Efficient packaging registration for transport companies with the Transport & Trip Module in PackControl
As a transport company, you serve as the connection between two parties, moving goods from your client to the recipient. Although the empties typically do not belong to you, you are still responsible for tracking them. This makes your administration far from straightforward. To support the complex daily operations of transport companies, we have developed the Transport & Trip Module in the PackControl Packaging Software.
In a typical returnable packaging transaction, the packaging owner records where items are loaded and unloaded. This creates clarity regarding locations and balances. As a transporter, however, you load and unload on behalf of one or more clients, without being a direct party to the transaction. Even though the packaging does not belong to you, you are temporarily responsible for maintaining the balance. During a trip, you can both load and unload at the loading address, and similarly, unload and load at the unloading address. This adds complexity to the registration process and requires a smart solution.
Within the Transport Module of PackControl, you can generate transport transactions for all these activities. For each trip, you document which items have been loaded or unloaded, on whose behalf, at which location and for which customer or consignee. This way, you can keep track of things and know exactly which addresses you need to exchange packaging at. You can easily share balance information with your counterparties, even when calling at a location for multiple clients. In the latter case, you can provide recipients with detailed overviews of balances per client.
Unlike your principals, in PackControl's Transport & Trips Module you work at a trip level and not at a transaction level. All loading and unloading activities linked to a trip are displayed on a single screen, making monitoring straightforward.
You can easily send detailed overviews to individual locations. This gives them more insight and speeds up the exchange process.
If a driver exchanges empty CC trolleys, Europallets or other packaging items during a trip, this can be accurately recorded in PackControl. If the driver takes back a different quantity than expected, this can be indicated in the software. Any discrepancies are automatically flagged, allowing you to review and address them promptly.
You can manage the status of a trip via Trip Stage. This lets you adjust the status of individual transactions or of the entire trip at once. If all details are correct, you can confirm with a single click. If there are any issues, you can take immediate action.
If you work with charters that are responsible for returnable packaging themselves, you can automatically calculate charter balances in PackControl. This enables you to maintain control of balances even when outsourcing work, and you can always identify where any discrepancies have occurred.
It is easy to link the PackControl packaging software to your TMS, WMS, board computers and other systems. If there's a difference between the number of items your TMS expects and the number reported by board computer, the transaction will be flagged. For example, if ten CC trolleys are expected but only eight are loaded, this will be apparent immediately. Differences in unloaded numbers also become clear quickly this way.
So many clients, so many agreements. In Responsibility Rules, you only need to define the agreements for each loading and unloading address once, and they will be automatically applied. Even if multiple agreements pertain to a single location or account, you can document and automate them in PackControl.
Once you have processed the transactions, you can automatically send your clients an overview of the packaging balances for each location. PackControl also offers unique aggregated balance overviews, which you can generate for locations where you deliver on behalf of multiple clients. These show the items owed per principal for that location. As a result, the staff at the location know exactly exactly how many packaging items they owe to each party, thus speeding up the exchange process.
If clients use their own location codes, you can incorporate these into their account. This simplifies the process for the statement recipient to automatically process packaging balances. For example, if the location 'High Street' is coded 'HGHST' in your system, but is known as 'HSTR' for client A, and 'WRHS04' for client B, you can easily configure this for each client. This facilitates automatic matching, enabling you to quickly address any discrepancies.
The Transport & Trips Module forms part of the PackControl packaging software and was developed based on the day-to-day operations of transport companies. Interested in seeing if PackControl is a fit for your business? We'll be happy to give you a demo.