Autumn 2007

The MetaPack carrier selection software system, until now offered as a licensed package for hosting by user-companies, is now available on a hosted 'application service provider' basis, provisionally named MetaPack DM (for Delivery Manager). The system is hosted on Digica servers in Northampton. MetaPack chief executive Patrick Wall told Fulfilment & e.logistics that the new version has 'at least ninety per cent of the functionality of the existing system'.

The company sees the development as extending the appeal of the system to small and medium-sized users, especially in the retail business. 'It allows users to offer their end customers a much greater degree of granularity than in the past in terms of the fulfilment options they make available,' Wall says.

The system selects carriers for each consignment automatically from a range of companies with which the user has a relationship, choosing them according to their capabilities, service levels and other user-configured priorities.

MetaPack has integrated its system with nearly all the leading national B2C carriers, so it should always be presenting the latest service options and prices. But it is not a 'rate-shopping system', Wall says. 'It simply aims to find the 'best fit' service for each consignment.'

Extensive scope for manual intervention is included, but the system can work on an automated basis if required. It can either be run in stand-alone mode or integrated with users' existing fulfilment systems, and it can also be integrated with call centre software, giving agents a live view of consignment status. 'We have normalised carriers' status updates so that they are all presented in a consistent way.'

Wall admits the system would be of limited appeal to businesses using only one carrier for all their business, but says that 'at least sixty per cent' of shippers would probably benefit. Apart from automating carrier selection, it also consolidates carrier management in a single package, and handles functions such as printing labels from a single location - and with a single printer, regardless of which carrier is involved.

In a pioneering step, MetaPack is also integrating email and text alerting into the system, so that end users can optionally be sent text messages to say when a consignment is due. It is working on this with SMS specialist WIN plc. This means MetaPack users could decide to introduce this kind of system into its service without having to set it up from scratch.

The frequency and content of messages is user-configurable, as is the option for consumers to send replies. 'It might be that a retailer wants to alert a consumer to a forthcoming delivery, but doesn't yet want to have to deal with rejections or changed timings,' Wall says. 'We can deal with that.'

The service has no up-front cost other than a £100 registration fee. Charges are made according to transaction volumes at a rate of 2 to 3 per cent of the carriage fee. Members of IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) are likely to qualify for discounts.