Trucking Technology Report - June 11
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- Virgin Mobile Is Said to Agree to Sprint Deal
- Con-Way Adds XML Bill of Lading Feature
- AT&T Says Wireless Business Will Be Separated on July 9
- Idling Covisint Drives Home E-Marketplace Challenges
- Airbus Chooses Vastera Software
Virgin Mobile Is Said to Agree to Sprint Deal
According to people close to Virgin Mobile and Sprint, the two companies have agreed to set up an alliance that represents Virgin Mobile's first effort in the U.S. telecom market.The sources added that the new company will need approximately $1 billion in financing, and will be jointly owned by Sprint and Virgin Mobile, which is part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
Virgin Mobile's expansion into the U.S. wireless market is being partially funded by a loan from Lloyds TSB. The agreement with Sprint marks the latest attempt by Branson to create a worldwide wireless operator that extends the Virgin brand but is not unduly laden with the costs of creating and maintaining networks. European telecom operators view the United States as a major untapped market for wireless services.
Expensive calling rates and competing technical standards have led to fragmentation in the U.S. wireless market. In addition, the percentage of people who use mobile phones in the United States is well behind that of Europe. New York Times (06/11/01) P. C2; Kapner, Suzanne
Less-than-truckload clients will now be able to bring forward data from their order entry system so that they can automatically create an electronic bill of lading, which can be transmitted to Con-Way, the client's shipping dock, their end customer and their rate auditor. Journal of Commerce Online (06/08/01)
The company's board also approved a plan to convert AT&T Wireless tracking shares into AT&T Wireless common stock and pay an extraordinary stock dividend of AT&T Wireless stock to AT&T common shareholders. Philadelphia Inquirer (06/11/01) P. C3
Unforeseen technical problems, administrative issues, and regulatory reviews have each played a role in stalling the site's ability to ramp up quickly. Some industry analysts highlight it as perhaps indicative of the industry sponsored marketplace's (ISM) lack of punch in the industry as a whole.
Forrester analyst Lucine King believes that in order for Covisint to build the fully functional online transaction system they envision, which includes a totally integrated supply chain system, it could take another five to eight years to develop.
Additionally, according to analyst Dan Garretson of Forester Research, the longer Covisint takes to ramp up, the more pressure is building from even its founders as well has other participating automakers such as Peugeot-Citroen to forge ahead with the development of their own individual online procurement programs, which may ultimately draw customers away from Covisint. E-Commerce Times (06/01/01); Enos, Lori
Airbus hopes to avoid costly delays at both point of departure and point of entry by automating the regulatory compliance functions, as well as producing international shipping documents.
Airbus has approximately 2,500 aircraft in service across the globe. Journal of Commerce Online (06/08/01)
Con-Way Adds XML Bill of Lading Feature
AMR Customers of Con-Way Transportation Services Inc. can use the firm's new extensible markup language (XML) computer interface to transmit bill of lading and order pickup data to Con-Way through its Web site.AT&T Says Wireless Business Will Be Separated on July 9
AT&T said its AT&T Wireless operations would be spun off into an independent company on July 9.Idling Covisint Drives Home E-Marketplace Challenges
Covisint, the online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace founded by Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler last February, is requiring more time to implement than was initially planned for.Airbus Chooses Vastera Software
In an attempt to speed global delivery of repair parts, Airbus Industrie of North America will use cross-border trade management software vendor Vastera's TradeSphere software.
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