December 28, 2001 11:00 AM, EST

Trucking Technology Alert - Dec. 28

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Today's Technology Headlines:

Managers Rethink 'Just-in-Time' Inventory Management
FCC Revisits e911 Deadlines
Lockheed Martin Expands Customer Base

Managers Rethink 'Just-in-Time' Inventory Management

Since Sept. 11, supply chain managers have been rethinking the concept of just-in-time inventory management. The Sept. 11attacks led to the temporary closure of air traffic throughout the United States, as well as longer security inspections of trucks at border crossings.

According to a survey by Purchasing magazine in Newton, Mass., a week after the terrorist attacks, 9 percent of supply chain managers saw no effect on deliveries, 52 percent reported a slight impact, but 39 percent encountered major disruptions.

According to Scott Stevens, chief technology officer at the Pittsburgh-based industry consortium Supply-Chain Council, some companies stated that they would go from a just-in-time to a just-in-case inventory position. This will mean having a certain amount of "safety stock" in storage in order to cope with delivery delays, marking a significant departure from just-in-time principles. Bruce Bond, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner, says that companies from now on will seek to ensure continuity of operations, rather than concentrating on trying to eliminate every element of inefficiency out of the supply chain.

Stephens says that the new mission of IT departments will now be to create advanced decision-support and planning systems software to that supply chain planners will be able to plan for a wider variety of conditions. Accordingly, Stevens says, there will be a greater focus on real-time sharing of shipping, inventory, and demand information. Computerworld (12/24/01) Vol. 35, No. 51, P. 46; Betts, Mitch

FCC Revisits e911 Deadlines

FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy stated recently that the FCC is in the final stages of negotiations with Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless concerning the companies lack of compliance with phase II of the enhanced 911 (e911) service mandates.

The mandates will eventually enable public safety agencies to more precisely identify the location of 911 callers who are using mobile phones. The pressure to enforce the mandates has been growing as the number of mobile phone users has increased. In October, Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and other carriers received conditional waivers from meeting the original Oct. 31 deadline after they convinced the Federal Communications Commission that they would not be able to meet certain benchmarks because of the complexity and cost of implementation.

The Federal Communications Commission announced a few weeks ago that Dale Hatfield, former chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, would head an inquiry into operational and technical issues affecting the deployment of e911.

In separate news, Rhode Island recently became the first state to deploy mobile e911 tracking capabilities statewide. The e911 tracking service is currently limited to callers using certain Sprint PCS handsets equipped with global positioning system chips, but the service is expected to be extended to other carriers by 2002. Wireless Week (12/24/01) Vol. 7, No. 50, P. 14; Vaughan, Allyson

Lockheed Martin Expands Customer Base

Lockheed Martin's Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems division will offer its Web supply chain management services starting next year to government and commercial customers. Lockheed plans to offer services itself or via Exostar, an aerospace exchange. Lockheed procurement systems now include an order management application developed by ViryaNet and the Xelus Plan application for predicting shifts in demand.

The two new applications enable Lockheed to automatically send a new parts order when inventory is low. The legacy electronic purchasing system allows Lockheed to transport a part to any location worldwide in less than four business days and enables parts delivery within the United States in just 48 hours. In addition, the system can adjust to seasonal variations in demand, which is of primary importance to international shipments. Lockheed agreed to use the system as part of a deal completed earlier this year to deliver key components for construction of a Navy defense system. InternetWeek (12/26/01); Moozakis, Chuck

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