Trucking Technology Report - Sept. 5
 |  |
Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
ul>
Service Merchandise Saving 10 Percent With Web-Based Supply Chain
Multichannel retailer Service Merchandise is gaining from its efforts to use Internet-based technologies and processes to reduce costs and boost sales through all of its channels. Revenues are up and the retailer says supply chain costs are down 10% since implementing its Web strategy. Most importantly, Service Merchandise's robust e-business architecture supports its in-store, mail order, and e-commerce channels.
Schunk says Service Merchandise's multichannel emphasis is paying off, as 70% of its customers have used at least two channels, 40,000 have ordered gifts online and had them shipped to a stores near the recipient, and 250,000 shoppers used the online store locator in December 1999 alone.
Online Grocery Delivery Firms See New Opportunities With Disabled Customers
People with disabilities that make it challenging, or even impossible, for them to go shopping or complete other everyday tasks are turning to online delivery services to meet many of their needs. For example, New York City resident Mary West, who is blind and has diabetes, often ordered food from takeout restaurants until she discovered YourGrocer.com. She can also rent videos or buy magazines and says the delivery services allow her to "handle everything like a sighted person."Online delivery services such as YourGrocer.com and Kozmo.com did not have this market in mind when they began but are more than willing to expand their business models to include the permanently and temporarily disabled. YourGrocer.com CEO J. Maxwell Enoch believes that brick-and-mortar grocery stores, especially in urban areas, can be unfriendly to those who require extra assistance.
In fact, disabled Americans are more likely than those without disabilities to say their lives have benefited greatly from using the Internet, according to a recent Harris survey.
However, people with disabilities say they still face challenges going online. For example, many e-businesses face difficulties making their Web sites compatible with voice-recognition software, and the National Federation of the Blind has filed suit against America Online because it believes the company has violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. New York Times (09/05/00) P. A28; Blair, Jayson
New Web-Publishing Standard Aims to Simplify E-Commerce
Ariba, IBM, and Microsoft plan to simplify the creation of online marketplaces and various business-to-business exchanges with the release and continued development of a Web publishing standard called Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI), an electronic directory that helps participating businesses locate customers and suppliers. The three UDDI creators plan to launch the registry within 30 days and submit the UDDI architecture to standards bodies in 12 to 18 months.Intentionally modeled after a standard phone book, a UDDI-based registry features "white pages" with basic company information, "yellow pages" with product and service information, and "green pages" with detailed technical information to help companies choose partners and suppliers and integrate their information systems with fewer hassles.
"There is a tremendous amount of confusion in the [B2B] marketplace," says Ariba co-founder Boris Putanec. "One of the key goals and benefits from our perspective is that [UDDI] potentially eliminates some of this confusion." Wall Street Journal (09/05/00); Hamilton, David P.
Vodafone to Adapt Microsoft's Outlook Software to Its Wireless Devices
Vodafone AirTouch and Microsoft, the world's leading software firm, have inked an agreement to collaborate on the creation of mobile Web services. According to the deal, Microsoft's Outlook email software will be adapted to wireless devices.Trials will be conducted by both companies in Europe, with the commercial debut of services tentatively scheduled for the spring. Participants in the tests will send and receive emails by using Microsoft Outlook application via wireless devices. Vodafone says the agreement increases its capacity to provide uniform services to its business users throughout the world. BBC News Online (09/05/00)
© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
| ||||
