Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2001)

E-Commerce

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Barge Management System Increases Efficiency tem were solicited from Midland depart- ments including sales, finance, trans- portation, operations, and information systems. Phase II, constituting the detailed design, was completed in early 2000 and Phase III, encompassing delivery and installation, was completed in June 2001.

Two primary business goals of BMS are to improve equipment utilization and manage yield potential by analyzing new requests for service. In past years, most barge transportation services oper- ated on long-term contracts with well- defined traffic patterns.

However, recent market changes are causing complex changes, inducing barge companies to re-examine the way they do business. "Not only has there been an increase in short-term requests for service," said

David Seneko, ALK vice president, "but Midland Enterprises is also jug- gling more customer requests for specif- ic types of equipment. There is a need to know specifically what equipment is available in what location at what time before Midland decides if it makes sense to accept a new order. If the com- pany were to accept new business and then had to move empty equipment over long distances to fulfill it, for example, the yield would not be maximized and existing service might be compro- mised."

BMS allows Midland to match cus- tomer orders with available equipment at specific locations over a 90-day plan- ning horizon. The system reduces barge cycle times by highlighting idle equip- ment awaiting re-assignment and cur- tails detention periods for loading and unloading by providing equipment on a just-in-time basis. "Our customers need a transportation partner with expertise, flexibility, innovation and commit- ment," says Nick Lonnemann, vice president, transportation services at

Midland Enterprises. "Our goal is to deliver their commodities safely and expeditiously, and our new Barge Man- agement System will help us meet that goal every time."

Midland Enterprises commenced business as The Ohio River Company more than 75 years ago and currently operates 2,400 barges over more than 7,000 miles of America's inland water- ways. Carrying coal, grain, iron, steel ores, and other dry bulk commodities,

Midland offers an integrated array of transportation-related services.

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Jeamar. the recognized leader in big, powerful and dependable Heavy Duty

Winches and Winching Products.

Our winches are precision engineered to the highest and are backed by a team of winch professionals who provide expert before and after sales service.

We have a vast range of standard winches available, but if your application calls for something different or special, we will design and manufacture to your requirements.

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Toll Free: Tel: 1-877-884-8118 • Fax: 1-877-569-9909 web site: www.jeamar.com • Email: [email protected]

ALK Technologies, Inc. and Midland

Enterprises have created a new Barge

Management System (BMS) to help

Midland increase efficiency and com- petitiveness. Using the Intranet to tight- ly integrate communications, business, and systems processes on an enterprise- wide basis, BMS offers a palette of e- commerce functions. Ideas for the sys-

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Americ Corporation 1910 E. Devon Ave.

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For more information, call 800-364-4642 or Fax 847-364-4695