L3Direct.Net LLC, business-to-business e-commerce company addressing business and supply chain needs for the Home and Office Furnishings industry

Furniture World Magazine

L3Direct.Net LLC, a privately held business-to-business e-commerce company addressing business and supply chain needs for the Home and Office Furnishings industry, is announcing its new industry service to include a highly intelligent collaboration and fulfillment function. Their mission: to provide the Home and Office Furnishings industry with a competitive advantage over other industries competing for a share of the consumer's wallet. L3Direct.Net LLC is a service that bundles technology and domain expertise into a hosted solution. This solution provides advance supply chain management functionality and business systems to members of the Home and Office Furnishings industry for the optimal management of their information, product and financial logistics, hence L3. Dynamic Trade – the ability to satisfy current demand with a customized response – facilitated by the growth of e-commerce, is stressing existing static supply chains. Current distribution systems are proving to be inadequate and underdeveloped. Dynamic Trade is forcing a change in the industry's supply chains from that of a manufacturing centric model to one that is consumer centric. This new pull oriented supply chain model is focused on maximizing consumer satisfaction. Increasingly this includes putting product directly into a consumer's home while maintaining the manufacturer or retailer's brand personality. The new supply chain model is dependent on collaboration within the industry. Enhancing this industry collaboration will be the availability of high-powered supply chain planning and execution tools necessary to grow and maintain profitability. This capability is critical in an environment of declining product prices and new forms of competition. The L3Direct.Net solution is designed to allow industry participants to collaborate in meeting consumer demand. In addition to providing visibility into the various logistical processes necessary to reduce variances in the supply chain, we also provide supply chain management capabilities and expertise. The goal of which is to collapse time and cut costs throughout the global supply chain. The core of L3Direct.Net's business model is an intelligent ebusiness engine that provides dynamic, constraint based, supply chain planning and execution functionality. Included in this functionality are manufacturing and logistics management capabilities. If desired, we also include the ability to manage logistical processes on behalf of members of our community who would prefer to focus on their core competencies. The scope of our model is global. We have the ability to facilitate supply chain management on a global scale. L3Direct.Net's value-focused approach to business will enable us to provide solutions on a variable cost or subscription basis that deliver measurable results for our members. L3Direct.Net member benefits include: Cost reduction opportunities relative to manufacturing and logistics. Productivity improvements. Avoidance of capital investment in technology relative to the supply chain process. Improved capital utilization and Economic Value Add (EVA) resulting from increased inventory velocity. Revenue enhancement opportunities by means of supporting sophisticated order-promising and demand fulfillment capabilities. As per research performed by The Supply Chain Council and the consulting services AMR and PRTM, supply chain planning and execution capabilities eventually to be offered by L3Direct.Net, have produced the following operating benefits: Delivery Performance 16% - 28% improvement Inventory Reduction 25% - 60% improvement Fulfillment Cycle Time 30% - 50% improvement Forecast Accuracy 25% - 80% improvement Overall Productivity 10% - 16% improvement Lower Supply Chain Costs 25% - 50% improvement Fill Rates 20% - 30% improvement Improved Capacity Utilization 10% - 20% improvement L3Direct.Net expects to begin offering this hosted, global service to industry members on a subscription or variable-cost basis in Spring 2000. About the founders: James E. Grieger, President, CEO and Chief Strategist: James E. Grieger has over 20 years of international and domestic experience in B2B and B2C logistics, as both a 3PL service provider and a commercial consumer of logistical services. While managing the U.S. logistics operations for a European based manufacturer of technology products, including the establishment of its export operations, offshore assembly programs and all third-party relationships, Jim served as President of the Illinois Manufacturers Transportation Association in addition to serving as Chairman of its International Committee. As the founder of SEAL Trade Services, a global logistics chain management and advisory service, Jim helped a number of companies develop solutions for their supply chain challenges. Jim's most recent accomplishments as Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Development for GeoLogistics Network Solutions/Bekins Worldwide Solutions, includes the GeoLogistics rebranding program, as well as the highly successful launch of GeoLogistics' new national home delivery service called HomeDirectUSA (www.homedirectusa.com) which is currently serving most of the industry's online retailers. Jeff Forgash, Chief Marketing Officer: Jeff Forgash has over 25 years in the logistics industry most recently as President and Founder of MAN|RAY Logistics, a third party sales and marketing firm focused on the transportation and logistics business. MAN|RAY provides a wide range of supply chain solutions from a single source and generates in excess of 15 million dollars in revenue for its contracted providers. MAN|RAY Logistics is focused on retail, catalogue and e-commerce merchandisers and has successfully provided significant marketplace advantages for clients such as Eddie Bauer, Spiegel, Laura Ashley and others. MAN|RAY Logistics' success has been the ability to determine a clients total business requirements from marketing, operations, finance through to administrative processes, and developed solutions that utilizes logistics as a competitive advantage.