new report from Pike Research, the NGV sector is poised for a new period of growth. Pike's report forecasts that the number of NGVs on the road will grow to 17 million vehicles worldwide by 2015, up from 9.7 million in 2008. According to the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, light-duty NGVs emit up to 90 percent less Nitrogen oxide and 98 percent less hydrocarbon than gasoline-powered cars.

In many countries the lack of refueling station infrastructure has stifled NGV demand. In regions where NGVs have been widely accepted, this has been due a combination of inexpensive natural gas, government subsidies and a large number of existing refueling stations. Currently the top five markets for NGV's are Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, and India. Over the next five years, Pike's research forecasts that Canada, India, and the United States will be the fastest growing markets.

Follow me on Twitter

The European Commission has announced plans to improve commercial relationships in the food sector to create a more efficient food supply chain in Europe. The Commission said it had agreed a communication to improve food supply chain, following concerns about the decline in agricultural commodity prices whilst consumer food prices are still rising.

Among its proposals, the EC seeks to strengthen farmers' bargaining position; increase transparency in the food supply chain; contain volatility and speculation; monitor competition issues and review environmental standards and origins labelling schemes that may impede cross-border trade. The food supply chain includes the agricultural, food processing industry and distribution that together make up more than seven percent of European employment. The Commission said that it was essential that the chain functioned well to provide quality and safe food products at affordable prices.

Follow me on Twitter

In February 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched SmartWay, which is an innovative brand that represents environmentally cleaner, more fuel efficient transportation options. Today, a partner in the SmartWay program, the Montreal-based Worldcolor Logistics, has launched a collaborative effort with the EPA to publish a case study outlining the environmental gains achieved by utilizing continuous improvement initiatives to analyze and increase the overall efficiency of Worldcolor's Logistics platform.

The initiative is focused on reducing the amount of full truck loads from unnecessary shipping across North America, which will greatly reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. Worldcolor has re-defined its consolidation network, created new delivery boundaries and enhanced critical areas of up-front customer communication. These variables, among many others, allow Worldcolor to increase load planning times and shift strategic loading initiatives, maximizing every truck's load configuration and weight.

Follow me on Twitter

Optricity, the North Carolina based supply chain optimization software provider, has launched OptiSlot DC. This new release improves on their second generation slotting technology and utilizes combinatorial mathematics to produce slotting solutions for dynamic warehousing environments.

OptiSlot's optimization engines maximize warehouse efficiencies by improving picking and replenishment, reducing labor costs, maximizing space utilization and analyzing slotting strategies. The improvements for the software include greater control over slot sequencing, slot ranges as well as providing logical and overhead graphical view capabilities. The features of OptiSlot DC helps to maximize space utilization, enables efficient picking and response to varying receiving, storage, picking, and shipping requirements in order to meet customer demands.

Follow me on Twitter

Wood pallets used to ship food in Washington DC Area tested positive for three types of deadly food poisoning bacteria. The discovery was made in a new test commissioned by Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS), operator of the world's first pallet rental service that provides all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags. iGPS gathered samples from wood pallets located at markets and food retailers in the Washington DC, and Baltimore areas, and submitted them to an outside scientific laboratory for testing.

In a random sample, over one-third of the pallets tested positive for one or more of Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and extremely high bacteria counts that also could pose a food-safety risk. iGPS sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for the agency to launch a full investigation into the use of wood pallets used in the storage and shipment of food. iGPS said that wood easily absorbs bacteria and fluids, so the wood pallets in circulation could be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that can contaminate food. The issue of wood pallet safety now very relevant as Congress considers new legislation that would require the FDA to create a better system for tracing food due to a number of high-profile recalls of contaminated food.

Follow me on Twitter

Ryzex, a mobile technology services company, has been running a competition called "The Big Upgrade" sponsored by Psion Teklogix. As a result of the competition, Ryzex found what it believes to be the world's oldest working barcode device, a MSI 2100 from the early 1970s. The MSI portable data collection terminal is battery powered and includes a cassette tape for data memory.

The "Big Upgrade" contest winner received a handheld mobile computer from Psion Teklogix. Submissions for the competition found a selection of devices from the 1970's and 80's that are still in use on the shop floor today from manufacturers such as MSI, Symbol, Intermec and Telxon.

Follow me on Twitter