ProPack’s New Freight Forwarding Interface

Apr 11

philsnyFreight Forwarding, Technology , , , , , , 1 Comment

This week, ProPack is launching our new online freight forwarding interface. This new system exists within our current online WMS (warehouse management system) and is available to any of our clients who ship through our freight program. It pulls directly from our freight management system and represents real-time information about freight shipments at ProPack.

ProPack’s new freight forwarding portal contains four main value-added areas for our clients: quoting, work orders, tracking and billing.

Quoting

Clients can submit requests for quotes directly to ProPack’s freight department. Our qualified freight forwards are notified instantly when a new request is put through and  respond within a hour. Once a request has been quoted by ProPack’s team, clients can then authorize those quotes through the online interface, thus directing ProPack to begin forwarding the freight. All quotes are visible online, along with built-in search and reporting capabilities.

Work Order Management

Clients can view all their current and past freight work orders online via the new interface. All details contained within the work orders like consignee and shipper information, weights and dims, and billing information are represented. Clients can search for individual work order numbers or filter the work order log based on a variety of criteria.

Tracking

All of ProPack’s freight shipments are tracked individually by our freight department. This information is entered into our freight management system and will now be available online. Clients will be able to view their “In Transit” shipments, “Delivered” shipments, tracking details and notes, as well as filter and search through the tracking records. Finally, PODs (Proof of Delivery) will be scanned into our system and made available online for download via PDF.

Billing

The final component of ProPack’s new freight online interface is billing. Clients will have online access to their pending and paid work orders. They will be able to view billing information and accessorial fees as well as reprint invoices. As with the other areas of the interface, they will be able to search for and filter by a variety of different criteria.

After seven years of providing online access to our order fulfillment customers, ProPack is excited to be offering the same technology and online visibility to our freight customers. Our new interface will add value to the services we provide and reduces the costs of our freight customers by giving them easier access to their information.

For more information please visit our website at www.propack.com.

Save on International Shipping Costs with FIMS

Apr 04

philsnySmall Package Carriers , , , , , No Comments

Many fulfillment houses, or 3PLs, limit themselves to providing basic services for a single carrier. For example, clients may only be offered UPS Ground and Air shipping. This approach limits the available options to one carrier or basic services for several carriers. When finding the best value between cost and time it is beneficial to have a portfolio of services available. At ProPack, we have worked with all the major carriers to provide a diverse services portfolio, in order to give our clients options and save them money. One of these services is FIMS, or FedEx International Mail Service.

FIMS is to international what FedEx’s Smart Post and UPS’s Mail Innovations (both provided at ProPack) are to domestic. International packages are processed and sent to a regional distribution center (DC) in the United States. From there they are sorted and shipped overseas to another DC in their destination country. Once in their consignee’s country, they are placed in the local mail system and delivered to their final destination.

With FIMS, FedEx offers a low cost alternative to more expedited services like FedEx International Priority. FIMS leverages FedEx’s expertise in getting the package overseas and into the destination country’s postal system to make the delivery. This brings the cost down while still allowing shipments to be delivered in little over a week. In addition, packages are charged a standard rate on a per pound basis no matter the final consignee’s country.

As part of ProPack’s diverse shipping portfolio FIMS acts as a low cost alternative for international shipments.  With a low per-pound rate, FIMS is ideal for smaller packages going overseas. Many of ProPack’s clients have leveraged this service to provide their customers with less expensive options for their international shipments.

 For more information please visit our website at www.propack.com.