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OCS-India.com –
Network-Wide Courier Service Management Solution
Overseas Courier Service (OCS) required redesigning its operations
management solution to extend and improve the functionalities
of the previous system. The aim was to automate processes for
OCS-India’s courier service network. Managing its operations
through courier service agents, OCS-India required a Web-enabled
system to coordinate its activities, spanning across different
zones. In the process, they ventured with Icreon to develop
this business automation system. Analyzing the processes followed
by OCS-India, the Icreon team deciphered the system design and
modules for managing tariffs, OCS-India’s fee structures,
custom duty reports, and different hubs.
Customer Profile
OCS is a worldwide network specializing in customized
distribution and time-sensitive delivery of international business
materials. With more than 250 offices and substations, OCS offers
courier services across the globe. OCS-India manages the India
operations within different zones through its network of agents.
Business Requirement
OCS-India wanted to enhance the functionality available
in the administrator and agent modules on OCS-India.com. The
new system would provide an integrated set of Web-enabled modules
to manage & track shipments, OCS service charges (fees),
custom duty, & tariffs.
Solution
Benefits
Synchronized processing of network-wide activities
Enhanced
functionality for automating new business policies
Increased
scalability of operations driven by a 3-tier architecture setup
Technologies Used
PHP
MySQL
JavaScript
Requirement
OCS-India.com was managing some of its major operations
through a manual system including the OCS fees, and Proof-of-Delivery
(POD) management. They required a system that would integrate
these processes with the existing OCS-India.com functionality.
Users of the system included the administrator and the courier
service agents in different regions. The modules would be integrated
as part of the functionality for either of these users.
With the new system, OCS-India users would be able to:
Upload manifests for dispatch & arrival of shipments
Manage
tariffs between importers & exporters
Manage
OCS-India courier service stations
Manage
OCS-India services charges or fees
View
custom duty reports
OCS-India teamed with Icreon, to enhance the functionality of
the existing system, allowing the streamlining of processes
for OCS-India.com.
Extending Functionality through
Integrated Process-Driven Modules
The Administrator and Agent interfaces for OCS-India.com
have been redesigned to include tools for managing agents, PODs,
shipment details, stations, custom duty, and data backup.
There are three user types for the system – administrator,
agent, and customer.
When a dispatcher sends a particular shipment, the custom-duty
details and weight of the shipment are uploaded along with the
Main Waybill number. The dispatcher agent enters these details
by logging into the Agent interface. Depending on the weight
of the shipment, the fees for OCS is calculated. The shipments,
which are not dispatched, are added to the Pending Pool. Likewise,
the dispatched shipments are added to the Sent Shipment list.
When the receiver station receives the shipment, the status
of the newly arrived shipment is made available in the Shipment
Arrival section. While the agents manage dispatch and arrival
of shipments, the administrator coordinates the tariff rates.
There is a single default tariff plan for domestic courier services.
The administrator can create tariff plans for different stations
on an incremental basis. The Icreon team gauged the exact requirements
and suggested a tariff structure that would suit the OCS network
setup. The tariff structure defines different slabs for different
agents. The administrator can assign the relevant tariff plan
for each agent, depending on individual specifications. Besides
this, the administrator manages agents, Proof of Delivery (PODs),
non-delivered shipments, stations, custom duty reports, and
data backup.
The previous system used for managing stations was unable to
manage the OCS fee structure, and therefore the fee calculation
process was performed manually. We enhanced this system to include
a ‘fee calculation module’ to manage OCS fee structure
for Domestic and International imports – thereby automating
the fee calculation process for the entire network. |
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The architecture is based
on the 3-tier model for higher scalability. The front-end is
developed on PHP and JavaScript, while the backend is deployed
on MySQL.
Summary
OCS-India.com was under operation prior to its venture
with Icreon. However, the entire system required revamping to
match up with the latest business policies including the fee
structure and tariff management. These processes were business-critical
for OCS-India and we helped the organization streamline these
processes to manage its network of agents, proactively.
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