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icix Expands Its Global Supply Chain Risk Management SolutionSAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)-- Retailers and manufacturers face a daunting challenge: ensuring that the millions of products they make and sell every year meet regulatory requirements and are safe for consumers. icix, the leader in global supply chain risk management, today announced Direct Test, a cloud-based application designed for product safety compliance. For the first time, trading partners have a robust solution that automates the collection and management of third-party product tests to efficiently monitor and address safety and regulatory requirements. 
Matt Smith, co-founder and chief strategy officer of icix - a leading supply chain risk management company (Photo: Business Wire) "With more than 38 million products recalled in 2013, product safety is clearly an issue for both consumers and businesses," said Matt Smith, co-founder and chief strategy officer, icix. "The globalization of supply chains and increased regulation have made it much more difficult to manage extended supply chain risk. We developed Direct Test in collaboration with leading brands, retailers and testing labs to help them proactively and efficiently met the challenge of validating product safety." Keeping track of whether products currently meet the appropriate standards is a demanding task. Traditional data collection processes - via hard copies, fax, email or spreadsheets - make it extremely difficult to implement a systematic, consistent testing program involving multiple third-party testing partners. Most retailers and manufacturers use testing laboratory service providers to verify that each SKU and lot meets industry standards and federal regulations. Without automation, it can be almost impossible to collect accurate data for reporting and analysis. Direct Test integrates directly with the leading testing laboratories to automate and streamline the management of product testing and regulatory documentation. The application matches purchase orders to existing documents, and notifies trading partners and testing labs when documentation or certificates are missing. Direct Test generates regulatory paperwork for imported products and automates the identification of products at risk of shipping without proper supporting documents. The automated monitoring enables trading partners to manage by exception-a much more efficient and effective way to mitigate supply chain risk. Direct Test, which has been in soft launch with selected partners, is now widely available to retailers and manufacturers in the food, general merchandise, and apparel and footwear industries. For more information on Direct Test, go to http://www.icix.com/cloud-apps/direct-test/. icix Secures $25 Million Series C Funding The icix product line expansion comes on the heels of a $25 million Series C investment in icix. Wesfarmers Limited, one of Australia's leading diversified companies, and Vertical Venture Partners joined original investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Starfish Ventures to provide funding in the latest investment round. The financing brings the company's total venture capital investment to $50 million. Based in Perth, Western Australia, Wesfarmers is one of Australia's largest listed companies and employers. Its diverse business operations cover supermarkets, department stores, home improvement and office supplies, coal mining, chemicals, energy and fertilisers and industrial and safety products. Currently, many of the world's largest companies across the general merchandise, apparel and food industries are using icix to protect their brands and safeguard consumers. Over 20,000 businesses are active members of the icix network, including leading retailers, the top 100 food processors and over 50 testing laboratories, inspection companies and certification bodies. About icix Global brands trust icix to manage risk throughout their extended supply chain. The icix business network and risk management applications enable trading partners to connect and collaborate in order to verify and monitor business-critical information on products, trading partners and facilities. Its cloud-based SaaS (News - Alert) platform brings unparalleled visibility and efficiency to the extended supply chain for regulatory compliance, product safety and corporate social responsibility. The privately held company is headquartered in South San Francisco, Calif. For more information about the company and its portfolio of products, visit icix.com.
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