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Resources » News/Announcements » General »
INTEGRATE FLYING J TRUCK STOP SCANNING WITH SYSTEM
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Integrate Flying J Truck Stop Scanning with your System
The trucking industry categorically is on average a low margin industry, except for high service-standard freight. In either case, to stand out and compete amongst an industry fighting for financial solvency and offer service to customers to set one apart, use of technology to modernize is a must. In the case of document availability for billing and customer purposes, most carriers would prefer to have the latest technology. However, this often comes at a steep cost. For small to mid-size carriers, leveraging Flying J’s scanning network to their advantage may help avoid a fleet-wide implementation of high cost technology.
The trucking industry categorically is on average a low margin industry, except for high service-standard freight. In either case, to stand out and compete amongst an industry fighting for financial solvency and offer service to customers to set one apart, use of technology to modernize is a must. In the case of document availability for billing and customer purposes, most carriers would prefer to have the latest technology. However, this often comes at a steep cost. For small to mid-size carriers, leveraging Flying J’s scanning network to their advantage may help avoid a fleet-wide implementation of high cost technology.
Flying J is a commercial enterprise that operates a network of truck stops across the United States that offer a variety of services to truckers including fuel, supplies, meals, internet access, showers, etc. They also offer services for fleet management including a scanning kiosk service. These scanning kiosks are very user friendly as they are driven by a very simple touch screen interface. Additionally, these interfaces can be customized by Fleet Managers to differentiate document types and require user input to identify specific documents. Once scanning is completed, the driver is given a small receipt print out.
This service is a suitable substitute for smaller trucking operations that cannot afford the capital investment necessary to have in-cab scanning with live uplinks to company networks. At the very least, there are scanning options at each fuel stop which offer update options more frequent than on a daily basis. However, there are some limitations to operating within the standard framework of this system.
The typical destination for all scanned documents is into Flying J’s Document Management System, which is available on the web. This password-protected portal offers access to the scanned documents as they are uploaded, identified by what the driver keyed into the user prompts. This website can be somewhat dry to the inexperienced user. However, the bigger disadvantage to this system is that it requires human intervention to watch the site and manually manipulate the documents according to end-user specifications for filing. This may involve manually saving the file and uploading into a company’s software package, printing and filing in paper files, or storing them in some other method. For those who which to automate this process, there are various options.
The most logical and not advertised method to automate the document flow is to receive them directly from Flying J’s servers as the documents are scanned at the truck stop. In one particular case, a client was able to have Flying J set up an FTP transfer over the Internet when the files were scanned. This option was made available in addition to, or in lieu of the Document Management System destination for the files – meaning that you can eliminate seeing them on the web if they are transferred automatically, or you could have them on the web as a duplicate of the transfer. For those wishing to attempt this option, Flying J will charge a fee.
The FTP transfer methodology is rather direct. The files are in TIF format. They are transferred to a specific FTP folder destination based on the file type (specified in the setup process). In this particular example, it is a Proof of Delivery, where this file type is sent to a separate file folder than say, a Proof of Pickup.
When they are transferred, a header file is included with metadata, or extra information about each file included. A sample is shown below (sensitive information redacted):
CUST_ID=[REDACTED]
CARD_NO=[ REDACTED]
NAME=[ REDACTED]
DRIVER_ID=[ REDACTED]
SCAN_DATE=[2008/03/27 06:34]
SCAN_LOCATION=[BRUNSWICK, GA]
CONTROL_NO=[087G27072802]
CONFIRM_NO=[087G27072802_897]
DOC_TYPE=[PROOF OF DELIVERY]
TRIP NUMBER=[18326]
NO_IMAGE_FILES=[1]
FILE_1=[POD_18326_080327063429_1.tif]
Most of the lines may not be relevant to all trucking firms. However, the key details for base functionality are the last four lines.
“DOC_TYPE” displays the type of document that has been scanned. The options for document types are set up with Flying J initially; thus, allowing the driver to select from the list of document types.
“TRIP NUMBER” is the text prompt that appears for the driver. The contents of the brackets [18326] show the information that the driver keyed about this document. In the case of this particular client, 18326 is the pro number for the associated shipment.
“NO_IMAGE_FILES” contains the amount of files that comprise this particular document. Each page is transferred as a separate file, so multiple files would indicate a multiple page document.
“FILE_1” is the name of the first file. Note that the information would change to “FILE_2” and so forth as additional pages are entered.
For programming purposes, it is useful to note the contents of the filename [POD_18326_080327063429_1.tif]. It is prefixed with “POD” representing the document type, followed by an underscore separator, the driver input (18326), an additional underscore, the date and time in YYMMDDHHMMSS format (080327063429), another underscore, and then the file number (page number X).
At this point, the integration process depends on the end user’s configuration. There are a number of options to proceed forward. Please note that a significant weakness in this system is the dependency on driver input to properly identify the documents. Mis-keying information will generally render any automation process entirely useless. An additional weakness is that Flying J must be contacted to manually adjust user id/password/server name settings for access to your server if they change.
In the case of the client that requested this, it was necessary to convert the file to PDF, name it in PRO-SUFFIX format, and move it to a location where a document listener was waiting for automated intake of new documents. That option was relatively easy given that a program was in place to automate the intake process.
Another option would be to have a program developed to listen for these files, name them appropriately, and email them to a distribution list for handling. It may be possible to contact Flying J and have either the Document Management System or their servers email it directly to the recipient of choice; thus, eliminating the many steps involved.
For firms that are utilizing bar-code technology, it is possible to ignore user input and have your server read the bar code as found inside the scan and route the document accordingly.
The last integration option would be to evaluate on a case-by-case basis the nature of off-the-shelf trucking software for document storage import capabilities and tool the handling of the file intake accordingly.
In any case, if a program must be developed to monitor these files as they arrive, it would be wisest to develop as a service. Programs requiring 24/7 operation inside a Windows session are prone to many failures and issues. If development as a service is not possible, there are applications available that will essentially “convert” standard executables into services.
Carriers wishing to compete and stand out with higher service standards must be able to provide quick document delivery time frames without breaking the bank. With a moderate amount of effort and cost, small to mid-size carriers can compete with larger carriers by offering similar document availability without inordinate capital outlays and large IT staff, thereby leveraging the power of a nationwide scanning network to their advantage.
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