Varsity Logistics and New Generation Software have announced a partnership to develop and deliver a new analytics/business intelligence module called ShipView Plus. The module will be offered with Varsity's ShipSoft shipping execution and transportation management system (TMS) solutions for the IBM i and System i platforms. Pre-sales versions of ShipView Plus are being implemented by pilot customers, and general availability of ShipView Plus, Release 1.0, is expected in mid-summer. 

The developers say that ShipView Plus will drive significant process improvements and rapid ROI by targeting and controlling skyrocketing costs in shipping and transport.  Featuring an easy-to-use suite of dashboards and analytic query and reporting capabilities, Varsity's ShipView Plus module leverages NGS' powerful business intelligence technology to unlock and access vital operational and strategic, current and historical information, processed within Varsity's ShipSoft  multi-carrier, multimodal transportation management solution for parcel and freight shipments.

The module, developed entirely with NGS' business intelligence solutions, integrates and enhances the presentation of DB2 data through the use of NGS' query and reporting tools plus Adobe Flash and Microsoft Office software. It includes a Web portal, business performance dashboards, multi-dimensional models, Excel spreadsheets and reports--all built over Varsity's ShipSoft database on the System i.

ShipView Plus opens a vast perspective on critical business data for shipping, transportation, and logistics managers, and puts valuable, actionable information at their fingertips, according to the companies.  Information about costs and volumes of shipments by carrier, distribution center, geography, and much more can be utilized to identify problems and decisions that result in cost savings and efficiency gains.  ShipView Plus is a tool set that the sponsors have called "indispensable" in today's rapidly changing and increasingly complex world of shipping logistics and skyrocketing transportation costs.

"ShipView Plus, Varsity's latest new product offering, has been completely market and customer-driven," says Andrew Karpie, senior director of Business Development and Marketing at Varsity Logistics.  "We are responding to our customers' requirements for this kind of supply chain visibility capability that is needed to manage shipping and logistics across many different transportation carriers and service types while trying to control costs and meet rising customer demands for shipping performance."

"We've worked closely with Varsity to combine their valuable knowledge of the needs of transportation and shipping customers with our expertise in developing easy-to-use, yet comprehensive, business intelligence solutions," says NGS' president and CEO, Bernard Gough. "ShipView Plus will provide managers with unprecedented visibility to critical shipping and transportation data and enable them to effectively monitor their logistic performance," he says.

The first release of ShipView Plus is expected to provide a basis for significant process improvement decisions that can drive rapid ROI.  Varsity and NGS are also already planning ways to build on Release 1.0 to bring to market a series of additional releases that will give ShipView Plus customers even greater value and ROI.

About Varsity Logistics

Founded in 1989, Varsity Logistics, Inc. is the leader in IBM System i-based shipping/transportation management systems. Varsity's software supports the full spectrum of parcel, LTL, truckload, and rail shipments, including rate shopping, manifesting, packing, international shipments, and invoice auditing. Deployed in more than 1,100 distribution sites, Varsity helps North American organizations of all sizes improve shipping efficiencies, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce shipping expense. Varsity is based in San Francisco, California (www.varsitylogistics.com) and is a fully owned subsidiary of Constellation Software, Inc., Toronto, Canada (TSX:CSU).

About New Generation Software, Inc.

With more than 20,000 iSeries users across the globe, NGS has been an industry leader since 1982 in developing high performance, field-proven business intelligence and financial management software for midrange users. Both NGS-IQTM Business Intelligence and the Concert Series Financial Management System are recognized by IBM as IBM ServerProven Solutions. NGS is an Advanced Member of IBM PartnerWorld and a member of the System i Initiative for Innovation. For more information, visit www.NGSI.com.