Patton and FedEx Announce Faster, Better, Cheaper Logistics

GAITHERSBURG, Md. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Patton—the leader in business and carrier-class network access, connectivity, VoIP and mobile video-surveillance equipment—announced today a new logistics program in partnership with FedEx that offers lower freight costs, faster delivery, new business opportunities, and other benefits to channel partners and end customers in Europe and worldwide.

“By clearing a set of logistical hurdles for our EU customers we improve their bottom lines. No one likes waiting. So they have a happier day when we cut some red tape. And so far, I haven’t heard any complaints about cutting freight costs in half either.”

By implementing the International Priority Direct Distribution (IPD) program with FedEx, Patton’s enhanced logistics program enables customers located within the European Union to receive their orders one day faster on average, at reduced freight cost, and pre-cleared for customs and Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Customers who select IPD shipping from Patton’s factory (located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA) can realize up to 50% reduction in shipping charges compared with FedEx International Priority. With IPD, Patton also improves customer cash flow by eliminating advance VAT payments.

In addition, Patton now prints Universal Product Code/European Article Number (UPC/EAN) barcodes on shipping labels for the manufacturer’s most popular stock-keeping units (SKUs). The barcode-enhanced shipping labels open up new business opportunities for Patton’s global channel partners by enabling such major distributors as Amazon.com to enter Patton’s best-selling products into their logistics centers.

“Time is money for any business,” said Steve Schrader, Manufacturing VP at Patton. “By clearing a set of logistical hurdles for our EU customers we improve their bottom lines. No one likes waiting. So they have a happier day when we cut some red tape. And so far, I haven’t heard any complaints about cutting freight costs in half either.”

The IPD program reduces freight cost for each recipient by consolidating orders destined for the EU into a single shipment into France. Patton, as the Importer of Record, clears the entire shipment through customs and VAT. The separated orders are then dispatched individually throughout the EU—arriving just one or two days after departure from the U.S.

In related news, Patton just launched two new BRI VoIP product lines, offering improved price-performance and expanded feature sets for ISDN VoIP markets. Patton also recently added three new model series to the expanded SmartNode™ PRI gateway product line. Patton announced IBM Sametime certification and Microsoft OCS certification for the company’s SmartNode VoIP products earlier this year.

In the accolades arena, Patton has earned six product-of-the-year awards from INTERNET TELEPHONY® magazine.

About Patton

Patton is a multi-national organization that designs, develops, and manufactures electronic communications equipment for network access, connectivity, voice-over-IP, triple play and video surveillance. Deployed throughout the world in carrier, enterprise, and industrial networks, most Patton products are manufactured in the USA. Patton is ISO 9001:2008 certified and markets a catalog of over 1000 products including SmartNode™ VoIP solutions (SIP and H.323) for analog and ISDN telephony; Visuality™ mobile-video surveillance, collection, and intelligence distribution solution, ForeFront™ multi-service access infrastructure solutions for TDM and IP service delivery (T1/E1, G.SHDSL, xDSL, dial-up); OnSite™ CPE solutions for last-mile/local-loop access (WAN routers, modems, remote access servers, NTUs, CSU/DSUs); CopperLink™ Ethernet Extenders; EtherBITS device servers; EnviroNET™ NEMA4-compliant hardened networking equipment, and a full range of network-connectivity SerialComm (interface converters, short-range modems, multiplexers, surge protectors). Incorporated in January 1984, Patton Electronics has been doing business for over 26 years.