Making sure managers know about potential problems quickly is the purpose behind McLeod Software's new Rapid Alert Notification System, introduced during the company's 17th annual users' conference, held in Birmingham, Ala., last week.

The RANS provides alerts on a number of predefined exceptions found in the company's LoadMaster dispatch system. The alerts may take the form of e-mails, message windows or audible pop-ups from the Windows taskbar.
"E-mails are not the preferred method, said Robert Brothers, McLeod's manager of product development. "Sometimes e-mails get backed up in a manager's inbox and he may not notice it for a few days."
The exceptions are things that managers would notice when reviewing weekly reports, but the RANS lets them know about a potential problem right away.
The alerts can be configured by the user and include such alerts as order rate alert, EDI alert, ETA/OOR alert, order status alert, special instructions alert and others, as defined by the user.
For instance, if the rate per mile entered on an order is below a pre-define level; the alert lets a manager know so he can ask the person who entered that data about the exception. The EDI alert lets uses know an EDI transfer has been sent or received. ETA/OOR alerts notify managers if a truck will be late or is out of route.
The notifications can be routed to specific managers, depending upon the type of exception. An out-of-route notice might go to operations, while an order rate alert may go to a different person. "The system notifies by roll," Brothers said, "so the alerts go to the appropriate person instead of going out to everyone."
McLeod also announced the integration of a number of mobile communications systems into the LoadMaster system via the company's Symphony Mobile Communications System. Symphony allows full integration with Qualcomm's Portal, PeopleNet's PACOS, @Road and GeoLogic Solutions' Auto Alerts through one common interface.
"It's a base for all our mobile communication partners," Brothers explained. "It's the same process for Symphony to send messages" via any of these systems. Now, the Symphony system is fully integrated with mobile communications products from Carrier Web, DriverTech, GeoLogic, PeopleNet, @Road, Qualcomm, Teletrac and Transcore. It also integrates with trailer tracking systems such as GE VeriWise, SkyBitz, Qualcomm and TransCore.

The integration allows carriers to switch vendors or test other vendors without having to purchase and install new integration modules.