TransCore has integrated voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) into the company's U.S. version of 3sixty Freight Match, an Internet-based logistics service that facilitates matching shipper's freight to available trucks.

One of the early promises of voice over IP technology was the potential to incorporate communications right within business applications, simplifying the user experience and removing steps that create drag, distractions or errors.
For the commercial trucking market, where margins are tight, 30 seconds can make the difference securing a good-paying load from a reliable broker or shipper. VoIP is also appealing because it is priced more economically than traditional phone services and can reduce a trucking company's long-distance phone bill since all calls are free within the 1click2call network.
Tim Bickmore, executive vice president for TransCore's Commercial Technology Group, explained, "Almost 53 million tons of goods move nearly 12 billion ton-miles on the multimodal transportation network on a typical day. TransCore's freight matching network alone facilitates approximately $40 billion in freight transactions annually, much of it set in motion by telephone transactions between brokers and carriers.
"Depending on load volume, brokers or carriers will make anywhere from 15 calls a day to hundreds. Traditionally, each call might take two minutes or more to complete. When that's assessed across agents, companies, days, months, the time lost on the phone multiplies. By integrating the immediacy of VoIP, literally one click of a mouse, a business can reclaim hours of lost time vital to moving freight."
In initial research, TransCore found that anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the company's customers were already using VoIP, so a user base already existed with a familiarity to the technology. By integrating and customizing the PC-to-PC or PC-to-landline calling feature within the freight matching logistics work flow, the 1click2call feature, available free to all 3sixty Freight Match customers, allows a user to complete a business transaction at a faster rate. Instead of identifying a load and then shifting back and forth between the computer, phone and databases, a customer can now with one click immediately call the broker or carrier from the search results screen with all the essential data provided on a customized pop-up screen.
For details, visit www.transcore.com.