- Can you provide some background on Iron Data?
- Iron Data is comprised of two Divisions: Transportation and Public Sector. The Transportation Division is focused on spend management across all shipping modes to and from all continents. The Public Sector Division is built around case management solutions for the Federal, State and County governments, including the Social Security Administration.
- I noticed a tag line on your site “Intelligent Process Management” (IPM). Can you put this in simple terms?
- It is all about unleashing the power of data to maximize performance. At Iron Data we are focused on streamlining complex data inefficiencies to improve workflow for our Clients. Furthermore, Iron Data’s IPM allows organizations to focus on what they do best while having the peace of mind that industry experts are seamlessly handling their most difficult data management challenges
- What percentage of your operating cash flow is re-invested in enhancing your technology infrastructure?
- Over the past three years this percentage has averaged over 30%.
- How many people are employed by Iron Data?
- Across the Globe there are over 175 subject matter experts available to service our Clients.
- Who are the key Leaders at Iron Data and what are their backgrounds?
- The key Leaders are actually the plethora of Employees who deal with the Customers and Prospects every hour of every day. Executive Team Biographies
- Can you comment on the financial picture at Iron Data?
- Iron Data is a privately held Company. Upon completion of a non disclosure document (NDA), we will be more than happy to share the financial success story that dates back to 1994. Our Audit and Tax Partner is Smith & Howard out of Atlanta, GA.
- How far is Iron Data’s Global Reach?
- Iron Data has four major offices and three satellite offices in North America as well as offices in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Manila, The Philippines.
- How many Clients comprise the Iron Data Family?
- There are over 600 satisfied Clients at Iron Data and the number is growing daily.
- Who do I contact for more information on Iron Data?
- Please contact John Sedleniek phone at 901-605-8320.
- How can I determine if my Company is a good fit for the Iron Data solution?
- Free Consultations are available that will quickly determine the value proposition based on a sample of your Company’s transportation spend demographics. Simply contact Iron Data at Iron Data to get started.
- Has Iron Data received SAS70 Type Certification?
- Iron Data’s Transportation Division was actually the first Company to have received Type II certification back in 2005. As a significant third party provider to many clients, the Transportation Division undergoes a SAS 70 Type II certification process at least annually. This process provides independent verification that the operational policies, procedures and controls that management has established are adequate for their intended purposes and are also operating effectively. This certification is crucial for any clients that must comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- What differentiates Iron Data from other Companies?
- It is our Team and their growing expertise in Transportation and Finance/Accounting. Most competitors only offer a freight audit solution with limited outsourced solutions and business intelligence. In fact, most only offer a standalone parcel or non-parcel audit. Iron Data offers a full suite of services across all modes performed by the best Team in the industry.
- I understand that one of your key differentiators versus the Freight Audit competitors and TMS software providers is your focus on ‘Managed Services’? What is ‘Managed Services’ and why so important?
- ‘Managed Services’ means that in addition to providing the technology and tools to manage transportation spend, we more importantly dedicate our Team members to each Client and act as an extension to the Client’s team. In fact, most of the time our Clients aren’t even sure if our Team is on their payroll or ours...and this is the key, as we are all one team.
- Aside from the Outstanding Team of SME’s and the way they are assigned through your ‘Managed Services’ model, is there another ‘secret sauce’?
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There are many but one in particular that our Clients consistently reference is our ability to automatically code transportation spend to the General Ledger/GL or other unique attributes. This eliminates significant manual (and costly) efforts and allows the Client to focus on more of their Customer’s concerns. The coding can be very granular and go all the way down to charge and SKU levels. Of course, the major benefits of this up-front investment is that it sets up the business intelligence and reporting to deliver information and metrics that are meaningful to the client.
- How do you ensure that the coding or cost allocation of shipments is accurate?
- Iron Data has developed a proprietary web based coding engine that has no limits to the number of rules and logic steps to assign the correct code. Our table driven approach allows for immediate updates in a user friendly method so that valuable IT resources are not required. During implementation, a dedicated team is assigned to an account to develop and validate the logic. This includes the “string” of codes to ensure that your Accounts Payable platform will accept and assign the cost allocation without error. Any shipment that fails to receive a valid code can be reviewed and corrected on-line.
- Can you outline the underlying technology structure of the Iron Data Platform?
- By far the most robust Platform in the Industry is designed on a Java Framework utilizing Oracle 10g Database and EMC Data Storage Replication. Data is received and processed using the Sterling Commerce Gentran suite. Reporting and Analytics are built on SAP’s Business Objects. The hardware infrastructure is built on IBM and Sun Servers.
- How do you define Transportation Spend Management? What does it encompass?
- Transportation Spend Management involves targeting specific areas before, during, and after the shipment execution to optimize transportation spend. It is comprised of at least 3 categories of ROI opportunities: Carrier Contract Audit & Optimization; Outsource Efficiencies and Value Added Services that include leveraging the Business Intelligence component to perform “what if” modeling.
- Does Iron Data offer Negotiation Services?
- Absolutely…and whether it is direct Negotiations Services you require or Benchmarking Support, our Team of Professionals can ensure that, based on your specific freight demographics, you receive the most comprehensive multi-modal rate and service opportunity matrix.
- Can Iron Data pay my Carriers directly on my behalf?
- Iron Data is a full spectrum process management provider. Iron Data can assume responsibility for payment to your Carriers which relieves your organization from the time consuming aspects of Carrier collections and remittance issues and also allows Iron Data to provide full cycle spend management services. In addition, Iron Data can provide your Carriers on-line access to invoice status and payment data so that information is selectively stored and shared with multiple parties through one central data repository.
- Why doesn’t Iron Data employ the “float” model in their Payment/Disbursement service component?
- Iron Data championed the “no float” service model as part of the control measures that are certified through SAS 70 and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to guarantee “best practice” is being exercised for funds we disburse. We consider funds the property of our customer at all times. The “float” model often results in delayed payments (that often involve unknown risky investments by the payer) to the carrier which invariably results in higher pricing from the carrier. Most companies choose to outsource freight payment because of the cost savings, but if you have to allocate resources to administrate or constantly "monitor" the process to ensure your payment terms are being met and funds are disbursed properly then you have defeated the purpose of outsourcing.
- Is Iron Data capable of building an automated AR/AP interface?
- Yes, in fact Iron Data has built over 200 such interfaces to all kinds of ERP including SAP; Oracle; Oracle-PeopleSoft; Oracle-JDE; QAD; as well as custom interfaces for in-house, proprietary systems. As part of the automated delivery, Iron Data supports virtually any secure protocol required.
- Speaking of system efforts, what other systems has Iron Data interfaced or integrated too?
- System Integration has been a mainstay at Iron Data for several years. API, XML and File integration are the most common. Examples include: Carrier Shipping systems (DHL, UPS, FedEx); Warehouse Management Systems (PKMS); Data Support Systems (Runner Tech, PC Miler, Currency Convert); Transportation Management Systems (i2, SAP, Manhattan, JDA); Corporate Intranets to name but a few.
- What is the overall percentage of electronic data receipt that Iron Data has reached?
- Overall, Iron Data averages over 99.3% on any given week. We are working on numerous fronts to get this percentage to 100%.
- Why is the goal to be 100% electronic in data capture so important?
- First and foremost, it is a matter of accuracy. Rekeying invoice data a second time opens the door for data integrity issues. Secondly, the cost to Iron Data to process paper (whether Parcel or Non-Parcel ) is significantly higher and as such the cost we have to pass through to the Client will be higher. Finally, from a velocity standpoint, electronic is inherently a much timelier option which means faster time to business intelligence.
- Can you describe your reporting capabilities?
- Actually we refer to reporting as part of our overall business intelligence (BI) capabilities. . We don’t just pass carrier data to our clients but add value by transforming disparate, unorganized raw data into meaningful normalized information in the form of KPIs, Drill Down analytics, and printable reports. Our BI customization tools, along with our data integration technology, offer an enterprise wide platform that provides corporate wide information to Logistics, Procurement, Accounting and Executive stakeholders.
- What is the key to getting optimal output from the BI engine?
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Data Quality is the key. In order for this to be achieved, the data must be “scrubbed” for completeness and accuracy. Once this is accomplished, data normalization is critical. Through data normalization, we are able to provide a consistent view of spend management based on inconsistent data, as well as optimize the performance output from the BI engine.
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