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Dispatch Automation is where efficiency meets an operational excellence. Choose from three dispatch modes: Manual, Assisted, or Fully Automated. With Xcelerator, you can gradually transition to automated dispatch at your own pace, allowing you to scale operations with minimal overhead.

Combine Route Optimization with any level of Dispatch Automation to turbocharge operations with the best delivery approach. This includes stop-sequencing, ETA’s, time windows, service types, real-time traffic data, and more. Xcelerator’s Automated Dispatch and Optimization engine helps you to increase on-time performance and reduces unnecessary delays. Improving overall efficiency and communication between all parties involved in the lifecycle of an order.

Assisted Dispatch shown below (we can’t show you the fully automated, it’s too fast for a screenshot!) offers your operations team the top driver options considered for that delivery. Assisted dispatch lets you visualize the impact the new order will have on each drivers existing delivery path, and then your team can take it from there!

In the dynamic landscape of modern delivery services many carriers are taking on new delivery types like Home Delivery to grow their business and take advantage of the ever-increasing need for Final Mile Delivery

Xcelerator’s recent deployment of our home delivery scheduling component has been a homerun with customers that have been doing home delivery for a while and using other systems, as well as customers entering the home delivery landscape. Carriers that were using another system to perform the scheduling tasks have been able to eliminate that outside system, consolidating and saving money while improving efficiency with everything now included in Xcelerator.

With home delivery, communicating with consignees, drivers, and shippers to keep them sync’d up can be an enormous challenge. Overcoming this challenge and automating it is the key to success. Xcelerator helps carriers simplify communication with customizable automated notifications as well as a two-way chat component that is tethered to the order and package in question. Two-way chat supports practically all multi-media as well, seamlessly addressing requests, resolving concerns, and rectifying issues ensuring everyone is thrilled with the delivery experience.

In today’s competitive business landscape, building strong customer relationships is essential for long-term success. One effective way to achieve this is using customer-facing portals, apps, and resources that provide an exceptional customer experience. By offering live quoting, customized tracking, and reporting features, you can solidify customer relationships and attract new business while helping your customers fall in love with your company on every delivery.

One of the key benefits is the ability to provide live quoting. With this feature, your customers can receive real-time quotes for your products or services, allowing them to make informed decisions quickly. This not only saves them time but also enhances their overall experience with your company, showing that you value their time and are committed to providing a seamless and efficient service.

In addition to live quoting, detailed customized tracking is another valuable feature that can strengthen customer relationships. By allowing customers to track their orders in real-time and receive updates on their delivery status, you can keep them informed and engaged throughout the process. This transparency builds trust and confidence in your company, as customers can see exactly where their orders are at any given moment and know when to expect them.

Reporting is another essential feature that can be offered through customer-facing portals and apps. By providing detailed reports on order history, delivery performance, and other relevant metrics, you can demonstrate your commitment to excellence and professionalism. These reports can be customized based on your customers’ needs, providing them with valuable insights and data that can help them make informed decisions about their own operations.

To stay ahead of the competition and thrive in today’s customer-centric business environment, deploying customer-facing portals, apps, and resources are powerful tools that can help you solidify customer relationships and attract new business.

How will the software vendor you choose, remain to be a quality partner for years to come? By providing you with a consistently evolving tech platform.

Look for a company with a business model that is built around consistently updating their platform on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.  Frequent software updates enable you to:

• Apply new features right away to achieve a higher ROI.
• Be proactive in meeting your customer demands.
• Stay ahead of your competitors and sell to your strengths.

If the software vendor doesn’t consistently enhance the application, your technology and your delivery business will eventually become stale and ineffective.

Pro tip: Get your head in the clouds…
Find a company that always evolves its software. It shouldn’t look like 2001 in there! Also consider a cloud-based solution and have the system updated for you. Nothing for you to do but impress your customers and make your team happy!

Thank you to the CLDA for putting on an excellent Final Mile Forum and Expo event this year. It was wonderful to see friends and customers in the exciting city of New Orleans.

Attending events like the CLDA Final Mile Forum enables us to grow existing relationships and quickly form new ones. We also approach industry events as a chance to improve our products; listening to customers as they describe challenges and opportunities. We look forward to seeing everyone for the 2024 Final Mile Forum in Las Vegas!

If you haven’t attended the CLDA, you’re missing out!

After you migrated to a new software platform and you’re making deliveries with ease, what happens when you need help?

When you need support, you are in a bind with your customer and need help now. Most providers have an automated phone system, leaving you with an empty feeling inside, hoping someone checks the voicemail and gets back to you today. Support is an extension of how the vendor views your relationship with them as the customer.

• How many support techs does the vendor have?
• How much turnover do they have on that team?
• How do they sound on the phone when you call?
• Do you close support cases or do they?
• What are their SLA’s?

For a 24/7 business like yours, you want to find a company that provides live 24/7 support, along with highly trained support techs when you call.

Pro tip: Answering machines don’t have your back…
Look for a company that goes beyond the ordinary when it comes to support. Key Software has a 2-ring policy when customers call. Our phone won’t ring more than twice when you call…Ever!

2022 was a fantastic year for Key Software Systems – not only for our team, but for our customers who trust their business with us. Thank you for choosing Key Software Systems! Great work this year and thank you for being such an integral part of our growth in 2022.

Beyond the hundreds of minor enhancements, we took on some very large projects to put new and exceptional tools in the hands of our customers. Please see below for some insight on 2022 and what is to come for 2023 from our CTO, Chris Miller, our VP of Software Engineering, Brian Repetti and our Integrations Manager, Ted Mozer.

Chris Miller, CTO

For Key Software Systems, 2022 was a year defined by Evolution, Investment and Security.
The release of Xcelerator Oceana advanced our software significantly, allowing customers to enter new markets with innovative features that the competition simply cannot match.
Beyond adding many new capabilities, it was important to evolve and modernize existing modules to add value, improve the user experience and automate tasks.
KSS also made substantial investments in development resources, cloud infrastructure and security initiatives which will continue through 2023. Looking forward to 2023, there’s so much more we’re going to accomplish as we deliver on our commitments and continue to work with our valued customers to identify what is most important for their success today and in the future.

Brian Repetti, VP of Software Engineering

2023 is here and we are ready. This past year we have made large advancements in security, performance, infrastructure, and development resources.
We added new home delivery scheduling features in our Oceana releases. Now we are focused on the next evolution of our software with our upcoming Panama release. In the first release, you will find substantial improvements to Mass Import as well as improvements to Invoicing performance. We have much more planned for the near future so stay tuned.

We’re proud to announce that we’ve made significant investments in our Azure cloud infrastructure and security, ensuring that your data is always safe and secure. Our state-of-the-art technology provides lightning-fast speeds, increased reliability, and unparalleled security measures. Get ready for a seamless experience and peace of mind as you continue to drive your business forward with Key Software.

We are working hard to make sure that your company has the software and backend infrastructure it needs to succeed and grow not just into 2023 but well beyond.

Ted Mozer, Integrations Manager

In 2022, the Xcelerator Integrations Department saw a tremendous influx of integration requests and connections made. Our team met this demand head on, connecting a record number of customers with shippers and automating numerous, previously manual, internal processes.

Outside of connecting our customers with shippers, we have been modernizing our existing integration development processes. This modernization will help to reduce integration timelines even further, which in turn will connect you with your shippers faster than ever before.

To aid in our pursuit to connect you as fast as possible, with as many shippers as possible, we have also invested in additional development resources in 2022 and plan to further expand in 2023.

Looking to 2023 and beyond. We will continue to refine our processes, grow our integrations library, and fuel your business with growth opportunities from shippers who want to automate the delivery process through integrations.

Thank you to our customers for their devotion to innovative technology and for their involvement in working with our teams to transform ideal concepts into powerful, industry-leading solutions.

Fear of change is the #1 reason companies stay with an underperforming software application. The process seems daunting, and it can be, until you have a plan.

• Find an experienced software vendor with a proven track record of successfully moving businesses onto their platform within 30 days.
• Discuss the migration plan at length with the provider to build confidence in the process.
• Get into the details, try not to gloss over them. When you find yourself saying “if” and “just” then you don’t know enough. Keep asking questions.

A company like Key Software delivers the migration plan to you. Incorporating a kick-off call, a project management team, training programs and a go-live prep review, your software migration will be a step-by-step success!

Pro tip: Attitude is everything!
Getting your team excited about moving to a platform that will improve the lives of everyone setting the tone for a successful migration. Highlighting time saved, ease of communication with customers and drivers, while becoming more attractive to new delivery sales opportunities helps ensure that everyone is benefiting with a migration to the new platform.