Frequently asked questions

Who can use FMS
Freight Management System from Software Associates is available for the following operators

• Full truck cargo movers
• Bulk Liquid cargo movers
• Sundry parcel operators
• Transport agents

How scalable is FMS
FMS is currently being used by over half a dozen large and small customers. The highly scalable three tier engine allows the FMS suite to be accessed by branches using a broadband internet connection. Theoretically up to 1000 concurrent users can access FMS. With the addition of multiple application servers, the application can support 24 x 7 operations across geographic location.

Installation and training
Software Associates will provide structured onsite training and implementation to all related staff of the organisation.

Quality Assurance
All our products undergo rigorous manual and automated testing processes. These test are for usability, data accuracy and performance.

Security
Since FMS is built on a three tier architecture with remoting technology, the database server is well guarded again unauthorised access from within and outside the organisation.

Technology
FMS uses a thin n-tier architecture built using the award winning remoting framework from remobjects. The database is the highly proven and scalable Firebird SQL, a relational database used by over 200 of our customers worldwide. FMS also has the option of IBM DB2 Express C - Both these are free to use (Open source)

Product support
With the help of broadband or VPN connectivity, we are in a position to provide you with 24 x 7 support anywhere in India.

Servers supported
Database server : Redhat or Suse Linux (Open source) or Windows 2003
Application server : Windows 2003

Browser edition
In order to support low cost computing devices such as Linux thin clients, we are in the process of building Microsoft silverlight browser interfaces for core modules such as booking, delivery and despatches.
Browser support : Opera, Firefox, Internet Explorer

Multiple branches
With the help of reliable broadband or VPN connectivity, it is now possible to have a truly centralised information system.

Updates
FMS comes with quarterly free updates for standard edition.

Customisation
We provide customisation of FMS engine on customer requirements.

Reporting
FMS has a powerful Management Information System (MIS) module which allows easy decision making for management purposes. FMS also has a versatile ms-word like WYSIWYG reporting engine, which helps customers to prepare adhoc reports.

Exporting
All reports can be exported to Excel, Word, HTML or PDF formats.

Customer login
The versatile customer login module can be given to priority clients with broadband connectivity so that daily bookings, despatchs, arrivals and delivery information can be accessed directly from the client desktop. This saves the organisation valuable backoffice resources in providing consignment status updates.

Online / offline mode
FMS allows branches to operate in an offline / online mode based on the availability of bandwidth. If connectivity is unavailable, the system would resort to local database and subsequently perform a synchronisation with the head office information system.

Third party application support
We provide data transfer to Tally for accounting and invoicing purposes.

SMS Alerts
With the integration of Smsbenefit, customers can be provided with SMS alerts on the status of the goods booked, in transit and delivered.

FMS Demo
I am interested in a demo of FMS. You can view the step by step flash demo of FMS by clicking here. We can also schedule a live demo for you through go2meeting.