DC Velocity - August 2011

alliances

IT trading group Competec has commissioned Swisslog to install an automatic small parts and container storage system at what will become the largest electronics distribution center in Switzerland. … Ryder System Inc. has expanded its full-service lease contract with Ceva Logistics, adding more than 1,000 trailers to support its domestic U.S. ground business. … Cabela’s Inc., a specialty retailer and direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping, and related outdoor merchandise, has chosen Vangard’s AccuSpeech Mobile Voice Platform to add voice capabilities to its mobile warehouse applications. … UPS and Merck have broadened their existing distribution and logistics agreement. UPS is establishing distribution centers in China and Brazil to support Merck’s manufacturing and packaging facilities and to help speed up delivery of Merck products in those markets. … Averitt, a provider of freight transportation and supply chain management services, has implemented Oracle Transportation Management 6. 1. … Plug Power Inc. will supply 161 GenDrive fuel cells to Kroger Co.’s food distribution center in Compton, Calif. The order includes four class- 1 units for sit-down counterbalanced trucks, 42 class- 2 units for reach trucks, and 115 class- 3 units for pallet trucks. … German retailer Gries Deco Co. has commissioned Swisslog as general contractor to design and implement the material handling system at its new logistics center. … TZA, a provider of supply chain productivity software and services, has formed an alliance with The Createch Group, a Canadian provider of operational performance improvement and information technology solutions integration services. … Forklift maker Crown Equipment Corp. has announced that 35 Crown FC 4500 Series counterbalanced, fuel cell-powered forklifts were delivered to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, the nation’s largest independent bottler for Coca-Cola. The trucks will be used at the company’s Charlotte, N.C., production center. … Rush Tracking Systems and Sky-Trax Inc. have merged to form a vertically integrated provider of smart truck-tracking systems for manufacturing and warehousing operations. … Performance Team has acquired Gale Network. The acquisition will allow Performance Team to continue to build its transportation network on the East Coast. … Laufer Group International has formed a strategic partnership with the non-profit organization Toy Shippers Association Inc. (TOYSA). This joint venture gives TOYSA members access to Laufer’s full suite of international logistics services. … Pet supply company Drs. Foster & Smith has chosen ProShip as its shipping software solution for home delivery of all things pet related. … Inttra, a provider of e-commerce solutions for the ocean freight industry, has announced that Fortune International Transport has joined its network. … Retailer Marks & Spencer has chosen Kerry Logistics as its logistics partner in Greater China. … Echo Global Logistics Inc., a transportation management company, has acquired the assets of Advantage Transport Inc., a Phoenix-based truckload transportation brokerage firm. … Syntelic Solutions Corp. has achieved certified business partner status with Vocollect. Syntelic now offers Vocollect Voice and Vocollect’s voice-centric computing appliances as part of its outbound warehouse solution. … Invar Systems, a global provider of warehouse software and integrated solutions, has successfully conducted a sortation control upgrade for a cross-belt sorter at the Eatonton, Ga., facility operated by direct mail company Haband.