This morning I almost poured lemonade instead of milk into my bowl of Frosted Flakes. Now I can only wonder: Did I miss an opportunity to create a new food sensation, like the guy who got his chocolate bar stuck in the other guy’s peanut butter?

In more relevant news…

SAP announced the general availability of SAP Transportation Management 8.0 this week. Abudawood, Artoni, Cargill, C.H.Guenther and Owens Corning are among the early adopters of the software. As I wrote back in April when SAP first unveiled the solution, expectations are high for this latest release, especially from customers. SAP has invested a lot of time and money enhancing the solution and addressing the shortcomings of previous versions. Cargill, for example, is in the early stages of implementing TM 8.0 across its 75 business units for truckload, less-than-truckload, and rail, according to a presentation given at SAPPHIRE NOW 2011 (click here to watch the video; registration required). Cargill had experienced scalability issues with 7.0, but it hasn’t with the new version, and the company is pleased with some of the functional and integration enhancements made. Cargill, however, is still using a best-of-breed solution for ocean shipments, which is not surprising considering the specialized requirements of managing ocean freight.

Bottom line: Moving TM 8.0 from ramp-up to general availability is a positive milestone for SAP. Like I said back in April, it is too soon to know if SAP will hit a home run with TM 8.0, but the company will certainly be more aggressive and competitive this year. We look forward to hearing from customers in the weeks and months ahead.

FedEx and Oracle both reported strong financial results this week. For the fourth quarter ended May 31, FedEx’s revenues increased 12 percent compared to the same period last year, operating income increased 28 percent, and net income increased 33 percent. Commenting on the full year results and the road ahead, Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer, had this to say:

“During fiscal 2011, an improved economy, strong customer demand and decisive actions to grow our business led to increased volumes and yields across all transportation segments. With this positive momentum, moderate economic growth and subsiding cost headwinds, FedEx is well positioned to deliver strong earnings growth in fiscal 2012.”

Meanwhile, Oracle’s Q4FY11 total revenues were up 13 percent compared to the same period last year, new software license revenues were up 19 percent, software license updates and product support revenues were up 15 percent, and net income was up 36 percent.

So, despite all the mixed signals with the economy, many software vendors and logistics service providers remain optimistic about their business moving forward.

It had been a while since I had seen an announcement related to supply chain security, so Ryder’s press release this week caught my attention. Here are the relevant excerpts:

Ryder Ascent Logistics Singapore and Ryder Supply Chain Solutions Asia – part of Ryder’s Supply Chain Solutions division – have been certified as Third Party Logistics Providers (3PL) in the Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

 

Ryder CRSA Logistics, also part of Ryder’s Supply Chain Solutions division, has been certified in the Canada Partners in Protection (PIP) program.

 

Ryder had previously announced C-TPAT and PIP certifications of its North American operations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Customs security programs aim to prevent the use of the supply chain to facilitate a terrorist attack and the smuggling of drugs, illicit goods, people and money. Ryder’s program includes a uniform set of global policies and procedures that are implemented by the Company’s operations teams.

How much weight do shippers give to C-TPAT and PIP certifications when selecting a 3PL? My guess is not enough because the value of “supply chain security” is not as easy to quantify as other factors. But the financial risks are there, and they are often very large, particularly for companies that ship high-value or regulated goods.

Finally, on a musical note, now that summer has officially arrived, I downloaded some new songs to my iPhone to enjoy at the beach, assuming the sun and warm temperatures return. Here’s my latest playlist if you’re looking for some new tunes to sing this weekend:

“Shake Me Down” (Cage the Elephant)
“Not in Love (feat. Robert Smith)” (Crystal Castles)
“Cosmic Love” (Florence + The Machine)
“Finale” (Funeral Party)
“Radioactive” (Kings of Leon)
“The Cave” (Mumford & Sons)
“Gimme Sympathy” (Metric)
“Fader” (The Temper Trap)
“What You Know” (Two Door Cinema Club)
“Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)” (The Wombats)
“My Body” (Young the Giant)
“Pumped Up Kicks” (Foster the People)

Happy listening!

(Note: SAP, Oracle, and Ryder are ARC clients)

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