Panalpina rolls out LOG-NET order management system

   The ocean freight division of the forwarding company Panalpina said Tuesday it plans to begin offering customers an order management system based on the latest version of the customer-facing application, LOG-NET.
   Panalpina said the offering, called MyPanalpina+, is designed to give customers enhanced order processing capabilities, better freight management services and improved visibility of their supply chains.
   “The deployment of the new system demonstrates Panalpina’s continuing commitment to integrate its own processes into those of its customers, and the company’s focus on providing end-to-end solutions that go beyond traditional freight forwarding,” the company said.
   “(The system) improves the flow of data throughout the supply chain and increases end-to-end visibility of inventory,” said Henrik Kofod-Hansen, who is globally responsible for Panalpina’s product managed solutions. “Panalpina is taking over work from customers that they typically would have done themselves in the past.
   Panalpina’s ocean freight division handled nearly 1.4 million TEUs and generated nearly a third of the company’s gross profit in 2012. The first quarter of 2013 showed continued growth, the company said.
   “To improve visibility you need advanced information management,” said Rod Angwin, Panalpina’s chief information officer. “Our services for customers entail complex information sharing and a high level of coordination between several parties. Thus our IT systems need to be able to speak directly with those of our customers – and with those of the suppliers, and other third-party-logistics providers. You have to make sure that the systems are perfectly calibrated to optimize the outcome for our customers.”
   Panalpina said the LOG-NET application is a bolt-on tool to its ongoing global implementation of SAP TM, which is due for completion in 2015.
   “SAP TM standardizes and automates core business processes and facilitates electronic data interchange with carriers on a shipment level,” Panalpina said. “The newly licensed LOG-NET, which MyPanalpina+ is based on, is a customer facing add-on tool to SAP-TM that manages the movement of goods on a purchase order level.”
   The tool can also help Panalpina customers optimize inventory and integrate suppliers, the company said. Panalpina plans to fully implement MyPanalpina+ in the fourth quarter of 2013. – Eric Johnson