Amtrak makes the connection via the web
26 September 2005

Amtrak Express Parcels has announced an innovative web-based system that automatically picks up sales order details for shipping. Developed in association with NetDespatch, Amtrak Connector integrates sales order processing with parcel despatch and produces bar coded labels - all completely automatically. It is seen as a major advance in system integration, allowing easy, seamless links between shipper and carrier information.

Providing easy access from anywhere using a web browser, Amtrak Connector can be used for orders taken at any location and for shipping from any location. For example, a flower order entered at a call centre in Bristol can output the parcel label at the shipping location in Jersey. The development provides easy, seamless integration across any client system. As well as simplifying parcel shipping, Amtrak Connector allows access to latest shipping details from existing office systems, call centres and customer sites.

Amtrak Connector boosts Amtrak’s online capability and is an enhancement to Amtrak’s On-Line Despatch system developed earlier by NetDespatch. Companies using Amtrak can simply log on the web from any PC to enter consignment details. Connected live to Amtrak’s central parcel tracking server, the system remembers addresses and checks postcodes and automatically produces a printed barcode consignment labels. Connector eliminates the need to manually enter consignments as details are pulled direct from the sales order system.

Amtrak’s On-Line Despatch system provides parcel tracking and links to Amtrak’s online collections system and gives access to reports on all shipments. Being a simple web browser solution, no special equipment is needed and no software is required, making it very convenient, accessible and easy to use.

“Amtrak Connector is a very significant development as it makes integration with our customers’ systems so easy. It cuts out a whole stage of manual processing and matches order and shipping processes 100%. And since it is a web application with access from anywhere, it opens real opportunities for customers who want to work more efficiently and with more flexibility. Individual products can be labelled and shipped from anywhere; location is no longer an issue.” Says Joe Dudley, Amtrak's Business Services Manager.