BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — McLeod Software is releasing Version 23.1 of its PowerBroker, LoadMaster Enterprise and LoadMaster LTL software solutions.
The release includes a transformed user experience for brokers and an enhanced mobile application for drivers, according to a news release.
“With the release of Version 23.1, McLeod is introducing the highly anticipated PowerBroker//web product, included with the Version 23.1 upgrade for PowerBroker,” the news release states.
PowerBroker//web is the browser-based version of the company’s traditional PowerBroker solution. It contains all of the tools needed to create and update orders and manage movements in one user-friendly web page with intuitive workflows.
Users can find coverage for a movement, send offers to carriers, post to load boards and perform the common tasks brokers need to do in their daily work — all in one place.
“The new guided workflow in Powerbroker//web makes it easier to bring users up to speed by taking them step-by-step through assigning a carrier, considering carrier qualifications, sending the rate confirmation, and initiating tracking in one simple planning screen,” the news release states.
The streamlined dispatch workflow has been designed to increase productivity and efficiency, while also reducing the stress of communicating with carriers by allowing users to manage call-ins, arrivals and departures, and service incidents in one place. Additionally, PowerBroker//web gives users access to a rate index / distance calculator tool and offers the ability to issue carrier advances or wires.
Also included in McLeod’s Version 23.1 release is an updated version of the company’s mobile application for drivers. McLeod used feedback from their customers to steer the design changes in Driver Sidekick — the next generation of McLeod’s mobile applications for drivers.
The new version of the app is focused on displaying as much important information as possible on the app’s home-screen dashboard and reducing the amount of clicks for drivers to navigate to commonly used features. The driver’s dashboard displays current assignment details, most recent settlement amount, and links directly to document scanning and messaging, mileage, and home time requests.
For back-office use, Driver Sidekick expedites billing and minimizes the amount of phone calls from the field. Location Ratings alert Dispatch to areas of driver concern, with questions that can be defined and customized.
Driver Sidekick automatically links scanned documents to the current load to shorten the number of clicks and selections necessary to make sure documents are indexed correctly.
An all-new permissions structure provides granular control over which features are enabled for each group of drivers the customer chooses to identify.
Driver Sidekick is available on the Android operating system with Version 23.1 for LoadMaster, with an Apple iOS version to be included in a future release.
Multi-company Accounting Enhancements
McLeod Software’s multi-company processes have been refined in Version 23.1. Customers who work in a multi-company environment will continue to maintain the control necessary to meet accounting standards, while providing users with more efficient access to multiple company frameworks.
The subsidiary journal posting process was enhanced to take advantage of the company’s respective General Ledger control file settings in regard to prior period posting. Users can focus in on specific company records in multiple places, as reports generated from the subsidiary journal posting program have been modified to display and sort by company code.
Additional improvements include display of both the originating company code and the receiving company code on the subsidiary journal audit screen and applicable journal screens, accommodating more in-depth searches when the control file is configured to allow multi-company search. Identification of intercompany batch postings has been enhanced by including an inter-company checkbox on the batch code master file record.
General Ledger Enhancements for Accounts Payable
To make processes for accounts payable and general ledger management more efficient, a Division Code may be added to Vendor master files. Setting these Division Codes helps automate the selection of correct AP and cash account combinations.
Enhanced Performance, Reliability and Scalability
“Over the last few years, McLeod Software has invested heavily in the system platform and architecture that the LoadMaster and PowerBroker systems are built upon,” according to the news release. “This investment means that our customers’ systems will scale, perform faster and become more secure as the product functionality continues to grow. With the release of Version 23.1, we have made important security enhancements to ensure that every customer’s system is ready for the future and poised to grow with their company.”
Security Enhancements
With the release of Version 23.1, users will experience faster queries and advanced logging performance. LoadMaster and PowerBroker Scheduler Clients now support secondary servers.
Additional layers of system security through Version 23.1 include Multi-Factor Authentication and running nightly vulnerability scans to identify known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs)
New and Enhanced Integrations for LoadMaster and PowerBroker
McLeod Software continues to welcome new Certified Integration Partners and expand existing integration solutions to give customers more choices.
“We are excited to support two new Certified Vendor Partners for the McLeod Telephony Interface: Nextiva and Dialpad,” according to the news release. “These integrations reduce time spent looking up phone numbers and increase response time for CSRs. Instead of spending time clicking through screens to find information, incoming calls are immediately tied to useful data housed in the LoadMaster or PowerBroker system.”
McLeod’s Data Export Interface with Truckload Wizard Export has undergone security enhancements by supporting the use of Secure File Transport Protocol (STFP) for uploads. STFP has become the most preferred file transmission method due to increased data security.
Users of the WEX/EFS interface for fuel card management can now view a card’s fraud status in LoadMaster, if the status of the card is changed by the vendor. Additionally, McLeod now supports the WEX / EFS CrossRoads card.
The following interfaces for LoadMaster Symphony Mobile Communications have been added and/or enhanced in Version 23.1:
• McLeod Software now offers an integration from the LoadMaster Symphony Mobile Communications module to BlackBerry Radar to provide GPS position data for trailer-tracking purposes.
• The ORBCOMM interface has been enhanced to help provide better customer service and reduce delivery delays by generating a tractor/trailer mismatch alert message to LoadMaster users via Rapid Alert Notification System (RANS).
• The Motive (formerly KeepTruckin) integration has been enhanced to reduce the amount of time users spend inputting new information into the two systems by increasing automated updates, specifically relating to Yard Move and Personal Conveyance statuses with drivers.
• The Platform Science dispatch integration has been enhanced to further automate order and stop records and communicate any updates to drivers more quickly.
• The Trimble Driver ELD integration has been enhanced to automatically provide necessary FMCSA Forms and Manner data from LoadMaster to Trimble for visibility on the driver’s ELD for their active loads, cutting down on possible fines from drivers forgetting to update logs.
• The Maven Machines integration has been configured to keep driver records between the two systems automatically updated.
• The Samsara integration for dispatch and HOS have been enhanced by adding the ability to have shipping document IDs and trailer IDs sent from LoadMaster to the Samsara driver’s HOS log.
With the Symphony Mobile Communications Service API, control settings can now be setup to activate listeners on the order, movement and stop tables.
The fields correlate to fields that are included in outbound dispatch data sent to drivers.
Brokerage Tracking Enhancements
New tracking enhancements for Version 23.1 provide more automated and up-to-date load tracking within the PowerBroker system, which means less toggling between applications and more accurate ETAs for call-ins. Status updates can now be configured to display tracking from FourKites, MacroPoint and project44 within the Brokerage Tracking Control screen.
Digital Freight Matching API Enhancements
“McLeod’s enhancements for Digital Freight Matching (DFM) API empowers users to make better, data-driven decisions on accepting or rejecting offers,” the news release states. “A carrier’s available tractor can be automatically created at a load’s destination location, which allows more advanced utilization of continuous moves and finding additional available loads for that carrier. Brokers who receive email notifications for carrier offers submitted through McLeod’s DFM API will now receive more detailed information on those emails, including the carrier’s MC number and/or DOT number.”
New Carrier Onboarding and Monitoring Integration
A new integration for PowerBroker with Highway helps reduce the amount of time it takes to onboard new carriers and monitor existing carriers, as well as cut down on fraud by verifying carrier identity, according to the news release.
New carriers are automatically added to the PowerBroker system when their profiles have been completed on Highway’s website and all documentation has been submitted to become one of Highway’s connected carriers.
This interface allows users to track certificate of insurance information for more than 100,000 carriers and obtain the latest insurance status of existing carriers. Any insurance changes are reported as soon as a carrier registers, as well as the carrier’s profile, safety ratings, SMS safety data and authority statuses. Highway updates carrier insurance information in near real-time (including policy numbers, underwriters, limits, expiration dates, safety ratings, authority status and operational data) through alerts.
LoadMaster LTL Enhancements
New Permission Options
Customers can set controls in LoadMaster for which users have permission to access the LTL drag-and-drop screens (such as “Route / Plan My Bullpen”), as well as the “Undo” button.
Loads with Partner Deliveries
The process of moving loads that include partner deliveries is now faster and easier to finish in the system. An “arrive” option has been added to auto-clear partner deliveries at end-trip locations.
Grouped and Combined Stops
Users have two new stop-consolidation options in the system that provide clearer load visibility, better decision making, and faster processing: Grouped Stops and Combined Stops. Combined is an option in the bullpen section that consolidates by a specific location code. Grouped is an option in the movement section that allows users to consolidate multiple selected icons / stops into one icon/card for viewing and processing.
Dispatch – Pick Up Entry
A system configuration enhancement has been made for dispatchers — they now have the “Pick Up Entry” option available under the “New Order” button.
Users may control this configuration based on personal preferences.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
