Logistics technology innovator Fleet Enable today announced an industry first: no-charge Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) order taking and responses for freight transporters. The Austin-based software creator said it’s offering carriers EDI with its namesake Transportation Management System. The technology permits freight haulers to receive digital orders and return responses from shippers without manual intervention.
Fleet Enable is believed to be the only logistics technology provider offering no-charge EDI. The technology has become industry standard for carriers hauling freight over the road. But until now, it has come at a price. For large carriers receiving thousands of
electronic order requests and responses monthly, the cost can be significant. It can also inhibit growth as increased business results in increased EDI charges.
“We’re making this technology available at no charge as an investment in the industry and in our client partners,” said Fleet Enable CEO Krishna Vattipalli. “We’re doing this as a prime mover in the effort to automate transportation and logistics.”
EDI provides an automated connection to Fleet Enable’s Transportation Management System. The Fleet Enable technology platform automates all aspects of a freight hauler’s business, from ordering to route planning and billing. Fleet Enable said it has signed an agreement with Illinois-based Kleinschmidt Inc. to help provide EDI technology to business partners.
Here’s how Fleet Enable’s system works:
● Shippers send electronic shipment requests to their carrier partners.
● Fleet Enable’s Transportation Management System automatically accepts the EDI requests.
● The system routes requests throughout the carrier’s enterprise, from warehouse to dispatch and billing.
● The carrier can then automatically deliver confirmations, status updates,
tracking information and exceptions back to the shipper via EDI.
EDI automates transactions to minimize manual handling, Fleet Enable said. Automation has been identified as critical to success in the increasingly competitive logistics sector. Efficient, lower-cost operators are considered likely industry survivors.
Electronic order taking has replaced faxed requests for most shippers and freight haulers, Fleet Enable said. Some shippers, however, still transmit shipment requests via email. Fleet Enable said it has developed technology to automatically forward emailed
requests to its Fleet Enable Transportation Management System.
“There’s no one way of doing business in the logistics industry,” explained Mr. Vattipalli. “That’s why we tailor our system to the diverse needs of our clients and their customers.”
Fleet Enable said it’s introducing no-cost EDI to the logistics industry for a two-year period. The company said its offer would be good through the end of 2023.
