ALK Technologies, Inc. and SMC3 Announce Business Alliance, Move Web-based Freight Data Delivery Standards Forward
ATLANTA, Ga. – January 17, 2011 – Freight transportation software developer SMC3 and routing, mileage and mapping software developer ALK Technologies today announced the creation of a seamless interface between ALK’s PC*MILER Web Services and the SMC3 RateWare® XL rating product. According to Warren Patterson, SMC³ senior vice president of product strategy and development, “This new interface gives customers a single point of access to a complete range of mileage, transit times and rate content, enabling them to conduct highly accurate shipment route planning, execution and optimization.” Added Craig Fiander, vice president of marketing for PC*MILER solutions, “This seamless interface provides customers the ability to increase the speed and efficiency of these applications as well. It ensures customers are always ‘current’ with automatic map data and truck-specific routing updates.”
Under a newly formalized business alliance between the two firms, RateWare XL—an industry benchmark that delivers less-than-truckload (LTL), density and linear rates via software-as-a-service (SaaS)—will interface to highly accurate mileage data from ALK’s PC*MILER product. PC*MILER is used worldwide by leading motor carriers, shippers, logistics companies, and organizations including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA).
“In the past, the process of combining ALK and SMC3 content for our customers was somewhat time-consuming,” said Patterson. “Now, as long as the SMC3 customer is a licensed ALK customer, SMC3 will access the mileage data they need and, based on the mileage, use our rating engine to quickly determine the rates. SMC3’s investments in Web delivery—and our understanding of how people use our data in a mission-critical operations environment—have helped us to optimize and maximize the speed of our data delivery. Customers will get their results very quickly via our redundant, optimized network,” he said.
The new interface will also allow software developers to write one web service to SMC3, using one protocol and one very high set of security standards vs. approaching ALK and SMC3 separately, alleviating programming time and effort. “All they need to do now is ask us a question, and we give them the answer. It’s a seamless response,” said Patterson.
Fiander and Patterson plan to announce the new interface and the firms’ alliance at the SMC3 2011 Jump Start conference in Atlanta, Ga. (January 17-19, 2011). “This interface simplifies the experience of doing business with both ALK and SMC3,” said Fiander. “ALK is pleased to formalize a strategic alliance with the leading LTL rating software and services provider.” Added Patterson, “This is the next step in our long relationship with ALK. It’s a good solution for our customers, both from the perspective of developer integration costs and time, but also for their ease of use and the speed of integration—all of which will help the customers’ bottom line.”
About SMC³
SMC³ is a leading provider of data, technology and education as an integrated solution to the freight transportation community. SMC³'s core competency is its pricing expertise, which it delivers through data services and technology tools that simplify processes and promote collaboration between buyers and sellers of transportation services. The company also partners with leading transportation software developers for complete interoperability.
Throughout the year SMC³ offers educational programs that focus on key industry issues and advanced learning. These well-attended events are noted for their content, speakers and networking opportunities. The company currently serves more than 5,000 customers operating throughout the contiguous United States, Canada and Mexico. SMC³'s customer base covers all aspects of freight movement, and includes shippers, carriers, logistics service providers and freight-payment companies. For more information about SMC3, visit www.smc3.com
About ALK Technologies, Inc.
Since 1979, ALK Technologies has developed innovative mobile navigation and transportation technology solutions. ALK's award-winning CoPilot Live GPS software is the navigation based services platform of choice for mobile operators, hardware OEMs and systems integrators globally. ALK's PC*MILER routing, mileage and mapping solutions are used by over 22,000 transportation, logistics and manufacturing companies worldwide. For more information on ALK Technologies, visit www.alk.com or www.alk.eu.com
Under a newly formalized business alliance between the two firms, RateWare XL—an industry benchmark that delivers less-than-truckload (LTL), density and linear rates via software-as-a-service (SaaS)—will interface to highly accurate mileage data from ALK’s PC*MILER product. PC*MILER is used worldwide by leading motor carriers, shippers, logistics companies, and organizations including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA).
“In the past, the process of combining ALK and SMC3 content for our customers was somewhat time-consuming,” said Patterson. “Now, as long as the SMC3 customer is a licensed ALK customer, SMC3 will access the mileage data they need and, based on the mileage, use our rating engine to quickly determine the rates. SMC3’s investments in Web delivery—and our understanding of how people use our data in a mission-critical operations environment—have helped us to optimize and maximize the speed of our data delivery. Customers will get their results very quickly via our redundant, optimized network,” he said.
The new interface will also allow software developers to write one web service to SMC3, using one protocol and one very high set of security standards vs. approaching ALK and SMC3 separately, alleviating programming time and effort. “All they need to do now is ask us a question, and we give them the answer. It’s a seamless response,” said Patterson.
Fiander and Patterson plan to announce the new interface and the firms’ alliance at the SMC3 2011 Jump Start conference in Atlanta, Ga. (January 17-19, 2011). “This interface simplifies the experience of doing business with both ALK and SMC3,” said Fiander. “ALK is pleased to formalize a strategic alliance with the leading LTL rating software and services provider.” Added Patterson, “This is the next step in our long relationship with ALK. It’s a good solution for our customers, both from the perspective of developer integration costs and time, but also for their ease of use and the speed of integration—all of which will help the customers’ bottom line.”
About SMC³
SMC³ is a leading provider of data, technology and education as an integrated solution to the freight transportation community. SMC³'s core competency is its pricing expertise, which it delivers through data services and technology tools that simplify processes and promote collaboration between buyers and sellers of transportation services. The company also partners with leading transportation software developers for complete interoperability.
Throughout the year SMC³ offers educational programs that focus on key industry issues and advanced learning. These well-attended events are noted for their content, speakers and networking opportunities. The company currently serves more than 5,000 customers operating throughout the contiguous United States, Canada and Mexico. SMC³'s customer base covers all aspects of freight movement, and includes shippers, carriers, logistics service providers and freight-payment companies. For more information about SMC3, visit www.smc3.com
About ALK Technologies, Inc.
Since 1979, ALK Technologies has developed innovative mobile navigation and transportation technology solutions. ALK's award-winning CoPilot Live GPS software is the navigation based services platform of choice for mobile operators, hardware OEMs and systems integrators globally. ALK's PC*MILER routing, mileage and mapping solutions are used by over 22,000 transportation, logistics and manufacturing companies worldwide. For more information on ALK Technologies, visit www.alk.com or www.alk.eu.com