Start Norfolk 4 Winners Tapped to Unveil "Logistify" at xTupleCon – Open Source ERP Global User Conference
Norfolk, Virginia (PRWEB) October 07, 2013 -- xTuple CEO Ned Lilly announced today that three members of the software company’s mobile web development team will present their award-winning open source logistics solution at the company’s inaugural user conference on October 11. The three were grand-prize winners of the fourth iteration of the Start Norfolk build-a-business-in-a-weekend competition, modeled after the internationally successful Startup Weekend.
After advancing to become one of eleven finalists at late September’s Start Norfolk 4, the team – made up of xTuple software developers Steve Hackbarth, Linda Nichols and Travis Webb with help from Stanley Zheng, a student at Old Dominion University – won first place with Logistify. More #StartNorfolk4 photos by Paul J. Chin, Jr.
Logistify is an open-source freight and logistics toolkit built to seamlessly integrate with xTuple’s business management software. It is also available as a free-standing software service. Design and implementation of the one-button solution took just two days and successfully validates xTuple’s key strategic premise, that providing an extensible open-source framework creates value for its customers and partners by allowing anyone to easily add functionality to its core product.
"Logistify was an overwhelming winner with over 70 percent of the crowd’s vote. We are beyond thrilled with Logistify's hard work at Start Norfolk, and it showed in their pitch which ultimately led to their win," according to Zack Miller, managing director of Hatch, the startup accelerator which hosted over one hundred entrepreneurs and innovators during the weekend-long competition.
The Logistify xTuple Extension takes the guesswork out of pricing and simplifies management of outbound freight by automatically contacting multiple carriers for LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) freight quotes. Logistify’s "magic" happens in its Rate Quote API, or application programming interface, which simultaneously queries multiple carriers with the same shipping information to determine the best price.
Hackbarth, team leader of the winning Start Norfolk project and veteran of the logistics industry, touts Logistify's service as the "Expedia of LTL freight" and explains that the typical shipper pays huge licensing fees for similar solutions today.
The win comes at an exciting juncture for xTuple, which is retooling its industry-leading business software for the Web. The Logistify extension is specifically designed for the xTuple Mobile Web client which is rapidly evolving into the most feature-rich, integrated ERP solution available for the Web. As for Logistify, its creators plan to offer the Rate Quote service for free to xTuple’s customers and continue building on its initial success to offer more logistics services in the future.
About Logistics and Logistify
Logistify exists in the enterprise, business-to-business space – a daunting place to start a new company. But, monetization is easier. Businesses expect to pay for quality. Unique value from competitors means the space can be less crowded. And, the markets can be huge. Transportation is a trillion dollar industry. Less-than-truckload (LTL), the fragmented market segment served by Logistify, is how freight too large for UPS yet not large enough for a single truck is moved. It is a $75 billion dollar industry, and growing rapidly. Logistify’s target customer is the LTL shipper, typically manufacturers and distributors, who have slashed freight management technology expenditures since the economic downturn of the early 2000s. They seek inexpensive, convenient solutions, a need sorely underserved. This is a market segment ripe for disruptive innovation, perfect for a new, ambitious startup.
Logistify is a strategic partner with xTuple, one of the most innovative companies working in the enterprise space today. xTuple’s open-source business management platform allows anyone to hack an extension on top of their core, which is sales, billing, inventory, accounting, purchasing, etc., and sell directly to their customer base. They're happy for others to make money that way, because it expands their ecosystem. xTuple partners with companies that really understand freight and can integrate extensions to provide solutions with a seamless user experience.
Logistify leverages the power of API technology to accomplish in one week what a decade ago would have been a million dollar programming effort, an exaggerated business model that still today finds legacy software companies charging tens of thousands of dollars per extension.
Look for Logistify coming soon to xTuple’s online marketplace, the xChange.
About xTupleCon
Held at xTuple’s downtown Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters and adjacent conference hotel, xTupleCon is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, October 10-12, 2013. Attendees will enjoy a VIP evening event at xTuple Headquarters, keynotes from industry leaders, multiple awards honoring community accomplishments, and training sessions covering tracks in technology, implementation and business operations. More at xTuple.com/xtuple-conference-2013.
Our Tweets:
RT @xTuple: #StartNorfolk4 winners unveil @LogistifyMe at #xTupleCon13 – it’s @Expedia for #logistics http://ow.ly/ptLWh #opensource.
RT @xTuple: Leveraging power of API @LogistifyMe did in 1 week what cost $1M in 2003 http://ow.ly/ptLWh demo at #xTupleCon13.
About xTuple, World’s #1 open source ERP
xTuple, selected for InfoWorld's 2013 Bossie Awards as best open source business application, is business management software to give growing companies control over operations and profitability. xTuple integrates all critical functional areas in one modular system: sales, accounting and operations – including customer and supplier management, inventory control, manufacturing and distribution – the powerful tools to Grow Your World®.
As a commercial open source company, xTuple works with a global community of tens of thousands of professional users. xTuple gives customers the ability to tailor solutions with multi-platform support for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile as well as flexible licensing and pricing options. Connect with the company at xTuple.com, with the open source community at xTuple.org, and join the innovation conversation at NextBusinessBlog.com.
xTuple Supports Innovation
From blueprints to buildouts, xTuple helps foster startups in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic technology corridor between Research Triangle, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., as a committed, passionate member of the Norfolk/Virginia Beach tech community. Learn more at xTuple.com/aboutus.
Reference the xTuple Style Guide (xSG): xTuple.com/xSG.
Missy Schmidt, VP Marketing, xTuple, http://www.xtuple.com, +1 (757) 461-3022 135, [email protected]
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