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THE SHARPER IMAGE SELECTS VARSITY'S shipping execution suite
San Francisco-based catalog and online retailer to automate and streamline high-volume distribution centers with ShipSoft™
San Francisco, CA. October 8, 2001. Varsity Logistics, Inc., the pioneer of integrated small package shipping solutions for the AS/400, today announced that The Sharper Image Corporation, a national leader in specialty retailing, has selected ShipSoft 2.4 to automate its fast-paced, high-volume parcel shipping to businesses and consumers.
"ShipSoft will give us the flexibility we need in order to better serve our customers, as well as simplify our shipping activities," said Greg Alexander, Senior Vice President of Information Technology at The Sharper Image. "Historically, adding new carriers has been difficult and costly. Standardizing on a multi-carrier platform like ShipSoft will save us significant resources, and it integrates directly into our proprietary order entry system."
Sharp-Shipping with Varsity
Prior to partnering with Varsity, The Sharper Image shipped via multiple carrier stations at each distribution facility. Although the shipping process was already automated, managing multiple disparate carrier systems—and being so tightly bound to using those carriers—inhibited and restricted shipping options. With ShipSoft, The Sharper Image will consolidate their distribution operations on a multi-carrier platform, and let Varsity manage changes or additions of carriers to the system. It will also allow The Sharper Image to re-deploy IT resources to more strategic initiatives.
"We are extremely proud to bring The Sharper Image into the Varsity customer family,” said Marc Herman, President and CEO of Varsity. “We know that The Sharper Image does not historically employ outside software vendors, so this is an especially exciting partnership for us."
About Varsity Logistics
Founded in 1989, Varsity Logistics, Inc. is a pioneer of integrated Transportation Management Systems (TMS) designed for the AS/400 platform. Varsity's shipping execution suite manages the fulfillment of orders initiated through both e-commerce and traditional sales channels via third-party carriers. ShipSoft, the core of Varsity's offering, automates the shipping process by providing automatic weigh/rate/label services, rate shopping, multi-weight consolidation, "bill as/ship as" options, and electronic manifesting for small package, LTL (Less Than Truckload) and international parcel shipments. Varsity is based in San Francisco, California.
About Sharper Image
The Sharper Image is a specialty retailer that is nationally and internationally renowned as a leading source of new, innovative, high-quality products that make life easier and more enjoyable. A significant and growing proportion of sales are of proprietary products created by the Company's product development group, Sharper Image Design. The Company operates more than 100 stores throughout the United States and mails millions of its award-winning catalogs each month. The Company's products may also be purchased on the Internet via its online store at www.sharperimage.com. The Company has an online auction site where consumers can place bids to win Sharper Image products at lower prices; the auction site is accessed from the home page of the Company's Web site. The Company also markets its products through business-to-business sales for corporate marketing programs and wholesale customers.
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