ALPHARETTA, Ga.--Aug. 29, 2006-- Solution Helps Global Freight Shipper Eliminate Inefficiencies, Implement Lean Logistics Documentation and Comply with Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism
Optio(R) Software, Inc., (OTCBB:OPTO), today announced that NACA Logistics, one of the world's leading consolidators of ocean freight, has selected Optio's Business Process Solutions to revamp global, document-driven business processes for greater efficiency and profitability.
The contract, which represents one of NACA's largest external software investments in five years, will also help the company comply with the United States Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and other U.S. ports-security regulations. The agreement represents the initial stage of multiple Optio software and services initiatives that will enable NACA to deliver enhanced customer service, reduce operating costs, improve cash flow, increase productivity and reduce errors by automating and streamlining document-driven logistics processes.
NACA's hundreds of daily bookings, each requiring multiple forms, add up to more than a million documents completed and processed annually in the U.S. alone.
NACA management expects Optio's business process improvement (BPI) solutions to yield between $400,000 and $800,000 in annual savings and anticipates a return on the company's technology investment in approximately nine months. NACA also expects to realize improved collection rates, cash flow and days' sales outstanding as a result of its BPI initiative. Subsequent stages of the project will focus on optimizing NACA's outbound, document-driven processes.
In the freight shipping business, nothing moves without a Shippers' Letter of Instructions (SLI) and up to six or seven other documents at each stage of the process. "Under impending 'no docs/no load' legislation, missing documentation could result in shipment delays and potential lost revenue," said Jeffrey Lee, NACA Logistics' chief operations officer. "Additionally, increasingly stringent hazardous materials restrictions and overseas documentation requirements have made the need to control the access and transfer of documents to and from required employees an imperative, both domestically and internationally."
"Optio's BPI solutions are helping us define, model, improve and automate our document-driven logistics processes to meet these regulatory demands and reduce costs without compromising efficiency, productivity or customer service," stated Lee.
"In our view, the 'no docs/no load' policy will help strengthen U.S. ports against security threats," said Biju Kewalram, NACA Logistics' chief information officer. "We also believe it will help streamline procedures by requiring the entire supply chain to process its documentation earlier. As a result, it can only increase the velocity of the supply chain."
Optio's BPI solutions will allow NACA to automate SLIs and other key documents, link them to a customer booking number within internal freight management software and make them accessible by fax, e-mail and Internet. The ability to deliver real-time electronic documents to ports of call will help NACA enhance customer service and avoid lost revenues resulting from data-entry errors, missing documents and service failures.
NACA Logistics' selected the following Optio Business Process Solutions for their initial implementation: Optio Imaging Solutions(TM), a suite of intelligent data capture and document processing applications that automate, simplify and accelerate the access, extraction, delivery and management of information from inbound and outbound documents; Optio e.ComPresent(TM) an Internet-accessible document archive and the e.ComPresent application programming interface (API), which synchronizes data between internal systems and the document archive system, enabling the company to closely track shipment progress.
"Optio's ability to consult with us and help us identify and design the optimal business solution for our needs was a key element of NACA's decision to begin the partnership," said Kewalram. "We're impressed by how the Optio solution addresses the entire document lifecycle, how seamlessly it integrates with our freight management system and how well the Optio consulting team understands our business," he added. "We look forward to extending the same efficiencies to our outbound document-driven processes in phase two of the Optio implementation."
"We are excited to be partnering with NACA and helping them manage the data and documents so critical to the shipping process," said C. Wayne Cape, Optio Software's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We're also proud to be part of an initiative to help NACA comply with the ports security regulatory process that's so vital to our national security and the global struggle against terrorism."
About NACA Logistics
NACA Logistics, headquartered in Carson, Calif., is one of the largest non-vessel, operating common carriers (NVOCC) operating out of the U.S. and the nation's first neutral transportation group to combine NVOCC, warehousing and information technology. With numerous offices worldwide and agency representation in 125 countries, NACA serves more than 30,000 customers worldwide and manages more than 400,000 individual shipments, including international less-than-container load (LCL), full container load (FCL) and domestic distributions each year. For further information, visit www.nacalogistics.com.
About Optio Software, Inc.
Optio Software, with 25 years of experience and more than 5,000 clients, worldwide, provides software solutions dedicated to helping customers achieve unprecedented speed, accuracy, functionality and quality in their inbound and outbound document processes, while extending the value of their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) applications. More than 5,000 organizations rely on Optio Software for innovative business process improvement solutions that allow them to reduce transactional activities and focus on core responsibilities. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., Optio Software maintains European, Middle Eastern and African headquarters in Paris, France and sales offices in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. For more information about Optio Software or to contact a local Optio sales consultant, reach us at 770.576.3500 or visit our website at www.optio.com.
