Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- New TSI Storage Promotion Program
- Public Storage unit seeks arbitration
- 5 reasons thin clients deserve a fresh look
- Isilon adds entry-level clustered NAS, drops pricing
- Why Ask.com’s CEO left to join Microsoft
- Distribution reinvention.(Company overview)

New TSI Storage Promotion Program
WebWire – WebWire (press release) – Jan 22, 2007
, a leading provider of nationwide moving and shipping services, has announced a new Storage Promotion Program offering self storage owners and managers free listings and the oppo. ,, a, leading, provider, of, nationwide, moving, and, shipping, services,, has, announced, a, new, Storage, Promotion, Program, offering, self, storage, owners, and, managers, free, listings, and, the, oppo… Each listing includes location name, address, phone number, web site link and email link. All self storage companies are eligible to have their locations listed. Companies with multiple location can have each location included separately. Referral payments are automatically earned for every move or shipment booked through the location. “There’s no work or obligation on the part of the location required, other than to set the display on the counter,” Smith said. “The customer gets a solution for their moving or shipping needs, and the storage facility gets free exposure and ancillary income.

Public Storage unit seeks arbitration
ABCmoney.co.uk – Jan 22, 2007
said Monday one of its partners in two European ventures filed an arbitration request with international authorities to force other partners to sell their respective interests. Public Storage said its affiliate, Shurgard Self Storage SCA, asked the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris to compel Crescent Euro Self Storage Investments SARL and Crescent Euro Self Storage Investments II SARL to sell their interests in two ventures with Public Storage. Public Storage said the venture agreement contains an ‘exit procedure’ under which it can buy out its partners. The company’s shares fell $1. 80 in recent trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

5 reasons thin clients deserve a fresh look
FCW.com – Jan 22, 2007
The thin-client approach involves diskless desktop computers that pass off most processing and administrative chores to a centralized server. The underlying premise of thin clients is that fewer moving parts and no local storage reduce administrative costs and boost security. Many organizations have bought into the technology, but performance concerns and budget issues have kept others on the sidelines. Thin-client computing may now deserve another look, given proven financial benefits, continuing security concerns and recent technology twists. The proof is in: Running thin clients can cost lessLower operating costs have been a central selling point for thin clients since they arrived on the market.

Isilon adds entry-level clustered NAS, drops pricing
Search Storage – Jan 22, 2007
Similarly, Geoff Froh, technical manager at Densho, a nonprofit that’s archivng the oral histories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, was looking for an affordable storage product that ruled out Fibre Channel. Densho had various storage efforts on the go, including some. But they were constantly moving around directories in an effort to free up space, and it became unmanageable.

Why Ask.com’s CEO left to join Microsoft
Seattle Times – Jan 22, 2007
Q: Why did you join Microsoft? In what areas did you think you could make a difference?
A: I loved what I was doing at Ask, but there was just a fundamental limitation to what I would be able to accomplish there in terms of my ability to influence the industry as a whole. I got a call from Microsoft and then went up and met with Steve and Bill. I really hadn’t thought about moving. But I realized I have maybe one or two big steps inside of myself and this was a playing field I felt you can’t turn down. Microsoft needs to turn around. It’s got the resources to turn around. Why not give it a shot?
Q: How do you see Microsoft turning around?
A: The first thing is we start to move from an inside-out company to an outside-in company, which means putting the customer at the forefront of our thinking… Microsoft needs to turn around. It’s got the resources to turn around. Why not give it a shot?
Q: How do you see Microsoft turning around?
A: The first thing is we start to move from an inside-out company to an outside-in company, which means putting the customer at the forefront of our thinking.

Distribution reinvention.(Company overview)
Free with registration – Gulf Shipper – AccessMyLibrary.com – Jan 22, 2007
(Company overview) BYLINE: William Hoffman Shipper slashes DC network The world’s largest maker of household products is reinventing the way it ships products around the globe, cutting its distribution network in half and pushing more of its products into transportation networks in a bid to get goods to customers faster. Procter & Gamble’s far-reaching and high-stakes “distribution reinvention” will slash its network of distribution centers from 450 sites to 225, giving the company a better handle on its inventory management and potentially pushing revenue more rapidly to the top line. In a conference call with analysts in December, Bob McDonald, vice president of operations at P&G, said the company hopes to improve product availability and reduce out-of-stocks, especially for fast-moving items in high demand. P&G also wants a broader assortment of products available in fewer locations. By grouping products according to what it calls demand velocity, P&G plans to increase truckload shipments for stores that need them, while preserving less-than-truckload capabilities for outlets that can’t or don’t want to handle full truckloads. It’s a high-stakes trade-off between inventory and transportation, said Evan Armstrong, president of logistics consulting firm Armstrong & Associates. “Overall supply-chain efficiency has to increase” for P&G to succeed, he.