News | March 8, 2006

Independent Research Firm Confirms Provia's Warehouse Management System As Technology Leader

Comprehensive appraisal of company's WMS, ViaWare WMS 7.0 results in positive review of product's Service Oriented Architecture, web services functionality, personalization and labor analysis advantages

Provia Software, a leading provider of order-to-delivery supply chain execution software, announced today that Industrial Data & Information (IDII), an independent software research consulting group focused on the supply chain, has published a very positive review of Provia's flagship Warehouse Management System (WMS) product in a report called "ViaWare V 7: The Right Direction for WMS Software."

The detailed, 20-page report on ViaWare WMS Version 7 contains screen snapshots, outlines the functionality of ViaWare WMS 7.0, and highlights Provia's product road maps. The full report can be ordered from IDII at: http://www.idii.com/orderdigital.htm.

In this all-inclusive evaluation of the latest release of ViaWare WMS 7.0 – Provia's flagship supply chain execution product – Phillip Obal, president of IDII and author of the report, referred to several key strengths offered in ViaWare WMS 7.0:

  • Service Oriented Architecture and Web Services: All transactions in ViaWare WMS, such as picking or receiving, have an equivalent Web service in it. "This is very important for integrating third party software to ViaWare," said Obal. "Investing in a web-enabled WMS with SOA, such as Provia's ViaWare, makes excellent common sense, as SOA and web-based solutions are the current IT trend setter that is here to stay."
  • Full Web-enabled functionality: With graphical user interface (GUI) a quickly-aging industry standard, ViaWare WMS 7.0 has accelerated past the competition by providing an application that does not reside on the PC. "With a web-enabled application, there is no application software residing on the PC, therefore, updates & upgrades to the WMS application do not impact the PC – thus less work for the administrators," said Obal.
  • Labor Analysis/Data Manipulation: New features in the software allow users to import, export, change, and update mass quantities of data easily. When changes are made, a history record is created.
  • RF Configurator: RF Mobile Profiles in ViaWare WMS 7.0 permit the administrator to quickly change RF task workflow steps, labels, default values, and presentation without programming, which Obal calls "a mark of a better WMS."

"Version 7 gives Provia a strategic advantage as many WMS vendors are still offering GUI-based solutions, limited data import abilities and limited mass data updates," explained Obal. "Both third-party logistics providers and private warehouse operations will notice the new technology advantages inherent in Provia's latest ViaWare release."

IDII conducted an extensive review of ViaWare WMS, which included a detailed day and a half demonstration to an IDII client that needed new WMS software. According to Obal, the demonstration was "very good AND without any technical glitches or difficulties."

The report concludes, "IDII is impressed with ViaWare version 7 and likes the conservative nature of Provia Software. Provia continues to receive high praise from its customers on a regular basis."

"IDII knows the WMS space inside and out," said Ken Lewis, Provia president and CEO. "It is an honor to have ViaWare WMS be reviewed so constructively and accurately by an independent research firm that truly understands the issues shaping our industry today."

About Provia Software (http://www.provia.com)
With over 500 global installations, Provia Software delivers The Power of Delivery™ for such customers as Menlo Worldwide, Spencer Gifts, Versacold, Gillette, Total Logistic Control, TaylorMade-adidas Golf, NYK Logistics, and Lanier Worldwide. The foundation of Provia's Supply Chain Execution solutions is ViaWare WMS, a full-featured, RFID-enabled warehouse management system. Additional supply chain execution modules include host integration, small parcel shipping, transportation management, 3PL order management, constraint-based optimization, and labor management products seamlessly integrated together with web-based event/alert visibility tools to create a complete, real-time, end-to-end supply chain execution solution.