In a move to strengthen its position at the forefront of the South African logistics and distribution industry, local distributor, Fast Forward, has taken delivery of a R2-million technology solution jointly developed by Symmetry Software and Solutions and services company, ICL South Africa.
The ICL portion of the solution comprises Fujitsu workstations, scanners and servers, and a Webserver with Sun Firewall Security. Fast Forward selected the Fujitsu Cordant PC for its reliability, build-to-order capabilities and competitive prices, while the Fujitsu Team Server was chosen for its upgradability to six processors.
Fast Forward CEO, Thabang Motsohi, says the technology will allow the company to offer customers the benefits of one of the latest developments in the distribution industry, the new Proof of Delivery (POD) system.
"The system essentially provides us with a document of confirmation of receipt of service or goods. POD documents are not only crucial to the verification of the delivery of goods, but they also facilitate timely payments," he explains.
Motsohi notes that the Symmetry Software and ICL solution also allows Fast Forward to deliver PODs timeously and effectively, and believes his company is the first in the distribution and logistics field to offer cutting edge technology to shorten the supply chain and bring customers and suppliers closer together.
"The Webserver and Sun Firewall Security system allows customers to access PODs via Fast Forward`s web page on the Internet. Using their waybill numbers as references, customers can track the delivery status of their parcels, from the moment we receive them to the point of delivery," he says.
Client director at ICL SA, Mike Semple, adds that subsequent to the installation - achieved in a record three months - the company`s mainframe remains the primary data centre and houses all information on transactions and the like.
"The new system, supplied by ICL, simply interfaces with the data for all its information and transactions, allowing customers and suppliers to easily interact with Fast Forward`s systems - and increase response times to a matter of minutes," says Semple.
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