NEWS\\\ FullScreen View Seeing the light on visibility


Soſtware vendors love buzzwords, don’t they? They believe that since most people don’t really understand technology, they can bamboozle them with the latest jargon and sell more products. Unfortunately, they’re probably right. But some buzzwords have


more purpose than others. Visibility, for instance. Forwarders, transport companies and shippers are all aware of the increasing need to know where our cargo is at any time - or at least to be able to find out, should a customer ask. And for that reason, IT companies are trying hard to provide comprehensive systems that can help achieve that goal. Take Kewill. Its purchase of


Four Soſt, now complete, gave it the expertise to ‘fill the gap’ in its soſtware portfolio: it didn’t, it admits, have any solution for shipping and very little for freight. Its new Kewill Move, a multimodal transport platform available on a licensed or soſtware as a service basis, addresses that need, though, by providing the tools to manage every aspect of the logistics, transport and trade compliance of any shipment. Designed primarily for shippers,


Kewill Move allows users to manage all aspects of logistics, including forwarding, transport and warehousing, for any size consignment. It also provides early


insight into potential supply issues and trade barriers and covers all customs and trade compliance issues. While most of these elements


were available before as stand- alone solutions, Kewill Move brings them all together, allowing shippers to share information with suppliers, customers, forwarders and transport company. “With Kewill Move, users get what they need to be productive from anywhere around the globe,” emphasises Evan Puzey, CMO of Kewill. But the need for visibility is


not limited to international trade. Road hauliers, too, want to be able to not only see where their vehicles and their loads are at any time, but view and analyse vehicle and driver performance. Again, early versions of telematics provided a lot of this information, but oſten in a piecemeal fashion. Now Masternaut has raised the game with its Masternaut Connect. “The landscape has changed


considerably since we introduced our first generation telematics solutions,” points out Martin Hiscox, chairman and


By Marcia Macleod


data is growing.” Masternaut Connect, which is


provided as soſtware as a service, contains several modules: Live, which provides visibility of each vehicle and the entire fleet; Business Intelligence, a reporting and statistics module; Eco-carrier, to help develop driver awareness programmes; Corporate Risk, to enable users to identify potential risk for each shipment; Tax and Expense Manager; and Worker Communications, Mission and Support. The system can be integrated


with other soſtware programmes, including customer applications; offers real-time information; and can be tailored to support users’ priorities. And forwarders are not slow


CEO.


“The growth of floating car data, advances in driver performance management, vehicle scheduling and data aggregations means there is more intelligence available to acquire. The demand to drive tangible business value from this


to recognise the need for good visibility, not just for themselves, but for their customers. Allport Cargo Services is joining forces with its soſtware supplier, Fargo Systems, to develop a seamless, transparent logistics service by combining Allport’s resources with those of its sub-contractors.


As a customer of Fargo’s TOPS


(Transport Operations and Processing Systems) for two years, Allport recognises the potential of TOPS...on the go, the smartphone- based system, to improve consistent delivery services to its clients and convinced its sub- contractors, usually the weakest link in the visibility chain, to invest in the technology. TOPS... on the go is now deployed across 140 vehicles, providing Allport and its sub-contractors with an intelligent, real-time information system enabling drivers to receive job information and transmit PODs via their smartphones. “Our focus was on the business


efficiencies we could achieve through electronic delivery of PODs, getting instructions to drivers and the operational benefits the system would deliver,” says Tony Belton, Allport’s senior transport manager. “We are delighted with the commitment of our sub- contractors; clients are already reporting improved delivery performance.”


Kewill makes multimodal move


In an interview with FBJ, Kewill’s chief marketing officer Evan Puzey said the soſtware specialist could now offer a fully-integrated multimodal platform following the completion of its acquisition of Indian-based Four Soſt in mid- October. The company says that


Kewill MOVE offers “a complete, comprehensive platform for managing the complexities of transportation, logistics and trade compliance.” Evan Puzey told FBJ: “The


core of Kewill MOVE is complete multimodal transport soſtware encompassing road, rail sea, air, barge and parcels, and functions such as storage, order fulfilment and customs compliance. It builds on the acquisition of Four Soſt, which has a similar platform.” The


new package allows


users to access all the different functions from the same place, a particular advantage for smaller companies where people have to multitask. The other advantage is that there are no longer different sets of master data for each function, having to be rekeyed and maintained. Target markets are logistics


service providers and forwarders – many of whom have taken on transportation and warehousing functions – or transport and warehouse operators who have moved into logistics and forwarding – and shippers and manufacturers, many of whom have logistics departments or need to know where their goods are in the supply chain. The new platform also


integrates customs clearance – fully electronically in countries where the customs authorities


have embraced IT – or by producing paper documents at the clearance point where they have not. The system has been designed translate information into including


to all major languages,


Cantonese and Japanese and it will also integrate with legacy soſtware such as warehouse management systems. It can also provide parcels


shipping rates for home delivery operators. “Today’s supply chain requires


technology to access and analyse as much information as possible to successfully meet consumer demand,” said Evan Puzey. “With Kewill MOVE users can be productive from anywhere around the globe, without undue risk and expense to the organisation. The Kewill MOVE platform provides unparalleled


monitoring and access, allowing for ultimate control throughout each segment of the supply chain.” It is available either on-


premises or as soſtware as a service.


Issue 7 2013 - FBJ IT NEWS Sequoia speeds customs decs


Freight soſtware specialist ASM has released the latest version of its Sequoia Customs Clearance platform. It includes new productivity features, including the ability to reuse data already available in the supply chain and to send advanced consignment information to satisfy an increasing demand from governments worldwide for such information. Sequoia Worksheets allow users to upload commercial invoice data from any readable source automatically into a worksheet from which a customs declaration can then be generated. This can save significant time and effort, and vastly reduces errors from re-keying data. Sequoia also generates comprehensive reports that tie the data used to start the process, together with detailed item-level information about the customs declarations that consumed it. ASM says that calculating duty and VAT manually ahead of shipments arriving is time consuming and oſten leads to costly errors. Sequoia now allows users to prepare the customs declaration well in advance of the shipment and transmit a ‘training mode’ copy of this declaration to CHIEF – the customs declaration processing system. That means users can be sure the resulting duty and VAT figures are exactly what will be charged when the shipment arrives. Advanced Customs Declaration reporting in Sequoia also produces highly-configurable, detailed information about customs declarations processed, says ASM, which can satisfy the conditions of AEO authorisation or customer demands for detailed reports. ASM programme manager Simon Adams, said: “Another area of significant productivity gain is in integrating Sequoia with our customers’ back-office systems to exchange data in both directions. We are seeing considerable interest in this and positive feedback from a growing number of customers already making use of the almost limitless possibilities to re- use data. It is increasingly viewed as a major cost saving and a way of gaining a competitive edge.”


New recruits for BoxTop


BoxTop Technologies, a leading specialist in freight forwarding and logistics soſtware, has added three new members of staff. They are business development specialist Shane Paddington and Jasmine Bailey and Hanna Kavanagh who have freight forwarding backgrounds. BoxTop’s business development manager, Paul Richardson, said: “We have prioritised finding people who have real experience working in the freight and logistics industry. We believe that our growth is largely driven by our team’s ability to truly understand our customers’ needs.” Jasmine Bailey and Hanna Kavanagh both work in the Technical Support Centre, helping with training and supporting new users and existing users who take on new features in the BoxTop range.


17


Fast Forward your business Forward Computers continue to develop new


ideas and more efficient ways for us to process jobs, as well as keeping abreast of changes.


We see Forward Computers and ForwardOffice as an integral part of our future.


Dave Byard, EFS Group Financial Director.


forwardcomputers.co.uk


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