Adexa Inc. on Tuesday announced the release of the latest version of its Internet-based collaboration platform, which includes expanded buy-side and sell-side solutions for order management and procurement that are designed to help enterprises make their supply chains more efficient.
The latest version of iCollaboration is designed to enable an extended enterprise to synchronize previously isolated planning cycles and intelligently automate business processes. It also enhances existing order management and procurement systems by providing tight integration with Adexa's advanced optimization technology, according to company officials.
Built on an Internet architecture, the solution is designed to enable multiple enterprises to collaborate on supply-chain activities using a standard Web browser. Users are able to share, view, and modify information through the Internet.
For example, the offering is designed to allow enterprises to respond to customer demand and promise shipments based upon their finished goods inventory, said Jason Amaral, Adexa's director of product management.
"If [customers] can go to a vendor who can tell them right away when [a product] can be available, accurately and reliably, that's powerful," Amaral said.
In addition, the new version features "agent" technology that sifts through supply-chain data to act on the user's behalf, ignoring information that is not pertinent to that specific user's job, Amaral said. For example, if a user has a preferred vendor that indicates they have a product available, the agent would automatically respond to the preferred vendor but ignore similar data from a vendor that is not preferred.
In related news, Adexa and Arthur Andersen announced Tuesday a national alliance agreement through which Arthur Andersen will broaden its supply-chain management and procurement offerings around Adexa's iCollaboration solutions.
Adexa was acquired last month by FreeMarkets, a company that offers a global b-to-b marketplace for online auctions.