Press Releases

June 27, 2001 - Hampton, NH and Raleigh, NC (USA) — Lilly Software Associates and Tompkins Associates announced today that they will focus their strategic alliance on delivering solutions to third-party logistics (3PL) providers.

Tompkins Associates will help market and implement Lilly Software’s unique Rate Maintenance and Billing (RMB) functionality, which is designed to manage multi-vendor inventories and warehouse activity-based billing by customer. The agreement strengthens the existing partnership between Lilly Software, a leading provider of enterprise and supply chain solutions, and Tompkins, the leader in Total Operations consulting, integration, and implementation. “With this new alliance direction, purchasers will enjoy the support of two companies who share a commitment to Supply Chain Planning and Execution,” said John Spain, Senior Partner, Tompkins Associates. “Both Lilly Software and Tompkins bring strong expertise to this landscape.” 

Tompkins Associates offers over 30 years of experience to the 3PL marketplace, with best practices focusing on operational benchmark and assessment, network analysis and planning, and best of breed technology evaluation.

“Given the increasing global demand for accurate and timely fulfillment, well-managed inventories, and value-added services capabilities within the warehouse, this is a perfect time for Lilly and Tompkins to focus their combined domain expertise in support of the burgeoning 3PL industry,” said Hermine Delany, Lilly Software’s Vice President, Strategic Alliances.

Lilly’s RMB capabilities eliminate the billing difficulties experienced by 3PL providers. According to Stanley Chew, Lilly Software’s Vice President, Distribution Solutions: “3PLs consistently tell us that they leave thousands of dollars on the table a week because of inaccurate activity tracking.” He added that Lilly Software was first-to-market with an RMB solution, and at present, a third of its VISUAL Distribution^â installations are for outsourced logistics providers.

With Lilly Software’s RMB module, 3PL companies can expect enhanced operational control, greater efficiencies, and high levels of customer satisfaction. “The more value-add services a 3PL provides, and the more they are able to customize their contracts for services with different customers, the more likely they are to maximize billing—and therefore revenue—opportunities,” said Chew. AMR Research recently recognized the strength of Lilly Software’s new billing module and other distribution enhancements in its Supply Chain Alert for May 14, 2001, saying: “These enhancements reinforce Lilly’s ability to compete head-to-head with and win against the best-of-breed WMS vendors in the market today.”

Lilly Software’s RMB features include:

Communication of information from multiple warehouses to full financial applications

Activity definition, supported by rules-based formulas, enabling infinite service and billing options

Automated generation of invoices by owner

Summary to detailed “transaction level” invoice formats

Microsoft^® COM/DCOM architecture

The partnership will complement and extend Lilly Software’s current support services to encompass wholesale distribution consulting and implementation services, as well as Business Process and Operation consulting for mid-sized manufacturers and distributors.

About Tompkins Associates

Tompkins Associates is the global leader in Total Operations consulting, integration and implementation. With three decades of experience, Tompkins provides expertise in Material Handling Integration, Supply Chain Synthesis, warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, manufacturing, systems implementation, construction services, organizational excellence, quality, and maintenance.

Tompkins Associates is headquartered in Raleigh, NC and has offices throughout the US and in the UK, mainland Europe, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Australia. Worldwide, Tompkins helps clients succeed through a combination of focused knowledge of best practices and tailored solutions. Tompkins prepares businesses to harness the energy of continuous change while achieving Total Operations excellence.

About Lilly Software Associates

Lilly Software Associates, Inc. provides a complete line of enterprise and supply chain solutions for manufacturers and distributors. The VISUAL Enterprise™ suite of products helps companies capture and analyze real-time data about all their business processes using ERP, Project Management, Business Performance Management, Quality Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Warehouse Management System capabilities. From award-winning software to strategies in Lean Manufacturing and TOC, Lilly Software offers companies the tools they need for higher productivity and profitability.

Most VISUAL^® applications run on Windows^® 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, UNIX^®, LINUX, Novell^®, using SQLBase^®, Microsoft SQL Server^®, or ORACLE^® relational databases.

Lilly Software has received many industry awards for its products, service, and financial growth since its inception. Most recently, the company has been voted one of the Top 10 Best of Breed solutions for manufacturing by readers of Consumer Goods Technology, listed in Software Magazine's Top 500, selected as a Top 100 Logistics Information Technology Provider in Inbound Logistics, listed in the Top 100 Application Vendors in Supply Chain e-Business, included in MSI's Top 100 for its eighth year, and ranked as one of Start magazine's Hottest Companies.