Belitsoft > Reliable Manufacturing Software Development Company

Reliable Manufacturing Software Development Company

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Custom Manufacturing Software Development

We build secure, high-quality, scalable, compliant, and interoperable manufacturing software based on your exclusive business requirements and custom specifications.

The project scope often includes a delivery schedule. For example, every 2-4 weeks, you will see progress, and every 2-4 months, you will receive a new version of the developed software with prioritized features. Integration with your organization's IT environment and API implementation is included.

Our UX/UI team ensures that your custom manufacturing software is responsive and offers an intuitive, simple user experience, while our QA team proactively detects and fixes defects through vulnerability assessment, performance, penetration, usability, and functional testing. Post-launch support for updates and maintenance is provided upon request.

We’ll outline the entire engagement and address your budget concerns upfront.

Modern Manufacturing ERP

Partner with our manufacturing ERP modernization experts, who propose targeted technology improvements to address pain points of your legacy system's code and infrastructure.

The ERP development team enables web and mobile access with a user-friendly interface for your employees who work remotely (on the shop floor, in a warehouse, etc.), enhancing communication and collaboration between production and supply chain teams, and integrates new tools — even if the ERP system was implemented years ago and built on currently obsolete technology.

We have experience in implementing a hybrid cloud ERP migration strategy, where specific components stay on-premises while others migrate to the cloud. Our experts also deal with tasks like upgrading the ERP system from on-premises SQL databases to cloud-based solutions.

Our specialized support reduces the cost of maintaining outdated systems, helping you manage the growing volume of data with faster processing times, so you can continue to lead your sector for decades.

 Are you working with in-house software developed years ago and facing updating and support issues? Let’s discuss application modernization for your manufacturing company.

Manufacturing Chatbot Development

AI-Powered Enterprise Search Engine

We develop custom generative AI chatbots using RAG techniques that reduce search time to a few seconds. They generate knowledge from your manufacturing company's proprietary data (internal documentation, Confluence, PDFs, Notion, customized websites, or other sources), and not just general information like ChatGPT or similar LLMs do. We use an in-house approach for safety and privacy: access to the chatbot is secured by authentication, and the solution is isolated in a private cloud. A semantic search engine based on deep neural networks answers in a human-like manner, understanding context and not just matching exact words or phrases as traditional keyword search does.

AI Assisted Manufacturing

Using predictive algorithms, the telemetry data from connected sensors on the line's equipment can be analyzed to find anomalies. We create bespoke Python-based Generative AI Assistants (LLM Agents with a chat user interface based on the LangChain framework) for manufacturing monitoring to help operations and plant managers control live production statuses and go back in time to investigate historical events like shop floor problems. To help the chat better respond to questions specific to your company, we use knowledge graphs and your documentation securely hosted in the cloud hubs (sensor readings, crucial SOP and FMEA documents, equipment manuals, and data from ERP and MES systems). Custom alarm events will prompt the AI to conduct a diagnosis based on the collected information, suggest root causes, and provide answers on “how to fix it” with links to the SOP for the related equipment. Work orders may then be automatically created for technicians (plant maintenance managers) to resolve.

Chatbots For Manufacturing Repair Technicians

Repair technicians can’t sift through thousands of knowledge documents during a critical equipment diagnosis to find a single paragraph or set of targeted instructions closely related to the issue. We pass diagnostic manuals, prior root-cause analyses, service bulletins, and data from maintenance systems to a managed foundation LLM and create chatbots that use RAG to generate one succinct response technicians can rely on.

Generative AI Software for Contract Manufacturers

We build custom RAG chatbots that allow assemblers to bypass digging through manuals, complex drawings, specifications, and instructions. They just get quick answers in plain language. Chatbots interpret internal company knowledge and locate the relevant data in real-time. No more relying on guesswork, searching across fragmented data sources, or risking misinterpretation. The right information comes accurate and up-to-date. Assemblers gain confidence: on-demand digital assistants help them achieve faster assembly times with less rework.

Stay Calm with No Surprise Expenses

Stay Calm with No Surprise Expenses

  • You get a detailed project plan with costs associated with each feature developed
  • Before bidding on a project, we conduct a review to filter out non-essential inquiries that can lead to overestimation
  • You are able to increase or decrease the hours depending on your project scope, which will ultimately save you a lot of $
  • Weekly reports help you maintain control over the budget
Don’t Stress About Work Not Being Done

Don’t Stress About Work Not Being Done

  • We sign the Statement of Work to specify the budget, deliverables and the schedule
  • You see who’s responsible for what tasks in your favorite task management system
  • We hold weekly status meetings to provide demos of what’s been achieved to hit the milestones
  • Low personnel turnover rate at Belitsoft is below 12% per annum. The risk of losing key people on your projects is low, and thus we keep knowledge in your projects and save your money
  • Our managers know how to keep core specialists long enough to make meaningful progress on your project.
Be Confident Your Secrets are Secure

Be Confident Your Secrets are Secure

  • We guarantee your property protection policy using Master Service Agreement, Non-Disclosure Agreement, and Employee Confidentiality Contract signed prior to the start of work
  • Your legal team is welcome to make any necessary modifications to the documents to ensure they align with your requirements
  • We also implement multi-factor authentication and data encryption to add an extra layer of protection to your sensitive information while working with your software
No Need to Explain Twice

No Need to Explain Twice

  • With minimal input from you and without overwhelming you with technical buzzwords, your needs are converted into a project requirements document any engineer can easily understand. This allows you to assign less technical staff to a project on your end, if necessary
  • Communication with your agile remote team is free-flowing and instantaneous, making things easier for you
  • Our communication goes through your preferred video/audio meeting tools like Microsoft Teams and more
Mentally Synced With Your Team

Mentally Synced With Your Team

  • Commitment to business English proficiency enables the staff of our offshore software development company to collaborate as effectively as native English speakers, saving you time
  • We create a hybrid composition, where our engineers work with your team members in tandem
  • Work with individuals who comprehend US and EU business climate and business requirements

How we work

Analysis and Estimation rhombus
Idea assessments
Business Analysis and market research (Optional)
Estimation
Preparation rhombus
Contract
Architecture
Design
Splitting the work into sprints
Development and QA rhombus
Development
DevOps
Testing
Documentation
PRODUCT DELIVERY
Support and further development
New features implementation
New software version adaptation
Backups
Server management

Portfolio

FDA Cleared Software as a Medical Device (Mobile Stethoscope App) Development
FDA Cleared Software as a Medical Device (Mobile Stethoscope App) Development
Our client is a Canada-based HealthTech startup, aspiring to transform global clinical outcomes by making heart condition detection and diagnosis more accessible. Collaborating with Belitsoft's development team, the company revolutionized healthcare with the creation of their unique medical device software.
Image Processing Improvement for Portable Ultrasound Devices
Image Processing Improvement for Portable Ultrasound Devices
For our USA-based client, E.I. Medical Imaging, who has been operating in the portable ultrasound devices market since 1984, we modernized their mobile apps to improve image quality, which is a critical selling point for this type of product.
Web and Mobile Custom ERP for a Manufacturing Company to Cut Operational Costs by 25%
Web and Mobile Custom ERP for a Manufacturing Company to Cut Operational Costs by 25%
Belitsoft built for our European Client a functional, user-friendly, and easy to manage ERP that ensured full visibility both for employees and business stakeholders and automated major manufacturing and financial workflows.

Recommended posts

Belitsoft Blog for Entrepreneurs
Cloud ERP Development and Cloud ERP Customization
Cloud ERP Development and Cloud ERP Customization
What on Earth is ERP ‘Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are designed to address the problem of fragmentation of information or “islands of information" in business organizations.’ International Journal of Operations & Production Management ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a software suite that automates and decreases the manual labor. It allows your company to perform in a cost-effective manner. ERP systems include a set of software modules, which manage the information for a separate business function or a group of those. It connects departments to one internal database and centralizes all the information. The database in turn exchanges data flow with the modules. For example, every month we have to inform the payroll office how much has each worker done. Employees should concentrate on their direct duties. By means of ERP automatization we minimize their involvement to the task and its tracked implementation. ‘I don’t see how any company can do effective supply chain management without ERP.’ ERP - Making It Happen To see the whole picture of what can be done by Enterprise Resource Planning alone, enjoy the graph: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software So, make a step forward and simplify the process by implementing ERP systems: ERP analyzes the functional side of your enterprise and along the way automates and/or removes the irrelevant business functions. Each department has its own unique software that automates simple processes. Simplified working process. The info is already in the database, ready to be used. That will make the information exchange between the inner systems simpler and more robust. The modules have an access to each other’s outputs, while reduced time and effort consumption please the eye. Increased performance and stable implementation These make all segments of the company system fruitful; removes the spots of possible mistakes (e.g. human factor) and saves a great deal of time. Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software So, the main reason why people involve so much effort and money into the software of ERP is the need for constant improvement. The enhanced performance will push business processes increasing the efficiency and drawing customers’ attention. Visually, the influence of ERP systems looks like that: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software Cloud-based ERP Today, a number of modern companies prefer this type of ERP. And BelItSoft isn’t an exception. However, because the security here is still questionable, some would prefer to have their data behind the walls. People still are suspicious of the Clouds. According to the Panorama report, 72% of respondents were frightened of the possible risks of data loss, and 12% of a possible security breach. Pros: Fast and easy data sharing+the access is seamless and handy. Saves money (no need in servicing and specific equipment) Good choice for small companies that are looking to start without going into too much technical aspects of setting their own hosting Cons: Deprives a full control over the data (hosting-provider is the one responsible for stable work and data integrity) Data security is in the hands of the vendor Still expensive: the price of VM in the Cloud is higher than in the local data-center On-premise ERP On-premise hosting means using your own resources for the software deployment (you need your equipment to make it work). However, you may also use VPS (Virtual Private Server) or VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server). As my interlocutor noticed, “To keep the machine working you need to hire people that could manage fixing whenever it breaks. Moreover, the space taken is also a reason to think your choice over". So, to make sure nothing will spoil “the moment of truth", the on-premise ERP holder should think of: Pros: Maximum security for your corporate data Full control 24/7 (physical access to any data on the server) Excellent for large and mid-sized enterprises which have a data control and safety in the first place Cons: Additional expenses (hiring specialists for servicing the equipment, space, safety, electricity) Complexities with data access for the distant branches OPEX (operating expenditure) is more profitable than CAPEX (capital exp.) you have buying facilities Ready-to-go vs ERP from the scratch. Budget decision Today you can purchase everything effortlessly. You may choose the way of the least resistance and check out what ERP software has been developed years ago and is still relevant. Source: https://selecthub.com/erp-software/ ‘However, we can’t say that the purchased product is the cure that works straight away. There are always things to change that make developers remove lots of discrepancies. It also happens that some existing modules that are not necessary anymore may be eliminated.’ Dmitry Garbar So, before the implementation, developers have to straighten everything up, adjust and test the results - to make sure the work is done the way you’ve expected. ‘I've never come across ready-to-use ERP software that fits a client perfectly. Often, they're not entirely willing to change their business processes to fit the ERP product. There's always room for the idea of a customized ERP solution.’ Dmitry Garbar Let’s sum up the information. The advantages of the ready-to-go ERP are: Short-term savings (by avoiding high costs associated with customization). Faster implementation Stable knowledge support (lots of outside experts on the software who can provide long-term training and advice) Software Sophistication (few bugs, industry-specific solutions and extensive elaboration) And the disadvantages are the following: The need for adjustments and additional development May be difficult to customize it to your processes You have less control over the product (software vendor holds the rights to the code) Developing ERP system from scratch. Some entrepreneurs may find it much more difficult to wisely develop an ERP core that holds their systems together. Firstly, you need to analyze what and how do people do their job in each department. “Each role that is performed in the company is under the question of automatization", Garbar said. “So to get the ball rolling, business analytics (BA) have a chat with every employee in the company to understand the mechanics better". And after the picture of company’s “back-end" has been drawn, we are ready to discuss the time frame, costs, individual desires, and suggestions. Source: ERP - Making It Happen. The overall process builds a totally unique architecture that is capable to adapt to the further changes in the company’s work. However, that coin has two sides. Pros: You get a unique software tailored to the specific nature of your business You have a full control over the software code You save money on the long-term prospects Intellectual property rights to the ERP increase company valuation. Cons: Long development time High costs compared to off-the-shelf solution May become obsolete by the time of implementation The costs and time frames Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software The final cost for the software is always formed individually and depends on the range of factors. Speaking of ERP system developing, the price includes: Company size (the number of employees, branches, locations and so on) The industry of the business Solution (industry-specific and customized, or general and flexible) Resources required (external consulting, user training, task tracking, etc.) Specific requirements For instance, if you expect to see a sophisticated custom ERP system, you may not find complete designs and architecture that will fully satisfy your desires. In such cases, the implementation may require heavy customization and third-party add-ons, which will increase the costs. But even if the price was named, it can’t be steady when push comes to the software expected to support your business for decades: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software In numbers, USA companies charge from $10K up to $10 million and more: Small businesses: $10K - $150K Mid-sized: $150K - $500K Large enterprises: $1 million - $10+ million ‘Considering Belitsoft, it’s difficult to name even the average price we offer. The projects we are involved into are diversive and usually require a wide spectrum of services: from the company size and technology team to personal wishes and preferable time frames.’ Dmitry Garbar At Belitsoft, the effort on the project varies from 2000 hours to 96 man-months. And a plethora of those that need ongoing support and constant improvements. The question that doubts is shall the project pay off? Well, let’s see: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software Time. If only “as fast as you can" would be taken literally and fulfilled right away. But in the real IT world all we have is to nod hearing 25, 32, 48+ months from the developer. But what takes them so long? Size. Same as with the costs. The size of your company, the amount of employees, and many other factors influence the time spent on analysis, chosen technology, the type of data storage etc. The industry you are operating in Types of ERP. The time needed for the final implementation of purchased and adjusted ERP on the Cloud differs from the on-premise solution tailored directly for the business you run. Personal desires. Any additional functions you want to see in the final product need extra time for development and adoption Respect the deadlines. Not many IT companies may boast for their accurate relationship with deadlines and set time-frames. According to the 2017 report, project duration was over scheduled by 59% in total: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software Just face the fact that such a giant as Enterprise Resource Planning solutions can’t be developed in a day. It needs a constant updating and support, as an ordinary child does. Consider ERP as a life-time project that has a huge impact on everything you love. The best technologies for ERP implementation Source: https://www.cuba-platform.com/ The choice of technology arises from the size of a company you run. At Belitsoft, we provide PHP solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, and Java or .NET solutions for larger companies. If your project specifically requires Java expertise, you also have the option to hire dedicated Java developers from our skilled team. hire dedicated java developers Developing a desktop application for a Football Federation we’ve chosen .NET - as a prevalent technology - accompanied by C# and PHP. Creation of the ERP system for Granite Industry vendors involved Laravel, HTML and PHP. Angular JS coupled with .NET is a good replacement for Java to build financial software ‘One independent company carried out the technical audit of the project we were going to engage in. The focus was on specifications and architecture. In the end, they acknowledged only Java and .NET as the most secured technologies.’ As a programming language, Java shows itself as a perfect tool in finance and enterprise development. Amongst its advantages, the most substantial one is versatility. Java is essentially reliable and proven partner when it comes to the building software castles, skyscrapers and highway bridges. However, no one stops mid-sized companies to choose Java as well. It is a balanced language with well-oiled filling for the diverse purposes. Conclusion Two words: simplification and automation. Enterprise Resource Planning systems: Is a complex process that requires a distant understanding of the target. Requires re-orienting and teaching staff to work within a totally new environment. Transforms your enterprise into a computerized structural body managed by a set of software. modules covering the entire business. Provides the techniques accompanied by effective forecasting, planning, and scheduling processes. Makes the data exchange between modules much easier and more systematic. Helps to avoid repeated data entering. Automates business functions so that business processes go flawlessly.
Dzmitry Garbar • 7 min read
Enterprise Mobile Applications: Key Questions to Consider Before Development
Enterprise Mobile Applications: Key Questions to Consider Before Development
What are enterprise mobile applications for? Enterprise mobile applications are meant for internal use within the company. They streamline doing business by bringing together all the processes. Examples of an enterprise mobile app Applications to supervise contractors at a construction site; In-store survey apps; Apps for merchandising audit; Field reporting applications; Applications with reference information; Applications for employee communication on work-related questions. 5 reasons for enterprise mobile application development To skip the paperwork and free up employees from transferring these data to a digital format; To enable photo and video recording; To provide an employee with the most relevant information about the task online; To manage dynamic data; To avoid communication issues within the company. A corporate mobile application should be based on a business logic that allows performing the tasks of each department and employee with minimal costs and maximum efficiency. To increase the efficiency of the application and help the business to grow, identify weak points, analyze business processes preliminarily and optimize them. Should companies provide employees with devices or require them to bring their own? Advantages of purchasing devices Development in a single native language If you don’t purchase devices for employees, you need to develop the application both on iOS and Android. Of course, now it’s possible to use Flutter or ReactNative to develop on two platforms at once. But in practice, applications in non-native languages are more suitable for simple solutions where information from the server should be displayed. There are cases when the application has to work with poor internet or no internet at all, for example, in the construction industry (a car park, a site outside the city), in supermarkets (jammers on site), etc. In such cases, the application needs to store a large amount of data (photos, videos) until the Internet restores, otherwise, all the work done will be lost. For such applications, we recommend using the native languages Swift, Kotlin, Java. Simple support Most likely, some of your employees have old gadgets. When purchasing devices, there is no problem with maintaining outdated technologies. You will know what performance you should count on and be confident in the performance of the system. Users will not complain that there is no free space on their devices Seems that in 2021 it’s not a problem, but the fact is users save megabytes. The ability to set up MDM (Mobile Device Management) You will be able to control all device data: geolocation, usage time, files, blocking. Install and update applications, restrict website visits. Cons: You will have to spend money on purchasing devices and accessories for them (cases, chargers); You will need to keep records of devices and establish the process of issuing; You need to buy SIM cards and top up the balance. How to distribute enterprise mobile applications to employees? The security team often prohibits distributing corporate mobile applications in Google Play and AppleStore. There are also the companies that don’t want to opt for the open distribution for the following reasons: Sensitive data (security requirements increase because any user can download); Customers and competitors can see the company's applications; Dependence on the moderation from Apple or Google (sometimes an application can be under moderation for 1-2 weeks due to constant addition of new requirements). And if to Android users you can simply send a link or file to download, then with iOS app development it’s much more difficult. You have two options here: Apple Developer Program ($100 per year) Apple Developer Program suits you if the number of employees who will use the application is lower than 100. Employees install the application through the TestFlight program and become its internal testers. Keep in mind that if there are more than 100 employees, the application will pass Apple moderation and go to the public AppStore.  Pros: low cost, no moderation, and no legal approval.  Cons: the limited number of users. Apple Developer Enterprise Program ($299 per year) The best way is to use the Apple Developer Enterprise Program. After passing legal procedures, you can send a download link (outside the AppStore). You don't have to wait for moderation, and most importantly, you can use over 100 users without public access.  Pros: the unlimited number of users.  Cons: the cost of service and legal restrictions on use. Bottom Line Ask yourself a few questions before a proprietary enterprise mobile app development: For which operating systems do you want to develop an application? Are you ready to purchase devices and pay for mobile services? How many employees will use the app? And where will you distribute your application? The advantages of implementing corporate mobile applications are obvious. But there are still fears that prevent some managers from digitalization. There is also a danger of sabotage by workers or a decrease in motivation if the staff is conservative. Employees are not always happy with innovations requiring a new collaborative culture in the company, and a leader himself may be at the head of such ideation.  But today, even if your company has a great past, even if it is an integral part of the country’s infrastructure, there is a risk of losing its advantage overnight. Young companies with an agile approach and creative products can overtake clumsy conservatives at once.  As stated in a press release from the British airline company Thomas Cook Airlines Limited, they could not compete with online services. This is happening everywhere. During the lockdown in many industries, only the companies that have mastered the technology have survived. And the companies that had implemented corporate digital systems before the coronavirus were the least affected and quickly moved their work to remote locations. Today it is obvious that there is no turning back, and corporate mobile applications in any company are only a matter of time. Belitsoft specializes in mobile application development. If your business is ready to level up in enterprise technologies and competitiveness, contact us for a free quote.
Dzmitry Garbar • 4 min read
Custom ERP for Automotive Repair Industry
Custom ERP for Automotive Repair Industry
The Challenges of Standard Auto Repair Workflows Typically, automobile repair shops use a combination of a legacy ERP or CRM with .xls files, paper notes, and local folders for media files as well as different 3rd-party software to manage the core workflows. Such workflows are manual, time-consuming, and prone to human errors. Accepting a car for repair. A manager takes photos of the damage and saves them in a local folder. Then, they create a new order and manually estimate the repair cost. Then, the manager schedules the repair on a paper or in a CSV table and agrees this schedule with a responsible technician in person. Ordering lacking parts. The manager creates an email to a vendor where they manually indicate all the details (amount, estimated cost, and due date). After receiving the ordered parts, the manager manually notifies the vendor and confirms the final cost. Tracking employees' working hours. When a technician receives an order, they manually enter the start and completion time, lunch breaks, etc. For that, a technician has to write down these data on paper, then bring it to a manager. Calculating the costs of technicians' work, parts, and final repair expenses. A technician or manager goes to the accounting department to manually pass the information about the completed type of work and the number of hours spent on it. A manager also manually brings or emails the details about ordered parts to an accountant. The accountant enters the received data into accounting software by hand. Notifying customers about a current repair status. A customer has to call or email to find out the information about the repair process. Otherwise, a customer knows nothing about the repairing status until a manager calls and asks to pick up the car. Reporting to an automobile repair shop owner. The owner enters the accounting software to get data about cash flows. Then they enter the CRM to get information about customers, employees' efficiency, services, etc. How Custom ERP Automates Key Auto Repair Workflows Implementing a custom or on-demand auto repair software helps resolve a series of challenges typical of auto repair services, decrease costs, and improve customer service by automating every step of the workflow. 1. Advanced reporting tools to give business owners full visibility and control over a single or multiple auto repair shops In order to know strengths and bottlenecks of the business, an auto repair owner needs detailed and simple-to-use reporting to see the full picture. For that, an ERP needs an advanced reporting tool, that may include: financial reports (how much the company has earned from each order or during a certain period) for evaluating the business's financial health and earnings potential; business reports about dealing with 3rd party suppliers for analyzing the profitability of cooperating with each vendor; reports about cost-effectiveness of labor for calculating the auto repair shop's profit, etc. An example of a report illustrating the weekly number of orders and earnings, the parts and labor margins, a sales trend, and other KPIs. 2. Accepting a car for repair and scheduling work to save managers' time While creating an order in the ERP, a manager needs to take photos of a damage, estimate the repair cost, calculate the number of hours for repairing and types of work. All of this can be facilitated and automated by a custom ERP used in a combination with a mobile app. A manager takes photos of a damage using a mobile app. Photos get uploaded to a media storage, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. Then, the media files are synchronized with a corresponding order. A manager estimates the cost of repair directly through the ERP thanks to integrations with collision estimating software (CCC, Audatex, AdjustRite, Mitchell) and with paint-scale systems (PPG Paint Scales, Akzo Nobel, or BASF) estimating the amount of paint needed. A manager plans repairing with the help of a scheduler, where they can see which time slots for each type of work are available. 3. Procurement management to save the time of auto repair shop's managers and accountants To order a lacking part, a manager selects a necessary integrated service (Partstech, Carfax, TireConnect, etc) and gets a list of required parts with pricing. The cost of repairing is calculated automatically based on a vendor's price list. A vendor receives an automated message with all the order details. 4. Tracking technician's working hours to monitor efficiency of work and calculate repair cost A technician selects a type of work to do and starts the countdown. When they need to make a break, or their shift ends, a technician marks the end time of the work through the mobile phone. The ERP contains a detailed timesheet, which facilitates further payroll. 5. Calculating the costs of technicians' work, parts, and final repair expenses to exclude human risks and save accountants' time Thanks to the integration of the ERP with the accounting software, an accountant automatically gets data about: technicians' working hours for calculating a salary; cost of parts and other materials, types of works, and repairing time for calculating a final repair cost; payments from customers (the paid sum, the number and dates of payments, the amount to be paid, etc.). The ERP for repair and maintenance gets all the transactions automatically thanks to the integration with such accounting software as QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, or others. 6. Notifying customers about a current repair status to improve customer service When accepting a car for repairing, a manager agrees with a customer a preferable means of communication – SMS or email. Thus, a customer receives auto notifications about the repair status changes without involving a manager. An example of how customers can view the actual information. Create All-in-One ERP by Outsourcing ERP Development However, most ready-made car repair database software systems don't cover all the repair workflows. So, to get all the mentioned features, creating a multifunctional custom ERP is the best option. In case you don't want to risk employing a big team internally, choose a good technology partner to rely on who could get up to speed quickly and scale the team up and down as the project progresses. By outsourcing automotive repair software development to Belitsoft, the company with an extended pool of specialists, you get the following benefits: Quick start of the MVP development. Involving an experienced developer into the project from our talent pool without wasting time on hiring allows launching the MVP, get the first customers and start earning in a few months; On-demand scaling of the team up and down based on the current development needs. Not keeping extra developers in the team allows saving budget. At the same time, you quickly receive the necessary workforce on demand from our 300+ developers. Get the business-oriented and highly scalable ERP with unique functionality by partnering with Belitsoft's developers with expertise in the repair industry.
Dzmitry Garbar • 4 min read
ERP vs CRM
ERP vs CRM
In short, CRM is a part of ERP. ERP handles manufacturing and financial operations, while CRM traditionally deals with customers on all stages, automating marketing and sales activities. In real life, there are several scenarios: a company uses ERP but not CRM; a company uses CRM but not ERP; a company doesn't have either ERP or CRM. Whatever your scenario is, you can get the benefits of both systems and keep all your business's data in a centralized database by developing the ERP with CRM functionality from scratch, integrating CRM into ERP, or customizing ERP adding CRM features. Contact us to learn how we can help you. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Using the ERP, you can reduce operating costs by 11% according to the research from a global research company. That's why the bigger a company is, the more savings in absolute numbers it can gain. Such saving numbers can be achieved on condition of automating key business processes typical of your industry. In practice, it's about implementing particular functionality in ERP. Budget Forecasting and Planning The ERP acts as a single database that provides business leaders with current financial data across the company, including profitability ratios, fixed assets, inventory margins, liabilities, and many more that can be added and customized individually. Using these metrics, business leaders can forecast revenue, expenses, and plan budgets across departments and company-wide. An example of the accounting module of the ERP with key performance indicators and trends necessary for making data-backed forecasts Automating Accounting Tasks The ERP automates all bookkeeping repetitive tasks, such as creating invoices, bills, entries for material costs, collecting data from other departments for calculating payrolls, order costs, or incomes. Now, your finance team can allocate dozens of hours saved monthly to more beneficial tasks, such as analyzing trends, reviewing transaction details, and investigating anomalies. The ERP can replace your standalone accounting software. Or, if you already use one (such as QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, or others), the ERP can be integrated with it. As a result, all the financial activities will be managed through the ERP solely. An example of the accounting module of the ERP with outgoing and incoming cashflows details Procurement and Inventory Management The inventory is updated based on actual sales data, helping avoid both out-of-stock and excess inventory. The ERP alerts managers when it's time to place purchase orders and assists them throughout the procure-to-pay process. The software simplifies procurement management, saves time, and improves accuracy by automatically creating purchase orders, linking procurement transactions with vendor records, goods receipts, and billing documents. All procurement-related information, such as transactions, a list of approved suppliers, pre-negotiated contracts, is consolidated in the procurement dashboard. An example of the ERP dashboard with monthly inventory trend, orders to fullfill, purchase orders, and other essential data. Here you can also see reminders for purchasing managers Order Management The ERP helps handle the complete order lifecycle, from receipt to delivery. This module can automate and ensure accurate record keeping, covering order readiness status, order release, shipment confirmation, etc. Some ERPs, such as the woodworking ERP by Belitsoft, also support complex processes such as split shipments (when a large order can be shipped in several batches). All of this favors increasing on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction. An example of a custom ERP dashboard where a split order shipment is applied Manufacturing The ERP grants you real-time visibility into every step of the production process, from production planning and scheduling to order fulfillment. There is a lot of potential for different technologies and features in manufacturing management. Here are the examples of what Belitsoft has implemented in custom ERPs: Quality monitoring by implementing IoT technology on production lines to allow the ERP to get data about the number of quality items and the number of defects. The ability to schedule employee hours, accept sick leave requests, see the projects that staff members are working on to correctly allocate human resources, and more. It streamlines the entire manufacturing process, reducing costs and increasing on-time delivery. An example of an ERP dashboard with employees' workload during the manufacturing process Make faster, data-backed decisions, impacting profitability and efficiency across your company by building a custom ERP as a single, shared database for all financial and operational data. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) According to the research from a consulting group, Microsoft’s partner, every $1 you spend on your CRM implementation returns as much as $8.71 in ROI on your sales revenue. So it's no wonder that over 91% of organizations with more than ten employees in their workforce use CRM. Marketing automation The CRM allows tracking and measuring all marketing campaigns, including emails, multichannel campaigns, events. It gives valuable data about a prospect's activity and helps identify when a lead meets certain buyer-readiness conditions. CRM analytics help marketers pass a lead to a sales team at the right moment. In addition, the CRM allows segmenting leads based on demographics, response patterns, purchase trends, and support histories to deliver personalized marketing campaigns. By aligning marketing with sales in real-time, you can continually fine-tune marketing campaigns, generate more leads, and maximize ROI. An example of a CRM dashboard illustrating the number of gained contacts, deals, the lead target, the list of leads, and other key data Sales and Customer Service Automation A study shows that sales teams spend only about a third of their day selling, while all the other time goes for tasks that could be automated, such writing emails (21%), entering data (17%), scheduling calls (12%). The CRM cuts out manual work from day-to-day sales tasks by managing quotes and invoices, automating follow-up messages, scheduling meetings, and much more. All of this speeds up the lead-to-cash process and boosts overall sales efficiency by shifting your sales managers' time from routine tasks to more beneficial ones, such as improving customer acquisition, upselling, and retaining existing customers. An example of a CRM dashboard with the customer history, including the latest messages, information about previous tickets and deals, contact data, and other helpful things Analytics and Forecasting The CRM can use real-time sales data to more accurately predict future sales and revenue, consequently. Thanks to advanced analytical tools, the CRM allows marketing, sales, and service teams to monitor their performance: Marketing reps can examine acquisition, engagement and conversion metrics for certain campaigns. Sales managers, for example, can access personal goals, such as sales achieved against the benchmark. Customer service teams can measure post-sales inquiries trends and overall client satisfaction. An example of forecasting sales opportunities based on actual sales data Through integrating CRM analytics into your business strategy, you can not only enhance your CRM capabilities and successfully implement them but also foster growth and attain your organizational goals. Make informed decisions on how to service customers efficiently, which customers to pursue for higher revenue, how sales teams are performing, and much more by building your proprietary CRM with a skilled development team.
Dzmitry Garbar • 4 min read
Rapid Enterprise Software Development
Rapid Enterprise Software Development
What is Rapid Enterprise Software Development Rapid enterprise application development is an approach to software development that puts more emphasis on prototyping instead of advanced planning. It helps achieve a higher speed of development than the traditional engineering approach. The knowledge obtained from the rapid development process itself improves the look and feel of the final solution. We mainly use this method with the Time & Material model and agile methods.  ISVs' stakeholders want to see the value in the first days and weeks, without the budget blowing up on research, choosing the best frameworks, and gathering non-functional requirements (that could be very important -  but for the next steps).   Modern users are less patient than ever before. They are less interested in the nuts and bolts of the back-end coding of web apps and just want it to enable them to seamlessly achieve business results or accomplish essential tasks.  One of the best practices in rapid enterprise software development is starting with the UX first. If you don’t have a visually appealing, easy-to-use web/mobile app that delivers the best possible customer experience, then you are going to have less engagement, even if the software product code is stellar.  Your product owners identify the core capabilities and priorities based on the strategic alignment with the business needs. Then prototypes and designs are created to resonate with what the users look for.  Once you confirm you have the right approach after going through a user testing process, hand it off to our enterprise software development team. In this process, the design side helps ensure you understand what your customers need. On the other hand, the development team ensures the new product is robust enough to survive in a production environment. Advantages of Rapid Enterprise Software Development Rapid development provides the following benefits: Better delivery The rapid development team is not trying to build a grand supersystem. The elementary system is delivered during the first few weeks or even days after the project start. Then, every two weeks, other system modules with increasing functionality could be delivered.   Better quality Users get useful business functionality much earlier. The software focuses on business problems critical to end-users rather than technical problems that are interesting mainly to developers.  Risk reduction The earlier a problem can be discovered in the development life-cycle, the cheaper it is to address it.  Rapid development prevents creating too complex or time-consuming solutions that would require a radical rethinking of the entire system in the nearest future. Rapid Development Approach to App Modernization  Today, providing reliable services could mean meeting the uptime requirements, and giving the headroom to serve thousands of customers across the globe by handling thousands of API calls per minute, and scaling to millions of database reads per minute by using highly available, fault-tolerant data stores.  To fill in the gaps in enterprise systems, and deliver modern, powerful business applications in a short timeframe, our teams, as part of our application modernization services, often use rapid enterprise software development platforms. Such solutions provide built-in components and strong reporting tools to develop, test, and customize code as needed.  These platforms allow modernizing software portfolio by building complex applications for any device, browser, and the full range of OSs, after spinning up an industry standards-based development environment in just a few minutes. The rapid development approach avoids the time-consuming rewriting of legacy code and helps modernize systems by layering new product on top of the monolithic application and delivering it to users in a highly consumable way. Easy implementation of modernized apps into customers’ day-to-day activities is achieved by integration with already existing backends such as on-premise databases or any data sources, existing logic layers, 3rd-party applications, and cloud service providers. The infrastructure can be hosted in a private cloud or a public cloud, or be delivered on-premises. Common Scenarios for Seeking Rapid Development Partner Maybe you: undertake a complete digital transformation of your platform, focusing on completely reimagining the client’s digital experience. It is essential for you to work with newer technologies that are not familiar to your full-time employees. have an original idea for a new interface and want to fuse this unique concept with your industry knowledge to produce a new service.  have done quite a bit of legwork, creating plans and mock-ups to help define your vision, or have completed a prototype or a proof of concept in-house. worked with another vendor first, but it didn’t meet your expectations. The first version of your app has been developed but there are some significant issues. You made the decision not to staff up internally and started looking at companies that specialized in this kind of application development to extend your development capabilities.  There is not a large candidate pool in the US and you face challenges in how you’d identify rapid development talent and find partners to help you address the design, resource, and integration challenges. Opt to go with Belitsoft to develop a scalable, potentially widely distributed, solid, and reliable in its performance piece of software. Relaunch your web/mobile app with the new experience to see dramatic growth in the number of users on the platform, and a massive uptick in usage. Belitsoft’s Approach to Rapid Development Rapid Prototyping You don’t neccessarily jump into the engagement on the development side immediately. Use us on a small-scale project. For example, start from a design perspective to build confidence in our understanding of the solutions that you want to build and our ability to execute them. The initial MVP development and rolling out of the product through various soft launches could be the first major milestone. Come to us with a prototype (if it has been developed), and guide us through what you’ve done and what you want to do. That may include some code that you’ve developed, screenshots of your rudimentary platform, and customer research.  We take your plans and designs to the next level, mapping out a development strategy, cost estimate, and timeline. We are transparent about the cost and often give you several different solutions to choose from to keep the price low. Belitsoft’s design resources can improve your designs and simplify the interface or create a totally new and unique user interface. We understand that it's really important to ensure that different aspects of the app look or function in a certain way, so it could be challenging to design it if you aren’t an expert. We ask questions in order to figure out the best solution. We listen carefully to your different requirements and unique demands to craft designs and prototypes that answer your needs. We guide you through a design phase. We realize journey mapping, develop user personas in much greater detail, and create wireframes.  Rapid Project Management We provide a point of contact in charge of different aspects of the project. Your project manager is instrumental in orchestrating the project and keeping the team focused. We then develop the app in an iterative process using the agile methodology, organized on your favorite project management platform. You know where the project is on any day, and what to expect going to every meeting. To be always prepared we have internal stand-ups prior to our meetings to exclude any wasted time for the client. Once the transition into full-scale development, we can build a cloud-based app in Azure or AWS and release the product.  We can then move to continued production and engineering support. Work with us on sizeable enhancements to the product. You also can have us design and develop your marketing website.  Rapid Development Team Creation We can assign business analysts, flexible project managers, and designers to focus on graphics and visuals, backend developers to work on the database and backend, frontend developers, full-stack developers, system architects, information security experts, QA specialists, software team leads, and cloud professionals to set up dev and prod environments in the cloud.  We can provide several development teams deeply integrated with your teams. The team size may fluctuate. These people can rotate in depending on your needs. Some may come and go depending on the expertise you need. On the rare occasion, if you have a resource that doesn’t meet your expectations, we immediately respond to rectify the situation.  Real Business Cases of Rapid Development Cybersecurity ISV: Rapid Web Development & Testing to Maintain Customer Base and Brand Image Challenge: The cybersecurity enterprise built and managed multiple complex software products. However, to sell them, they needed to customize the software for each end customer quickly. In conditions when the in-house R&D team was still busy with products evolution, there were not enough time and specialists for product customization. Thus, the ISV started to delay software products delivery, losing not only income but also clients’ loyalty and brand image. Solution: Outsourcing web development to dedicated developers became the most viable solution for rapid web development. To start performing immediately, Belitsoft assigned our most reliable, senior-level specialists from the company talent pool. They formed a team core, set up communication with the in-house managers, and onboarded newcomers, using their valuable knowledgebase in the domain and project. Thus, the cybersecurity enterprise received at their disposal a well-thought team acting as the right hand to their R&D department. Up to now, Belitsoft has hired, onboarded, and managed over 100 developers and software testing specialists for the cybersecurity ISV. Our mutual work has allowed the business to deliver software products on time, ensuring both company reputation and a stable client base. Besides, the business saved 40% on development and testing thanks to outsourcing. CASE STUDY: Rapid web development and testing for Cybersecurity ISV to maintain the customer base and brand image Elearning ISV: Rapid Web Development to Scale Startup to Enterprise Challenge: The eLearning ISV needed a SharePoint Learning Management System that is smoothly integrated into Microsoft 365 & Teams. To develop such a specific software product, they needed specialists with technical expertise and skills in the eLearning domain.  Recruiting local US developers was both expensive (US developers have 40% higher salaries) and time-consuming (interviewing hundreds of applicants). Solution from our Sharepoint development company: Hiring a dedicated software development team became a go-to option for the ISV that helped:  bring top-level technical specialists and close skills gaps in the domain (Sharepoint and eLearning), start web development rapidly by bringing core specialists from Belitsoft’s own resources, save money in the long run (lower salaries, no need to create infrastructure), deliver the end product faster thanks to the scaling ability of a desiccated team. Outsourcing software development to Belitsoft saved for the ISV 40-50% of the development costs ($600,000+). The launch of the SharePoint LMS served as a trampoline for the startup to grow into the enterprise that is currently Microsoft Gold Partner and Microsoft Strategic Partner. The end software product has 5+ million users and is used on a long-term basis by JFK School of Business at Harvard, Florida Department of Agriculture, and other corporate, governmental, and educational organizations. CASE STUDY: Rapid web development to scale startup to enterprise HealthTech ISV: Rapid Software Customization to Target a New Market Segment Challenge: The HealthTech ISV had a custom-built software product that required customization for specific workflows of each healthcare organization that bought it. The task took 100% of the in-house resources.  Thus, when the company leadership realized that the legacy framework of their product held back the business growth (cannot be sold to organizations using macOS), they needed extra resources urgently to mitigate the lost opportunities.  Solution: To boost the sales volume by entering a new segment (macOS users), the software product required modernization to .NET Core, which gives compatibility with both Windows and macOS. Hiring a dedicated team is the best option when rapid web development is required. Such an approach brings the business multiple benefits, including experienced developers without time-consuming recruiting, budget savings due to cheaper resources, and urgent scaling on demand. As a result, app modernization took less than 3 months. During this period, the HealthTech ISV kept on delivering products to the current customer base and got the opportunity to target a new market segment. CASE STUDY: Rapid software modernization to target a new market segment Get free consultation from an expert in rapid enterprise development, management, and team creation to find a viable solution for your case that will help you both deliver better results in a short term and save the budget.
Dzmitry Garbar • 8 min read
Custom Enterprise Learning Solutions To Resolve Learning and Competency Challenges
Custom Enterprise Learning Solutions To Resolve Learning and Competency Challenges
Experts Highlight 3 Key Enterprise L&D Success Drivers Today, employees with relevant skills and future-ready leaders have become the key assets of any business, states McKinsey consulting company. However, few companies have viable strategies for developing and retaining these assets.  One of the worst scenarios for enterprise L&D leaders is after investing time and resources into developing and deploying a custom enterprise learning solution to discover that it falls short of what your company really needs. The eLearning experts from Josh Bersin Academy surveyed over 1,000 companies on 100+ L&D practices to correlate investments to business outcomes. And the survey results show the following L&D success drivers bringing the biggest investment results: Learning culture. Creating a learning culture facilitates and automates mentoring, onboarding, continuous learning, and certification. Can be implemented with the help of a Learning Management System (LMS). Career growth. Applying career growth programs creates clear upskilling and reskilling pathways for effective internal mobility. Can be realized thanks to AI-powered LMS/LXP. Leadership development. Focusing on leadership development favors building a growth mindset among enterprise managers, including C-level, L&D, and HR management. Can be achieved using an interactive leadership training platform. Each of these drivers brings beneficial results only in conjunction with L&D innovation, which means applying leading technologies (microlearning, skills assessment tools, AI) when creating custom solutions for enterprise learning and competency challenges. And below you´ll see what technologies benefit businesses most and how these custom enterprise learning solutions work. 1. LMS for onboarding, continuous learning, and certification There Aren't Enough Experienced Candidates Having skilled talents with domain knowledge is critical for the cost-effective delivery of end products. However, typically, there aren’t enough experienced candidates to meet the demands of enterprises. It means a constant process of onboarding and training newcomers. In domains, where regulatory compliance or refresher training is required, exam preparation and certification are added to the continuous learning cycle (aviation training, brokers certification). Considering the learning efforts required for hundreds or even thousands of employees, automating these processes becomes crucial.  Custom LMS for Onboarding at Scale The Learning Management System (LMS) is the right tool if your L&D goal is automating and optimizing onboarding and orientation, professional development, certification programs, performance improvement initiatives, compliance training. The benefits your enterprise gets by selecting to build a custom LMS: Getting a platform specifically for your goals, supporting the unique instructional design and required functionality, instead of a “one-size-fits-all” boxed solution. Owning a learning platform without paying monthly subscription fees to keep your course online. Being independent of any third-party changes in functionality and limited user capacity. However, building an LMS from scratch requires high up-front costs. As a solution to cut development costs, we offer our customizable LMS as a basis for your own LMS.  What is your benefit? From day one, you get a fully-functional LMS with all the core features of an LMS for online training. For example, the support of multiple learning formats (pdf, video, etc.), learning progress tracking, and assessment tools.  As the LMS is easily customizable, our team simply adds the functionality your enterprise needs. For example,  Integrating with company software (HR, CRM, etc.) Digital content authoring tools  Gamification and simulations  Personalized learning pathways  Mobile-friendly learning design Interactive video and audio learning  Social learning and collaboration tools  Measurement and analytics tools  Mentoring  An example of an enterprise LMS build for Global Creative L&D on the basis of a customizable LMS by Belitsoft "Belitsoft has been the driving force behind several of our software development projects within the last few years. This company demonstrates high professionalism in their work approach. They have continuously proved to be ready to go the extra mile. We are very happy with Belitsoft, and in a position to strongly recommend them for software development and support as a most reliable and fully transparent partner focused on long term business relationships." Ron Edwards, Global Head of Commercial Development L&D at Technicolor Corporation (USA/UK) Our team knows how to make a custom LMS that fully meets individual L&D goals. Get in touch with me, and I’ll outline how it will work for your business. 2. AI-powered LMS/LXP to apply career growth programs for reskilling, upskilling, and internal mobility Traditional Training Doesn’t Meet Internal Mobility and Career Growth Goals More than 87% of executives report skills gaps in their organization and the pressing difficulty to find and retain talents with the right skillsets. To get enough qualified specialists with the necessary skill set to meet actual and upcoming demand, enterprises need to deploy career growth programs and internal mobility practice through upskilling and reskilling employees. However, few traditional training programs can bring the desired outcomes. As a result, about 70% of HR managers admit being unsatisfied with companies’ ability to meet internal mobility and career growth goals. Build Personalized Career Paths The giants like Walmart, Amazon, Providence, and others have found a way to address those massive talent gaps meaningfully. For that, they build non-linear career pathways to help employees gain educational credentials, skills, and consequently get new jobs. The best and possibly only tool for building personalized career paths is AI-powered TMS, LMS, or LXP. AI in talent management and L&D optimizes the upskilling and reskilling processes, creating a clear growth pipeline for each employee individually. Discovering skills gaps to understand what to teach using AI-based tools for employees’ skills assessment. L&D managers use it for a clear understanding of the skills and capabilities of enterprise workforces and to understand what skills are lacking. Creating a personalized learning path for faster knowledge acquisition with the help of Artificial Intelligence. AI allows the creation of a personalized career path in LMS/LXP for upskilling & reskilling. The tool identifies the skill set a person needs to excel in their role and their skill gap, then connects the person with training content from LMS or LXP that corresponds to that gap. Workforce forecasting for accurately predicting talent gaps that your company may face in near future. AI benchmarks employees' skill set in the enterprise with competitors to align with industry trends. AI provides recommendations for internal mobility. An example of a professional growth learning path through a custom LXP Learn how your enterprise can benefit using AI-based skills assessment, personalized learning path, and workforce forecasting. Let’s arrange a quick call. 3. Leadership development platform to successfully nurture future-proof management skills Why Traditional Leadership Training When There is a Better Alternative? Companies rely on their L&D functions to help employees learn fast. But often, the function itself requires a transformation. A far-sighted L&D leader sooner or later starts wondering how to develop leadership competencies in a new generation that will shortly have to take on managerial tasks and responsibilities.  U.S. corporations invest heavily in leadership training. However, traditional training methods are typically costly, require much time, are troublesome to arrange, and therefore might not pay off. The problem gets complicated due to the limited human resources competent in leadership development training. Interactive Platform for Automating Leadership Development Training Developing an interactive platform for automating leadership development training is the solution proven by one of our clients.  In such a program, the role of a coach and his assistants are performed by the script. It automates personal employees’ data gathering to create a relevant training plan; Then, the system tracks the progress to timely detect and notify about issues and employees that fall behind a training plan. To increase the training effectiveness, such software gets extra features and motivational techniques such as: conversational learning, gamification,  social learning,  chatbot,  automatic enrollment. Such thoughtful alignment of learning and technology brings a remarkable 25% increase in organizational outcomes. And this number increases when leadership development programs are applied to the staff beneath senior levels. An example of interactive training software for leadership development for enterprise top management and personal accountability for employees "The experience working with Belitsoft has been seamless and supportive. We look forward to continuing to build out the ultimate vision of what we have in mind for this unique personal leadership development program. We think that’s awesome and appreciate the partnership with Belitsoft in helping us develop a framework for delivering this game-changing experience." Jeff Otis Founder of ProjectOTY While your competition underestimates the role of leadership training, let’s create a powerful leverage for leadership development for your enterprise. Give me a call or drop a message to discuss your case in detail.
Dmitry Baraishuk • 5 min read
Overview of a Modern Enterprise Transportation Management System
Overview of a Modern Enterprise Transportation Management System
Integrating ERP and TMS Companies can deliver products and materials faster and at a lower cost through the integration of TMS within Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The ERP system maintains data on products and business partners as materials and customers, respectively. This data then needs to be transferred to the TMS. To connect the standalone TMS within the ERP system, companies often use middleware — a software layer that facilitates the exchange of data between the two systems. Integrating TMS functionalities directly into ERP becomes more efficient with cloud-based solutions, such as cloud ERP development and customization. With direct integration, both systems synchronize the product master data and harmonize the master data for key business objects, like organizational structures, business partners, and transportation networks. After integration, companies often gain better visibility into their transportation processes, enabling real-time decision-making. We offer custom ERP/TMS integration services to connect procurement, order management, inventory, finance, and transportation functions to eliminate manual data entry, reduce errors, and enhance real-time visibility across operations. Get in touch. Transportation Management Process Flow Manufacturers, distributors, e-commerce entities, and logistics service providers, in the movement of goods, heavily depend on TMS software to handle transportation data and processes.    Transportation requirements for Ordering and Delivery Sales Orders Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and Deliveries specify transportation requirements. The Transport Management system can automatically extract information from these documents. Whether through a sales representative or an online portal connected to the ERP system, a sales order is automatically generated when a customer places an order. It details the Sold-To Party (customer), Ship-To Party (delivery address), ordered items, and Net Value. In turn, purchasing documents serve multiple purposes, such as procuring raw materials, obtaining vendor-consigned inventory, or subcontracting the production of a material. Delivery documents group items for one recipient. A screenshot of an example Sales Order Interface showcasing the Sold-To and Ship-To Party Details along with Net Value for streamlined transportation planning The Ship-To Party's address in the screenshot matches the Sold-To Party's, indicating delivery to the buyer's address. Matching fields are common when billing and shipping addresses are the same. Upon the creation of the sales order, it is integrated with the Transport Management system, facilitating the automated transfer of order details for delivery planning. Changes to the transportation status of orders in the TMS are instantly reflected in real-time. As the order progresses through different stages, various departments within the company update the system: The logistics department adjusts transportation details, such as scheduling, pick-up times, and carrier information. The system receives updates from the warehouse team when they pick, pack, and get items ready to be shipped. The transportation team or external carriers may enter the status of the shipment, indicating its current location in transit or if it has been successfully delivered. Some updates are automated via system integration with external partners or Internet of Things (IoT) devices. For example, tracking systems in trucks or ships can send live location data to the system, keeping the transportation status up to date. Screenshot of the 'Status In Tendering', indicating the process of selecting subcontractors via a tender is currently underway The TMS uses a document flow to keep track and manage the lifecycle of a freight unit, which is a shipment planned as a single entity. This includes all associated paperwork and electronic records from creation to delivery. Screenshot of the Document Flow There are three key components in the document flow: 'Outbound Delivery' refers to the dispatch of goods from a specific location. 'Sales Order' details the products, quantities, and agreed prices for the products or services. 'Freight Order' corresponds to the transportation request for the freight unit and includes details on routing, scheduling, and carrier information. Forwarding Orders Forwarding Orders are instructions used by shippers to provide Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) with shipment details. This includes the number of items, dimensions, weight, destination, and any special handling requirements. These orders are particularly useful for individual shipments or when transportation requirements do not follow a regular schedule. They can be issued as needed. Scheduling Agreements Scheduling Agreements are long-term contracts that outline rules for regular deliveries such as quantity, timing, cost and other details. These agreements are used when a company requires regular delivery of the same items without the need to place a new order each time. We had a positive experience with a US freight management companies. Their digital transformation included TMS solutions and API integrations to streamline operations, reduce errors, and enhance service delivery. For a practical example of how these principles were applied, check out the selected case study. Capacity Management Transportation capacity management is about planning logistics in advance, thereby securing better rates and avoiding premium charges for last-minute arrangements. It also guarantees that transportation is available during peak times. Strategic Freight Procurement Strategic freight procurement involves negotiating long-term contracts with carriers or LSPs for various freight services, including return freight, container provisioning, packaging, customs processing, and insurance. Freight Agreement Documents A freight agreement document details terms between a shipper and a carrier or logistics provider. The process includes updating current contracts and forming new ones. Within a TMS, users create these documents, specifying a responsible organizational unit and the associated carrier. Each agreement contains a calculation sheet for charges based on built-in rates. In the example, an organizational unit with ID '50000206' refers to the internal department or division within the company that manages the freight agreement. A logistics service provider with ID '3200000046' is labeled as 'Foreign Vendor.' The Basic Rate is a fixed cost for every shipment, covering overhead, like handling, administration, and basic operational fees. Freight charges vary based on distance, weight, and transportation type. Shipment specifics affect charges. By separating these two costs, a TMS can apply costs to a shipment more accurately. LSPs handle numerous agreements with carriers. By analyzing historical data in TMS on capacities and costs in different aspects, they can identify the most cost-effective shipping methods. This helps them to decide whether to provide end-to-end transportation services or subcontract certain parts of the freight movement. Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) enables LSPs to measure and assess the performance of their carriers. Identifying carriers that meet or exceed these KPIs ensures that LSPs work with efficient partners. Sending RFQs through TMS helps select the best option. LSPs analyze carrier responses, either by charge type or through an optimizer-based comparison, considering constraints. Freight Allocations Allocations are reservations about shipping capacity with a carrier, such as a shipping company or a freight transporter. These agreements represent documented commitments that a specified amount of capacity is reserved for the shipper's use during a designated period. The purpose is to guarantee enough capacity for the shipper's goods on a carrier for a specific route and time. In TMS, allocations can be based on time periods (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) and the amount of space or weight capacity reserved. Screenshot of the Freight Allocation schedule indicating specific carrier reservations and quarterly capacity buckets In this example, 'freight allocation 2' is a specific allocation made for carrier '1000030' along trade lane '1000000000', from source location 'ZSVENDOR10' to destination 'ZSVENDOR1'. Four capacity-based buckets have been created for this allocation, each corresponding to a quarter within the validity period. Each bucket allows a maximum gross weight of 40 tons. Strategic Freight Selling The process begins when a shipper or customer shows interest by submitting a Request for Quotation (RFQ), which can be communicated through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transfer, email, or phone. For instance, a customer may make a spot booking or inquiry with an LSP agent. Once the customer's interest is registered, a freight manager in the TMS analyzes their historical data to determine the best service offerings. The next step is to create a forwarding agreement quotation within the TMS. This quotation includes multiple items with rates outlined in a charge calculation sheet. These rates are determined manually or with tools like the rate builder cockpit, using rate tables and scales. The customer receives the completed quotation through EDI or email. It provides a detailed proposal with service and rate specifics. A formal forwarding agreement is generated in the TMS once the customer accepts the quotation. Freight Bookings Freight bookings are the documents that reserve specific capacities with carriers. Based on strategic allocations and agreements, operational teams book capacity with carriers for specific shipments. Freight bookings specify the type and quantity of equipment (e.g., containers) and scheduling details. Carriers and partners receive freight bookings and documents via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Linking freight bookings to precursors and subsequent documents ensures traceable movements. Using a dashboard enables transportation managers to monitor closely the performance of freight carriers against predefined targets. This section of the dashboard provides a visual comparison between the current load (the actual weight of goods being transported) and the target load (the planned weight) for each carrier. Screenshot of a carrier performance dashboard displaying current load versus target load for Freight Bookings For example, HD Busy Business and American Airlines Inc. have both reached 100% of their target load. Conversely, Aramex and Inter Transport GmbH have reached 0% of their targets, meaning no goods have been transported. Transportation Planning The aim is to optimize the loading of each vehicle for transportation, maximizing capacity to reduce fuel usage, minimize trips, and lower overall transportation expenses. To plan transportation efficiently, orders going to the same or nearby places are consolidated into fewer shipments.  Screenshot of a TMS Package Unit Interface indicating detailed cargo information for transportation planning Using the Package Unit interface in the 'Cargo Information' and 'Required Capacity' sections, logistics companies can input specific details like cargo weight and volume. A Gantt chart displays when resources area in use and when they are available. The map feature in the cockpit shows cargo routes and movements visually. Freight Units Companies in diverse industries face challenges in distributing products to multiple customers across regions with varying sizes, weights, and special requirements. To manage this, they can use a TMS to consolidate orders into freight units based on criteria such as destination, product type, and delivery schedules. Freight units are grouped by size and form, from a single pallet to a full truckload, container, or smaller package. These units remain stable throughout the transportation process, from origin to destination. For example, by comparing automatically generated tables with known parameters, such as expected weight and volume ranges for products, the planner can ensure accuracy and make any necessary adjustments before incorporating the order into the planning workflow. Once the data is accurate, they can proceed with routing, scheduling pickups and deliveries, and allocating resources, such as assigning trucks and scheduling drivers. If transportation demands or resources require adjustments, the company can choose to split or merge the freight units. They can also use package simulation to calculate the ideal package size and quantity, minimizing wasted space and shipping costs. For orders with mixed products heading to the same destination, the company may create mixed packages to combine various products within a single package or pallet layer. Freight Orders Freight orders detail and authorize goods' movement. If these orders are not in place, it will be impossible to transport goods or make use of transportation units like containers. The Package Unit is part of the freight order, grouping multiple items. It consolidates items after finalizing freight units and establishing a load plan. In practice, when a logistics company has goods to transport, it can use the Package Unit interface to enter detailed data, such as the cargo's weight and volume, in the 'Cargo Information' and 'Required Capacity' sections. The 'Maximum Utilization' metric shows the percentage of the transport unit's capacity occupied by the cargo. Logistics personnel can input cargo origin and destination in 'Source' and 'Destination'. The 'Transportation' section records the total distance and duration of the transportation, as well as the frequency of visits to specific locations. Transportation Cockpit The Transportation Cockpit within a TMS serves as a dashboard for transportation planners and dispatchers who are responsible for executing planned shipments and planning incoming orders. TMS Transportation Cockpit screenshot depicting Freight Unit stages for execution and planning The Freight Unit Stages area displays attributes of freight units from orders or deliveries ready for shipment. This includes information such as freight unit number, original order number, loading and unloading locations, requested pickup and delivery dates and times, service level agreements, weight, volume, and quantity. Planners can split or merge freight units, insert or merge stages, and create or remove capacity/freight documents. Screenshot of a TMS Freight Orders/Freight Bookings Interface displaying detailed transportation planning and carrier assignment The Freight Orders/Freight Bookings area encompasses details such as freight order or booking number, means of transport, assigned carrier, and subcontracting status. Planners can mass-update multiple freight orders or bookings, enhancing efficiency over editing them individually. Canceling orders or bookings can remove freight units from the schedule if the transportation plan is no longer valid. This may require a re-plan. This section allows for the selection of carriers based on priority, cost, allocation, and more. The tendering process is facilitated within this area, allowing communication with carriers to accept or reject tendering requests. TMS Capacity Dashboard displaying various transport vehicles and their maximum carrying capacities The Capacity dashboard displays an available means of transport, their carrying capacities, registration numbers, and other critical information. Planners can add a new means of transport. For manual planning, the planner analyzes the volume of products to be shipped, considers delivery deadlines, and then selects the appropriate vehicle, carrier, and schedule. Planning each order individually is time-consuming for companies with high shipment volumes. The Vehicle Scheduling and Routing (VSR) optimizer module of the TMS can handle high shipment volumes automatically. All freight units with delivery times, costs, etc. can be inputted by the planner. The optimizer proposes the best transportation plan, considering cost and time, and provides an explanation. TMS Vehicle Scheduling and Routing module interface for optimal transportation planning and vehicle allocation For example, before incorporating the order into the planning workflow, the planner can compare the plan with known parameters, such as expected weight and volume ranges, and correct any anomalies. If the data is accurate, they can proceed with routing, scheduling pickups and deliveries, and allocating resources, such as assigning trucks and scheduling drivers. Our logistics and transportation software development services provide custom solutions that effectively bridge any gaps between TMS and ERP functionalities, improving data flow and system synchronization. Get in touch to get the details. Load Optimization Load optimization improves the arrangement of goods in a truck or container to maximize efficiency and space utilization. It also minimizes disruptions when delivering to multiple stops. Before departure, the TMS allows the company to check the load planning status, indicating whether goods are ready for loading or unloading at each stop. The Load Planning process begins with defining a hierarchy in the freight order, typically involving a vehicle resource, and a package, followed by the product. The TMS displays the load plan status for package items directly in the freight order. Dynamic Load Planning interface demonstrating the arrangement of goods for optimized space utilization in transport vehicles During package building, the system evaluates the items within freight units to select suitable packaging options. It then creates package units considering the items' compatibility and packaging requirements. Advanced 3D Load visualization showing the strategic placement of packages in a transport vehicle for efficient load distribution With package information, the TMS analyzes dimensions of the packages and the transportation resource (e.g., truck, container) to develop a comprehensive load plan.  Packaging materials vary widely in size, shape, and capacity. To effectively use different packaging materials in conjunction, a hierarchical system should be established. TMS display of unit measurements, showcasing the conversion between individual items and packaging materials TMS overview of packaging conversion, indicating how multiple cartons are consolidated onto a single pallet for transport According to the screenshot, a company determined that one carton can hold 200 units of the product. Then, 10 of these cartons can be securely and efficiently stacked onto a pallet. The pallet facilitates the transportation of the grouped cartons. Once the goods are loaded optimally, the next step is to determine the most efficient transportation route. This is where the Distance and Duration Determination function comes into play. It leverages a third-party geographic information system (GIS) to calculate the shortest distance between locations, considering geo coordinates stored in the system. Additionally, the service order manages services beyond transportation, such as customs clearance, container cleaning, and inspection of container seals. Carrier selection and subcontracting Evaluating the organization's fleet and external shipping companies is part of carrier selection. Considerations include cost, service quality, reliability, coverage, and meeting shipping requirements. In this context, load boards facilitate efficient load matching for freight brokers, shippers, and carriers. Subcontractor selection involves assessing compliance with regulations, insurance coverage, and meeting obligations. The track record in on-time delivery, goods handling, and reliability are important factors.  Carrier Selection Constraints TMS narrows carrier options based on constraints like hazardous materials and limited service areas. Freight Tendering After creating a freight order and selecting a carrier, the TMS uses tendering functionality. This involves communicating transportation requirements to potential carriers and receiving their responses. Tendering can be done via peer-to-peer methods, which may or may not require a response, or through broadcast methods, which accept either the first or the best offer depending on the situation. TMS interface screenshot of peer-to-peer tendering with response required is selected Tendering Analysis The TMS provides tools like the Tendering Analysis dashboard to review and analyze tendering activities, including the cycle times of various carriers. Dashboard view in a TMS showing tendering cycle times and carrier performance metrics For instance, if Carrier GmbH consistently has the shortest tendering cycle time, it may be preferred for future shipments to enhance efficiency. Manage Freight Agreement RFQ Masters This functionality enables shippers and LSPs to secure optimal carrier partnerships and rates. Interface of freight agreement RFQ masters in TMS, detailing status and deadlines for carrier bids It involves sending detailed transportation requirements to potential carriers and evaluating their bids. Actions, such as accepting a freight RFQ without changes, proposing adjustments, or outright rejection, are supported based on negotiation outcomes. TMS dashboard for transportation order management, displaying actionable items for freight RFQs and quotations Transportation monitoring and execution Completing freight activities includes scheduling vehicle dispatch, ensuring proper loading, and preparing necessary documentation. Real-time tracking with GPS and RFID allows companies and customers to know the exact location of a shipment. Communication between drivers, managers, and customers helps in sharing information about delays, or route changes. Real-time monitoring enables fast decision-making, such as changing the route or finding an alternative way to send the goods. Transportation Monitoring Transportation monitoring provides updates on the location and status of the freight. The dashboard may offer insights into carrier on-time performance, order status, delays, and unexpected events during transit. Dashboard showing real-time transportation monitoring in TMS, with insights into order lifecycle, delays, and unexpected events in transit Reporting and Analytics The Freight Order Execution Dashboard allows for daily monitoring of data. It provides insights into shipment status, the number of orders in process, and any delays. For example, if a manager notices that a specific carrier consistently performs poorly during peak periods, they can choose not to assign critical shipments to that carrier to prevent potential delays. TMS event timeline displaying milestones from 'Ready for Loading' to 'Departure', with 52 In Process freight orders and 0 delays in transit Detailed view of a freight settlement document, capturing financial and organizational data for transportation management accounting Managers can analyze KPIs, such as weight, volume, and the number of shipments on a weekly, monthly, or custom date range basis. This analysis can be done for carriers, shippers, or the final destinations of shipments. Dashboard snapshot displaying key performance metrics for freight orders, providing real-time insights into transportation efficiency The Freight Order Execution dashboard includes features like the Tendering Peer-to-Peer Cycle Analysis. Managers can also make daily decisions about workload distribution among carriers to ensure a fair distribution of orders. TMS dashboard with analysis of weight, volume, carrier performance, and network efficiency Documentation Management Creating and handling waybills and bills of lading is part of Documentation Management. A bill of lading is a receipt and legal document for claiming shipped goods. LSPs act as intermediaries between shippers and carriers and may issue their own bills of lading. Shippers must provide a bill of lading to the consignee when transporting goods. However, a waybill serves the purpose of tracking and includes a list of the goods being transported. Event Management The role of Event Management is to track and document significant moments during the lifecycle of a freight order. It captures the location and timing of key milestones from the origin to the destination. Analysis of carrier response times in tendering, illustrating peer-to-peer efficiency and carrier metric Planned events are scheduled steps in the shipment's journey, like departure from a warehouse or arrival at the destination. These events are based on the logistics plan. Let's say, if a shipment is set to leave a distribution center at 9:00 AM on a Tuesday, this departure is a planned event that falls under the scope of Event Management. Unplanned events, however, are incidents that happen without notice and are not part of the original plan. Some examples of these obstacles are traffic delays caused by congestion or accidents, breakdowns of transportation vehicles, and unforeseen weather that make travel difficult. These events demand immediate attention and may require adjustments to the shipping plan to minimize delays or damages. For instance, if a truck breaks down, the logistics team must respond quickly to fix the vehicle or find an alternative transport method to keep the shipment on schedule. Freight charge management and settlement This process manages transportation costs, including maintaining contracts with transportation service providers to handling the invoices and payments for freight orders. Carriers will invoice the shipper after providing transportation services. Verifying invoices is necessary to ensure they match contracted rates and accurately reflect provided services. Resolving disputes over invoices is also part of freight charge management, which can involve issues with the billed amount, discrepancies in weight or classification of shipped items, or services that were billed but not provided. Payments can be processed once invoices are verified. When a company establishes freight agreements with carriers, it sets rates for various services. There are two types of agreements available: forwarding agreements, which require the customer to pay charges, and freight agreements, which require the carrier to pay charges.  Departments decide which type to choose - sales for forwarding agreements, purchasing for freight agreements. To calculate charges for freight orders, the system retrieves rates from a specific line item within an agreement.  Transportation Charge Calculation Sheet The Transportation Charge Calculation Sheet (TCCS) is essential for determining the charges to be paid to freight vendors. It records charge types and their corresponding rate tables. The TCCS focuses on an item table, with each item representing a specific charge. Rate tables can be maintained manually or through Microsoft Excel integration and must be linked to their respective calculation sheet. Freight Settlement Document The charge management process starts with creating a freight settlement document.  This document triggers a series of events, leading to the generation of a service purchase order, goods receipt, and service entry sheet. The subsequent posting of accruals, invoice verification, and self-billing processes heavily rely on these documents. The supplier's invoice is compiled from freight documents like a freight order, freight booking, or service order. The freight settlement document collects all invoicing data from these freight documents. It may also include additional services like customs brokerage, container cleaning, or fumigation, expanding its scope beyond transportation services. After the invoice undergoes processing and verification, the freight settlement document displays the verified invoice amount, marking the culmination of the charge management process. Verified invoice amount of $60.00 on freight settlement document In the screenshot, the "Verified Invoice Amount" field shows $60.00. This means that after verification, the invoice for $60.00 was correct and should be paid to the service provider according to the terms in the document. Components of Enterprise Transportation Management System General Master Data and Organizational Structure Organizational master data refers to the core information that defines an organization's structure.  Legal Boundaries specify company names, registered jurisdictions, and regulatory frameworks. For transportation, it helps manage legal responsibilities in different territories, ensuring compliance with shipping regulations. Geographic Boundaries outline the locations of headquarters, regional offices, warehouses, and distribution centers. This information aids in managing logistics, routes, and shipping across different locations. Additionally, it ensures the fulfillment of tax requirements and adherence to legal regulations in the local area. Organizational Boundaries define the internal structure of an organization, such as departments, business units, and teams, along with their specific functions and relationships. Managing the flow of goods, information, and decisions relies heavily on this structure. It helps assign responsibilities from ordering and inventory management to shipping and customer service. Product Master Data The concept of "product master data" refers to the details about tangible items, including consumer goods, components, and raw materials that a shipper handles. It also encompasses the services provided by logistics service providers, like transportation or warehousing. Product master data comprises various attributes and details of each product or service, ranging from basic information like product names, descriptions, and pricing to specific details such as dimensions, weight, material compositions, and other defining characteristics.  The product master may also include the information about transportation materials and equipment used in the shipping process, such as pallets, pallet cages, and cardboard boxes.  Dangerous Goods Dangerous goods can be harmful due to their chemical or physical properties. Transporting them requires careful handling and adherence to strict regulations.  An ERP system can recognize and flag products classified as dangerous goods. Without accurate recognition of these goods, it would be impossible to apply necessary precautions for handling and transport. The system can verify that dangerous goods meet safety standards for transportation by checking packaging, labeling, and handling instructions. It follows local and international regulations for shipping dangerous goods. A logistics manager can manually initiate the check process in the ERP system or the system can automatically conduct these checks. Business Partners In transportation execution, a business partner usually means customers and vendors who a company has business contacts with. The information of these business partners needs to be combined and stored in one location in the company's system. Transportation Network The transportation network is responsible for moving goods and freight between locations. Locations are the precise geographic points where goods are either picked up or delivered. These can be warehouses, factories, retail stores, ports, or any physical place involved in the supply chain. Transportation Zones group locations together to simplify and manage planning, routing, pricing, and service level agreements. Zones are defined based on factors like geographical proximity, shipping volumes, delivery times, or operational convenience. Transshipment Locations are designed for transferring goods between different types oftransport. Examples include ports where goods are moved from ships to trucks or trains, rail terminals where goods are shifted from trains to trucks for last-mile delivery, and major logistics hubs where goods might be consolidated for further transportation or distribution. Transportation Lanes are paths between locations, such as from a manufacturing plant to a distribution center. They are specific to modes of transport like road, rail, air, or sea, and are operated by carriers. Trade Lanes, on the other hand, are lanes known for their efficiency and lower costs. Companies often make agreements with carriers for a certain amount of cargo space within these trade lanes to ensure availability. This allows companies to plan their supply chain operations effectively, as they know that space has been allocated for their goods on specific routes. Routes, in turn, are detailed paths within transportation lanes, including all intermediate stops and transshipment points. They define exact sequences of transportation lanes that a shipment will pass through. Transportation Schedules The transportation schedule contains a set of departure rules for different locations. An example interface for an ocean carrier A standard port sequence is a predetermined order in which a vessel (cargo ship, container ship, cruise ship, etc.) visits ports on its route. SHORE (which may be a manufacturing site), and PLATFORM (which could be a refinery) are the names or codes for the locations. SHORE is the first location and PLATFORM is the second, indicated by the order of '10' and '20'. Location Type Codes categorize the type of location (port, terminal, station, etc.). Location Address provides the specific address. 2,735.98 KM specifies the distance between the SHORE and PLATFORM locations. Carrier ZB08ER1 is the code for the carrier company or vessel responsible for transportation between these two locations. A departure rule for a voyage states the guidelines for when a vessel is scheduled to leave a port. It includes the route from SHORE to PLATFORM. Departure Rule indicates the start date for when the rule becomes active and the end date. The checkboxes represent the weekdays when trips are scheduled (Monday to Friday). This schedule ensures a dedicated transport service is available five days a week between SHORE and PLATFORM. It helps prevent delays in the supply chain and allows for advance planning of production and shipping resources, improving efficiency and predictability in the company's operations. The ERP system has a 'Standard Port Sequence' section for defining the static aspects of a maritime route, including specific locations and their visitation order. The 'Voyages' section focuses on scheduling and operating routes over time. Transportation Resources Vehicles represent the different modes of transport available, such as trucks, trains, ships, and planes, that physically move goods from one place to another. Transportation Unit Capacity refers to how much each vehicle can carry or transport. It helps in planning efficient loading of goods. Calendar Resources denote the operating hours of locations like warehouses, ports, and distribution centers for scheduling pickups, deliveries, and transfers to ensure timely operations. Reach out to us for a smooth TMS implementation that will optimize logistics operations, lower expenses, and enhance service quality.
Dzmitry Garbar • 19 min read

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