Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) subsidiary, has announced that the company has been named a Strong Performer by Forrester Research in its January 2008 report, The Forrester Wave™: Transportation Management Solutions, Q1 2008.
In placing Sterling Commerce as a strong performer, the report states, “Sterling Commerce leads in strategy as a result of its recent R&D investments, seamless upgrades, and quick return on investment (ROI).”
With its collaborative logistics network of more than 8,500 carriers transacting more than 6 million shipments per year, Sterling Transportation Management System (TMS) is the world’s largest on-demand transportation management solution.
It enables customers to improve customer service and reduce costs through the efficient planning and execution of their inbound and outbound transportation processes.
Sterling TMS also improves productivity by automating processes like freight audit and payment and analysing operational performance.
For the report, Forrester evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of the top nine TMS vendors, including both on-premise and pure software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendors to reflect an increasing level of demand for multiple deployment options.
In the report, Forrester wrote that today’s complex, global network requires a next-generation TMS:
“Many companies have reached a point where legacy transportation management solutions (TMSes) and paper-based processes no longer make the grade.”
The report states, “The Sterling solution is a good fit for all sizes of companies that don’t have a TMS today, have outsourced in the past, are looking to bring ownership back in, and/or are looking to transition to a system in an incremental way at a reasonable cost.”
“The Sterling solution is also an excellent option for companies without the IT capabilities to host the solution themselves.”
“Sterling has also made great strides to simplify optimisation configuration, and buyers will benefit from this.”
“We are proud that Forrester named Sterling Commerce a strong performer that leads in strategy,” says Scott Pulsipher, senior vice president of Global Product Management and Marketing for Sterling Commerce.
“This recognition reflects what we hear from our customers, who benefit from our strategy to provide industry-leading applications that help them innovate by solving their complex selling and fulfillment process challenges.”
“Sterling Transportation Management leverages the company’s heritage in harnessing the power of communities to simplify and automate carrier communications while enabling a quick implementation and fast return on investment.”
Sterling Transportation Management System (TMS) is part of the Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite.
The Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite includes both on-premise and on-demand solutions that provide complete visibility and control over sales, fulfillment and logistics operations and manage all steps of the order life cycle — from inquiry to cash — as a single, unified process across the extended enterprise.
Sterling TMS provides efficient planning and execution of inbound and outbound transportation processes to enable organisations to reduce their transportation expenses.
They can also improve customer service levels through increased visibility and on-time delivery, and improve efficiency in daily transportation operations by eliminating manually intensive processes.