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Encompass Selects Blitzz’s App-Free Video Support to Identify Replacement Parts Remotely
Encompass Supply Chain Solutions uses live video and augmented reality (AR) to identify replacement parts remotely
SAN JOSE, California, June 13, 2024 – Blitzz, the app-free mobile video platform for remote customer support, today announced that Encompass Supply Chain Solutions, a leading national provider of replacement parts and supply chain services for a diverse range of product brands, will use its live video support technology for quick and easy replacement part identification.
Formed in 1953, Encompass is one of the country’s largest suppliers of repair parts for products throughout the home and complete parts supply chain management for consumer and B2B customers. In the past, when retail customers needed to identify their model numbers or parts, Encompass would try to get the information they needed over a phone call. Those conversations relied on verbal descriptions that sometimes left customers and support agents feeling confused or frustrated.
With Blitzz’s app-free video support software, an Encompass support agent simply sends a link via SMS text message to a customer. Once clicked, the support agent can instantly see through the customer’s smartphone camera. They can identify model numbers and collaborate via an interactive video call without downloading third-party apps like Zoom, Webex, or Teams. Both parties can use AR to draw on the screen in real-time and identify points of interest.
“We aim to provide a top-notch experience for our customers and supply them with the specific parts they need exactly when they need them. Blitzz is an invaluable tool to help us accomplish that mission,” said Jim Scarff, VP of Customer Support at Encompass. “Blitzz is very user friendly for customers and agents alike and offers seamless support that keeps our business running smoothly.”
Blitzz provides the following benefits for Encompass and its customers:
● Less guesswork: With live video, customers no longer have to guess whether they’re properly identifying parts.
● Fewer callbacks: Encompass is now able to identify parts the first time a customer reaches out for assistance.
● Faster delivery: Video takes guesswork out of identifying replacement parts, so Encompass is able to process orders and send them out with less back and forth.
“We’re proud to help Encompass build on their excellent reputation for customer care with the addition of remote video support,” said Rama Sreenivasan, Founder and CEO of Blitzz. “Blitzz makes it faster and easier for customers to get the help they need, and receive their replacement parts, right when they need them.”
For more information about Blitzz, visit www.blitzz.co.
For more information about Encompass, visit www.encompass.com.
About Blitzz
Blitzz is an ingenious app-free way to let remote technicians and support agents troubleshoot problems by seeing through an onsite smartphone camera: The technician or support agent texts a link, the customer clicks it, and then both are looking through the camera together. Blitzz helps companies save time and money by empowering customer support, field service and sales teams to get technical troubleshooting, inspection, audits, insurance claims, maintenance, and more done faster and safer. It facilitates millions of minutes of video monthly across a range of industries, including telecommunications, automotive, construction, power and utilities, insurance, and more. For more information about Blitzz, visit www.blitzz.co.
About Encompass
Formed in 1953, Encompass is one of the country’s largest suppliers of repair parts and accessories for products throughout the home. Encompass also offers complete parts supply chain management, 3PL, depot repair and reverse logistics service. In addition to consumers, we support an array of B2B customers, including manufacturers, multi-family property management, warranty providers, service networks, independent dealers and retailers. For more information, please visit solutions.encompass.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
ACTON, Massachusetts – September 3, 2024 – New Horizon Soft, LLC, a global leader in AI-powered supply chain planning software, announced today the release of a new version of its Buyers Workbench procurement planning software. The latest version includes the ability to optimally schedule inbound deliveries, taking into account distribution center (DC) receiving capacity, thus minimizing receiving bottlenecks and lowering inbound logistics costs. A research paper describing the innovative methodology and its deployment at an iconic $10B+ U.S. quick-service restaurant chain was recently published in the peer-reviewed academic journal, the International Journal of Operations Research and Information Systems.
Supply chain organizations typically plan purchase orders without regard to DC receiving capacity. This leads to bottlenecks on some days and underutilized staff on others. New Horizon’s methodology, called Master Purchasing Receipt Scheduling (MPRS), uses a novel algorithm to automatically and optimally schedule deliveries. The algorithm plans deliveries at the time of purchase order creation and results in a steady volume of deliveries and lower planning and logistics costs. While first deployed at a restaurant chain, the methodology is applicable to any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or foodservice company operating high-velocity DCs.
“With the increasing prevalence of high-velocity DCs, scheduling inbound deliveries can no longer be an afterthought,” said Chao-Ming Ying, Co-founder and CTO of New Horizon. “We developed the new MPRS functionality to address what had been a blind spot in many supply chains. Our customers are now taking advantage of this capability to streamline inbound logistics, increase receiving capacity utilization, and lower distribution costs.”
Supporting Resources
• Research article with case study published in the International Journal of Operations Research and Information Systems
• PDF version of article on New Horizon’s website
• New Horizon blog providing overview of restaurant chain deployment
• New Horizon Buyers Workbench web page
About New Horizon Soft, LLC
New Horizon’s supply chain planning software harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to enable manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers to improve forecast accuracy and service levels while minimizing inventory and costs. We help planners make better decisions with cloud-based applications that are easier to use, easier to configure, easier to implement, and lower cost to operate. New Horizon is headquartered outside of Boston and has customers in North America, Europe, and Asia.
New Horizon — The AI Planning Suite™. Learn more at NewHorizon.ai or follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Relations
Mike Liebson
New Horizon Soft, LLC
marketing@newhorizon.ai
+1 857-242-0783
ADDISON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unlimited Service Group, a group of local foodservice equipment repair providers, today announced the launch of USG Connect, an innovative new repair and maintenance management platform designed to streamline and simplify the repair and maintenance of commercial kitchen equipment.
USG Connect provides commercial kitchens with a one-stop solution for hassle-free and scalable equipment service. The exclusive platform offers a user-friendly digital experience that allows restaurants, hospitals, hotels and more, to consolidate and manage their service requests into a single maintenance management system. No matter the size of the organization, USG Connect brings the power of 35+ trusted local service brands with more than 125 locations into a consistent service experience for our customers, ensuring seamless and effective management of all foodservice equipment service requests in one, easy-to-use online platform.
The platform empowers operators to effortlessly schedule and monitor foodservice equipment repairs and maintenance. Users can submit work orders for multiple locations at any time, free of charge, through USG Connect. The tool offers 24/7/365 access to detailed, real-time updates, allowing operators to stay informed about the status of their service requests. With robust, strategic insights, customers can understand exactly what is happening with their foodservice equipment, enabling smarter decisions that save time and money.
“Our team is excited to launch USG Connect, our latest innovation. We believe service is best done in your hometown and USG Connect allows restaurant owners and other commercial kitchen operators to manage their service needs across all our unique local brands,” said Kristen Nowak, President of Field Service of Unlimited Service Group. “Our goal with USG Connect is to transform the way commercial kitchens manage their equipment installations, repairs and maintenance. It’s more than just a service platform, it’s a commitment to operational excellence.”
USG Connect is powered by Unlimited Service Group, a community of over 35 local service companies with over 1,600 manufacturer-trained technicians across North America. For more information about USG Connect or to see if your company qualifies for the platform, visit www.unlimitedservice.com/usg-connect.
About Unlimited Service Group
Unlimited Service Group is a community of over 35 commercial foodservice equipment installation, repair and maintenance providers that believes service is done best in your hometown by local technicians and team members providing expert service with differentiated parts access and local stock. Unlimited Service Group looks to support its team members, customers and manufacturers by bringing the leading hometown brands into the group to facilitate best practice sharing, and to unite the group in areas that create real value for all. Wherever there is a problem with commercial foodservice or HVAC equipment, Unlimited Service Group is there to help.
For more information, visit https://www.unlimitedservice.com/.
Contacts
Adam Gasper
adam.gasper@finnpartners.com
(989) 928-4462
August 28, 2024 (Fort Wayne, IN) – Princeton TMX, a leading multi-modal transportation management system (TMS) provider, today announced a strategic partnership with OpenTug, a marine logistics platform dedicated to enhancing freight efficiency on inland and coastal waterways by streamlining booking, quoting and tracking. Integrating OpenTug’s marine logistics capabilities into the Princeton TMX system lets shippers easily book and manage terminal, barge and vessel capacity within the platform.
Princeton TMX’s multi-modal TMS automates complex transactions by simplifying the entire transportation planning and execution process, providing shippers with better rates, better lanes and lower risk. Seamless integration with OpenTug’s digital tool, BargeOS, allows shippers to compare quotes, book capacity and track shipments for barge shipments the same way as over-the-road, rail and intermodal transport. This not only streamlines the transportation management processes but unlocks additional opportunities for operational and financial improvement by enabling shippers to manage their entire transportation operations in a single system.
“Today’s supply chains are complex and businesses need to ship across multiple modes to reduce costs, manage risk and reduce their environmental impact,” said Mark McEntire, CEO, Princeton TMX. “Partnering with OpenTug allows us to provide comprehensive barge management capabilities—something lacking in most TMS offerings on the market—to our customers. This integration helps facilitate intermodal transport by letting shippers manage truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), rail and barge seamlessly on one platform.”
OpenTug blends traditional automatic identification systems (AIS) location information with GPS devices deployed onto barges to provide situationally aware mapping to enable accurate ETAs, unparalleled data and quick decision-making. OpenTug also provides a marketplace that gives shippers access to thousands of barges, tugs and terminals across more than 25,000 miles of marine highways, and its software enables operators to automate pricing, routing, booking and tracking.
“Tug and barge transportation offers shippers an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to transport goods,” said Jason Aristides, CEO, OpenTug. “While transportation technology has made significant strides in recent years, there is still an opportunity to better connect current systems with barge operations. By integrating our platform with Princeton TMX, we aim to bridge this gap and empower shippers to utilize the nation’s great marine highway system, creating a more effective, resilient and sustainable supply chain.”
Learn how Princeton TMX can simplify your transportation operations and reduce your freight costs at https://www.princetontmx.com.
About Princeton TMX
Princeton TMX is a leading multi-modal transportation management system (TMS) provider. The company’s cloud-based system automates and optimizes transportation planning and execution, streamlining the supply chain, reducing freight costs, and improving overall performance. Backed by a team of logistics experts, Princeton TMX helps automate complex transactions by simplifying the entire transportation planning and execution process—providing better rates, better lanes and lower risk.
About OpenTug
OpenTug is a marine logistics platform dedicated to enhancing freight efficiency on inland and coastal waterways by streamlining booking, quoting and tracking. Founded in 2019, the company offers cloud-based solutions, including OpenTug BargeOS and LinerOS. These services offer a comprehensive suite for cargo and barge management, including rapid quote generation, seamless booking, and real-time tracking, enabling operators to efficiently handle more cargo and enhance service quality with exceptional agility. Additionally, the OpenTug Marketplace simplifies finding operators, marine assets, transportation services and terminals, making it easy for both experienced and new shippers to move cargo on the waterways. To learn more about how OpenTug delivers the visibility and connectivity needed to fully utilize inland and coastal shipping, visit opentug.com.
Contact:
Stephen Dye
stephen@outlookmarketingsrv.com
project44, the leader in supply chain visibility and the only High-Velocity Supply Chain Platform, today announced Emissions Monitoring, giving shippers, carriers and LSPs the Scope 3 emissions insights necessary for optimized sustainability decision-making. Emissions Monitoring offers customers precise, GLEC-accredited emissions calculations for shipments across all modes, empowering businesses to track and manage their carbon footprint effectively.
With project44's new sustainability solution available in the Movement by project44 platform, users can streamline their compliance with customizable reporting and reduce their environmental impact with accurate historical emissions data at the mode, shipment, carrier, and lane level. Users are also able to enhance customer satisfaction by measuring positively in ESG reports and delivering on their sustainability promises.
"We're seeing mounting pressure on our customers to operate more sustainably, despite not having the tools in place to reduce carbon emissions in their supply chain," said Jett McCandless, Founder and CEO of project44. "Since our inception, we've been committed to building more sustainable supply chains and in 2022 we were at the forefront of the industry when we became the first and only supply chain visibility platform to sign on to The Climate Pledge. Emissions Monitoring represents a new era of supply chain sustainability, providing the most accurate emissions measurement across all modes, enabling our customers to comply with regulations and achieve their sustainability goals."
Emissions Monitoring enables users to:
• Access shipment-level emissions calculations across core shipment modes via Movement and API requests
• View detailed breakdown of emissions data for each leg of multimodal shipments
• Create and share custom reports with key sustainability data points including total emissions, emissions intensity, distance travelled and more
• Access a mode-agnostic emissions dashboard that displays trends over time and allows users to drill into details by mode, carrier, region, and more
"At VEYER, we believe sustainability plays an essential role in our success. In fact, we are committed to becoming zero waste in 30% of our distribution centers by 2025 and reducing our scope 3 emissions by 55% by 2030. Our long-standing partnership with project44 has been instrumental in streamlining our operations allowing us to focus on these bigger initiatives," said Shannon Hunter, VP of Sustainability at VEYER. "It's crucial for us to partner with companies that share our focus on sustainability, so we're excited to see this latest innovation from project44 that will help reduce supply chain emissions globally."
"Achieving visibility into supply chain emissions is a critical aspect of fostering environmental responsibility and sustainability," said Kevin Diestel, Partner at Generation Investment Management. "One of the many reasons we chose to invest in project44 was their unwavering commitment to bringing rigorous measurement and climate accountability to logistics. With Emissions Monitoring, project44 continues its mission and further enables companies to identify and address key contributors to their carbon footprints across various modes with ease, ensuring more efficient operations and compliance with growing regulatory standards."
Learn more about Emissions Monitoring by project44.
About project44
project44 is on a mission to make supply chains work. Movement by project44, the only High-Velocity Supply Chain Platform, enables shippers, LSPs and carriers across the globe to reduce costs, optimize operations, deliver an exceptional customer experience and drive greater resiliency and sustainability. Having built the industry's largest and most connected ecosystem, project44 provides visibility into over 1 billion shipments annually for over 1,300 of the world's leading brands within manufacturing, automotive, retail, life sciences, food & beverage, CPG, and oil, chemical & gas.
project44's commitment to excellence was recognized across organizations and awards including being named the Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant and as the "Customer's Choice" in Gartner's 2023 Voice of the Customer report, a 13-time leader on G2's Supply Chain Visibility Grid, Google Cloud Partner of the Year, and SAP Pinnacle Award winner. project44 is headquartered in Chicago with a diverse team spanning 19 global offices including Amsterdam, Bangalore, Kraków, São Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo. Learn more at project44.com.
Huizhou, China - BSL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Brand: BSLBATT® ), an innovative high-tech company that designs and manufactures smart lithium-ion batteries (50% more efficient than similar products on the market) for industrial forklifts used in the warehousing and distribution industries, has partnered with PF, a major European cold storage customer, to launch the largest fleet of lithium-battery-powered Crown forklift in the cold storage industry, with a deployed capacity of approximately 6.6 megawatt-hours (MWh).
"Lithium-battery systems eliminate time-consuming and expensive maintenance and provide longer life at extreme temperatures, especially in cold environments. As the company converts all existing and future material handling equipment to lithium batteries, the fleet will run better, longer, and consume less power."
As one of the largest public cold storage companies in the world, PF has 30 facilities in Italy, France, and Spain. Many upcoming facilities are under construction. The company's warehouses are below -30 degrees Celsius and face unique challenges that lead-acid batteries cannot solve. Specifically, lead-acid battery systems lose power and operating efficiency over a shorter cycle life, resulting in increased operating costs and performance degradation of up to 60%.
Tracy Shen, Sales Manager of the Power Division at BSL Battery - Industrial, said: "PF customers have seen immediate benefits from switching from lead-acid battery systems to lithium-ion systems. Lithium-ion systems eliminate time-consuming and expensive maintenance and maintain a longer service life at extreme temperatures, especially in cold environments. As the company strives to convert all existing and future material handling equipment to lithium-ion batteries, the fleet will operate better, longer, and consume less power."
This heightened reality is challenging for cold storage facility operators who can’t meet demand. Doing more with less is imperative and lithium-ion batteries are a proven way to optimize equipment utilization. Why do BSLBATT Lithium-Ion batteries perform so well in cold storage operations?
BSL Battery - Industrial batteries were designed and tested to withstand the toughest environments and have added features to prioritize safety and performance in the cold.
• Active Heating: Our batteries have an individual heater on each module to provide continuous heating at temperatures up to -40°C
• UL Certification: This certification proves our commitment to providing safe products and ensures performance in the toughest conditions
• Board Thermal Insulation: Prevent battery energy loss during charging/discharging, and maintain a constant temperature!
• Silica Gel Desiccant: Silicone desiccant is added to each battery pack to prevent condensation from affecting the battery.
• Fully Enclosed: BSLBATT batteries achieve an IP67 rating due to their fully enclosed design. This element protects the battery from condensation, ice, and other liquids.
• Fast Charging: The battery can be charged faster, contributing to decreased downtime for heavy-use cold storage businesses, and it can also be charged within blast freezers and refrigerated warehouses.
PF customer said the company chose BSL Battery - Industrial because the company has more than 10 years' of experience in developing innovative lithium systems for a variety of applications, including the power industry. It can provide local services to customers in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France in Europe. In addition, PF customer executives also sought a partner that could provide more sustainable products, allowing customers to seamlessly and cost-effectively transition to lithium battery systems, and plans to make 100% of fleet operations powered by lithium batteries.
Check out our website for more information about BSLBATT batteries technology.