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Growing Uses for Tracking Software

A growing number of businesses are using package tracking software in increasingly diverse ways. Our tracking software has developed into a powerful receiving and package management system using a cloud server network and finding uses in all major industries. Here are some of the different ways tracking software is being employed:

Hotels and Resorts: With guests coming and going daily, there is little room for error if a package is lost, damaged or even delayed. Hotels use SQBX to send automatic notifications to a guest when their package arrives. Tracking systems also help hotels generate revenue, since it's much easier to substantiate a room delivery fee if there is proof of delivery.

Law Firms and Consulting Companies: The important nature of the documents in this industry make electronic signature tracking a must. Many a law firm & consulting company has contacted us for a chain of custody system - after they went through the nightmare of losing important documents.

Colleges/Universities: Colleges handle a tremendous volume of student mail and parcel deliveries, and they spend a lot of money paying staff to write down tracking numbers all day. A mail tracking system for these busy mail rooms in order to save time is simply a matter of common sense. Many colleges also loan out laptops and other equipment to students, requiring asset tracking software to prevent loss.

Hospitals/Health Care: Expensive hospital supplies are tracked from the minute they arrive at the loading dock until they are consumed. Electronic signature devices create a chain of custody for private medical records, providing evidence of who had access to these documents. Many independent blood labs have implemented tracking systems to prevent samples from being misplaced or accidentally swapped.

Couriers: Every parcel delivery service has two important steps that need to be documented: when they accept a package, and when they deliver it to the recipient. A shipment tracking system provides this. Some couriers also use hand held devices to communicate new pick ups and deliveries to drivers, making it easy for delivery route planners to operate.

Manufacturing and Repair Facilities: An ingenious application this industry has adapted is to track the progress of an item as it goes through various stages of repair or manufacture. Web based tracking software made this application possible and cost effective because it allows managers to see current statuses of specific items - some even let their customers access the system so they can follow the progress themselves.

Cloud based tracking is here, and gaining popularity fast. Look for computerized tracking software like inbound package tracking, mail delivery tracking, and inventory management software in more and more marketplaces, including your own.

Mail Delivery Software

Have you ever wondered how to bring the same level of tracking and tracing of packages that the major carriers provide into your organization? Mail delivery software is available to businesses of all sizes. Whether you are receiving hundreds of packages per day or only a few precious items, the need to track the receipt and delivery may be a important part of your business operation. Tracking packages internally starts with the receiving process. The carriers drop off packages and collect signatures for their system. Although this is the end of the process for the carriers it is actually the beginning of the process for receivers. First the package tracking number must be recorded. Typically this can be accomplished through the use of a bar code scan. If a tracking number is not present or is unreadable then the receiver must generate unique identifying number to track the package through to delivery. Next, any additional information required must be recorded against that package such as recipient's name, location, who the sender is, and possiblly the type of or condition of the package. Once the package detail is recorded, the package will either be stored or routed for delivery. This is were the application is specific to each organization. Depending on how the package is to be handled will determine the follow steps in the process. Ultimately the package must get in the hands of the end recipient. Whether the package is delivered directly to that person or delivered to a location, the mail clerk must account for delivery either through a signature or a short note that the package was delivered or dropped off. Although this may sound like a difficult process for most businesses; through the use of technology it can be quite seamless. SQBX inbound package tracking system can help automate the steps listed above to provide the level or package management your business requires. Call today to witness the strength of SQBX.

The Benefits of Web Based Inventory Software

We're frequently approached by small
and mid-sized businesses who find themselves facing an unusual but
positive challenge – trying to keep up with their own growth.
Several things tend to occur in a growing business: inventory levels
rise, shipping activity increases, increasingly complex transactions
involve more people, and the need for inventory management software
becomes obvious. The problem is, many shipping businesses think they
have to chose between good software and affordable software, since
they must be two different things.

I'm often surprised to find out how
long a company has held off acquiring inventory control software. By
the time they talk to me there is usually a noticeable weak point in
their operation because they have little or no inventory controls,
slowing them down greatly. That's hardly a good thing for a small
business whose main advantage is to be faster than their larger
competitors. It's easy to recognize a business stuck in this
stage....a receiving desk surrounded by file cabinets, sticky notes
everywhere, lots of double-checking, UPS drivers waiting around for
someone to hand log all the packages they just delivered. Frantic
rush orders are placed with a supplier because an employee went to
ship an item and discovered it was out of stock.

Can you imagine running your bank
account this way? You wouldn't know you were low on funds until
checks started bouncing! Yet, many companies manage their own
inventories in this haphazard fashion. More efficient inventory
control practices, such as JIT (just in time) ordering are out of the
question for these companies, since that requires precise, up to date
knowledge of your supply/demand chain. Without a system to monitor
inventory closely enough to do this, companies have to resort to the
opposite: what I call JIC – just in case - ordering. They have to
overstock and pay for inventory NOW, just in case an order comes
through tomorrow. If there's no order, they end up paying for stuff
they don't need, and may lose track of in a couple of weeks!

But until recently, adapting a
full-blown bar coded inventory system was a huge step, requiring a
lot of capital and several days of interrupted work flow to install.
In addition, companies hope and plan for growth, and they know their
needs will change. Companies at that exciting boom stage need a fast,
inexpensive, computerized inventory system - but they also need a
system that can expand as business grows. After all, it's hard to
justify paying for 10 years on software that will be obsolete in 4 or
5.

Cloud computing is the answer. Like
most technology, software tends to get better and cheaper with
time. That's why cloud computing offers such an advantage over PC
based software. Instead of purchasing the software, users typically
pay a monthly access fee. The software requires no installation,
eliminating work flow stoppages when implementing the system..
Keeping cloud based software updated is a natural process that
happens behind the scenes with no stoppage of work flow and no
additional expense. Web based software evolves; self hosted software
ages.

Zenventory is a prime example of the
advantages of a web based inventory management system. The safety,
affordability, and flexibility are what it was built on. More
information on our web based products are available at
www.ubiquia.com.

SQBX Package Tracking for the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry
-Your receiving area as a profit center-some helpful tips-Part 2

A complete chain of custody
of a guest's package from reception in your receiving area to their
room with a captured signature provides peace of mind for everyone
involved particularly, the guest. How will you offer the same peace
of mind for packages sent out by the guest or group? Reverse package
tracking with delivery management.

You can provide outbound
package tracking with the same software solution and increase
profits. The delivery management software will allow for the creation
of a bar code label for the package. The pick up person can scan in
the bar code and also take a photo to capture the image for the
guest. The package can then be processed by the shipping/receiving
department and require that the carrier (UPS/FedEx) representative
sign for the item, completing the chain of custody. From guest pick
up to carrier signature; the package is trackable. The package can be
searched in all of the many ways any package can be searched, guest
name, tracking number, carrier, date, notes, location, etc. This
information can be searched by any of the property staff who have
authorization for the package tracking software.

In addition, an outbound
shipping module can be added to efficiently process the outbound
packages for any carrier, determined by the guest or the property.
This system will rate shop, add handling charges and track the
packages. It is an effective way to add income, improve the guest
experience and provide an end to end solution.

Find out more about package tracking, delivery management and proof of delivery at SQBX.com.

The hospitality industry -Your receiving area as a profit center - some helpful tips -Part 1

Many properties have a small handling charge for receiving and delivering packages for guests. Managing these charges can be challenging, time consuming and possibly a point of contention with the guest. The income potential is significant and should not be discounted because of these concerns. Best methods would include acquiring a software solution for tracking packages that minimizes these issues and understanding the best ways to reduce the time spent on tracking guest packages based on your property's package tracking and package delivering procedures.

A package tracking software program will pay for itself if it will:

reduce time spent by property personnel tracking packages

enhance and increase guest satisfaction and security

increase staff's ability to be quickly knowledgeable about guest packages

eliminate the possibility of missed charges or proof of delivery

provide the accounting/billing department the ability to easily create complete

billing detail for the guest by package with time, date, received by, etc.

Other solution suggestions include ensuring that the software is simple and easy to use as well as simple and flexible to adapt to your property and changing procedures. Plenty of meaningful reports is also a recommendation. be sure to try out the system live to better understand its capabilities, features and ease of use.

State of the art systems now utilize robust handheld devices that will capture signatures as well as photos (of damaged or mystery packages). They are easy to use, very reliable and will hold up after being dropped or with other minor abuse. Maintenance should include software and hardware coverage. The ability to receive or deliver or receive and deliver without returning to the dock or receiving area will save a lot of time and better serve everyone. Newer technology will also be completely web based, (cloud based is the best) eliminating the need for any software to be loaded on the properties network while requiring zero IT department involvement for the installation or after the sale support. A faster, smoother installation will result and the support will be of the instant chat variety vs. waiting for an day or more for a local repairman.

Since, the income and savings form the system will accrue monthly; a monthly lease will better serve cash flow than an outright purchase and eliminate annual maintenance increases. Will your property also produce income and increase guest service with an outbound shipping system for shipping packages out for your guests? Now is a good time to explore this income source utilized by many well managed hotels and resorts. Part two discusses how to take advantage of this frequently overlooked potential.

Find out more about how package tracking for inbound items can work for you at www.SQBXcloud.com.

New Features Available In Delivery Software

Delivery management software has been around for decades, unfortunately some of the delivery software is starting to show its age. Many makers of mail tracking and parcel tracking software simply do not update their products on a regular basis so if you are in the market for a bar-code application look for some of these new features. Improved delivery route planner, a feature allowing a company with multiple hand held devices to be able to use any of the hand held devices to work any route. Scheduling of e-mails is a huge improvement, allowing you to receive a parcel and schedule sending of an e-mail when you decide. This gives you time to process packages and prepare them for delivery. Alerts are available not only at the receiving station but on the delivery tracking devise as well. One of the newest features in mail delivery software as well as parcel delivery is the ability for messaging between hand held devises. One last new feature is the request for pickup of packages for internal destinations or for processing outbound through a shipping system. There are many more features available for mail tracking and parcel tracking. For more information visit WWW.SQBX.COM

Ground Delivery Maps

It's a the dirty little secret that UPS and FedEx don't want you to know about.....or is it? Did you know that you can achieve next day delivery by using UPS or FedEx Ground? Yup that's right! In many cases a ground package will get to its destination in one day GUARANTEED. In fact by using the ground delivery map you'll notice that ground packages can get to their destination for the most part between 1 and 5 days. This is very useful knowledge whan comparing next day air, second day air, and three day shipments to ground shipping. By doing so you can save several dollars on overnight and second day air packages.

Typically warehouses are in the know about this. But you shouldn't leave this to the warehouse to make the decision. These rules should be built into your busines systems. For example, our solutions automatically rate shop and provide a list of carrier services that will meet a specified delivery date.

Perhaps the biggest offender of overspending on shipping is the office worker unfamilar with delivery comparison. Giving office workers the capability to prepare shipments from their desktop is a license to spend money. So if you're going to do this, ensure that business rules are enforced through your business systems. Most carrier provided systems don't offer this level of control. Ensure your range of shippers from office staff to warehouse operators use systems with business controls built in.

Get you ground delivery maps here:

http://www.fedex.com/grd/maps/ShowMapEntry.do

http://www.ups.com/maps

Receiving with PO numbers vs Receiving with out PO numbers

Receiving can be broken up into two main categories. First, is receiving items that are not tied to a purchase order. These would be packages sent to an individual or department that are not purchased from the organization. Items like over nighted documents, contracts, samples, payments, gifts, etc. Although the items may not directly impact the companies bottom line, it is still important to track these packages once they are received from the carrier through delivery to the end recipient. SQBX inbound package tracking system can help automate that process through the use of mobile computers to scan the bar-code on the package and capture the signature upon delivery.

The other category of receiving would be receiving items that are purchased from your organization and have a PO number that needs to be reconciled with the receipt of the item. This will alert the accounting department to release payment for that item. This is a practice that should be done with all businesses small and large. Purchase order management can be a daunting task if the proper integration is not in place. Quickbooks, the very popular accounting system, does a great on the accounting piece however on the receiving end it is quite limited. SQBX package tracking system has the ability to pull the PO numbers down from your Quickbooks accounting and populate the fields automatically in the receiving system to eliminate key strokes increase productivity. Once the items are received in SQBX the status will be posted back to Quickbooks for accounting to pay that invoice.

Grouping Shipments Fast Order Fulfillment

If you're the type of company that ships mostly the same type of item or perhaps you have batches of shipment that are similar, a batch shipping module in your order fulfillment process might just be the ticket. Our objective is to process shipping labels for multiple, nay, hundreds of packages with a few clicks, than collect the labels from our printer and apply them to the packages.

To determine routing and shipping rates, carriers are primarily concerned with four main factors ; delivery location, dimension, weight, and contents. So for batch shipment processing we need to ensure that the packaging and weight are all the same. The contents may be different as long as no special services need to applied to any particular package i.e declared value. It's ok to apply a special service to a batch process. Just remember that in the batch we assume all packages will get the same special service. For example, it's ok to ship 100 smart phones to 100 different customers and to add declared value (insurance) to each one for $200.00. That means that each package in this shipment have the same packaging, same weight, and same value. Some may have different versions of phones but it doesn't change the weight or value (for shipping purposes). Some systems can print separate packing slips and shipping labels. In many cases it's even more clever to have the packing slip and shipping label combined in one document.

So a batch shipping process might flow like this in Zenventory:

100 customers order Samsung Galaxy S2 Cell Phones

1. Group the cell phone orders for picking and packing in Zenventory.

2. Print the picking slips.

3. Pick the phones into the boxes.

4. Pack verify the orders in Zenventory.

5. Group the packed orders for shipment processing in Zenventory.

6. Acknowledge the weight and special services.

7. Press ship and collect your combination packing slips/shipping labels.

8 Distribute them throughout the packages.

Damaged Packages

What happens when a package comes into your organization that is clearly damaged. Do you accept it, refuse delivery, notify the recipient of the condition or just proceed with your normal receiving process as if nothing were wrong? It is important to log the condition of damaged package as soon as possible, so that there is no confusion as to who was responsible for the damage. One way of documenting the damage is to create a written note that travels with the package to illustrate that the package was received in this state. Another more effective way is to photograph the package, so that the recipient can actually see what has happened to their item. These processes can be automated through the use of a package tracking system that has digital photo taking capability. Here is how the process should go. The damaged package is received by the clerk with a mobile handheld scanner, a photo is taken on the handheld and a quick note is keyed into the device outlining the condition of the package. Next, an email notification is sent directly to the recipient stating that they had received a package and it is in a damaged state. This entire process will take only seconds to complete through SQBX our inbound package tracking system and will remove the liability from the receiver. Parcel tracking systems like SQBX will give you greater control of your mail and receiving centers and provide a greater visibility for your recipients that are expecting packages.

To learn more about how SQBX can assist you in the receiving and documenting of damaged packages please contact us.

SQBX Package Tracking

The hospitality industry - Your receiving area as a profit center - some helpful tips -Part One.

A package tracking software program will pay for itself if it will:

reduce time spent by property personnel tracking packages

enhance and increase guest satisfaction and security

increase staff's ability to be quickly knowledgeable about guest packages

eliminate the possibility of missed charges or proof of delivery

provide the accounting/billing department the ability to easily create complete

billing detail for the guest by package with time, date, received by, etc.

State of the art systems now utilize robust handheld devices that will capture signatures as well as photos (of damaged or mystery packages). They are easy to use, very reliable and will hold up after being dropped or with other minor abuse. Maintenance should include software and hardware coverage. The ability to receive or deliver returning to the dock or receiving area will save a lot of time and better serve everyone. Newer technology will also be completely web based (cloud based is the best), eliminating the need for any software to be loaded on the properties network while requiring very little to zero IT department involvement for the installation or after the sale support. A faster, smoother installation will result and the support will be of the instant chat variety vs. waiting for a day or more for a local repairman.

Find out more about how package tracking for inbound items can work for you at www.SQBXcloud.com.

2012 Improve your work flow with SQBX and Zenventory

Over the past twelve months our development team has been
hard at work in labs designing the most comprehensive package tracking system
on the market. SQBX. Our web based
application has came leaps and bounds from its inception. We have bolted on a multi-carrier shipping
system, so that SQBX can now handle both inbound receiving as well as out bound
shipping. This is not the ordinary
multi-carrier shipping system that resides on a computer. This is an enterprise web based application
that can be accessed at the desk tops of unlimited amounts users. SQBX will provide the global visibility to
track and manage all shipments both inbound and outbound in addition to
enforcing your business rules to ensure the best possible rates are being
selected when a shipment is being generated by the casual shipper.

We have also be redeploying our inventory management
software Zenventory to the smaller business segments. Zenventory provides the robust features of an
enterprise inventory management solution at an affordable price for the small
business owners. For those that need an
enterprise system with shipping integration, we have that covered as well. Our shipping experts can work with your team
to establish business rules to minimize your shipping expenditures while
integrating every thing seamlessly through your inventory and purchase order
management system Zenventory.

Give us a call today to learn more about the power of SQBX
and Zenventory.

NACUMS and Package Tracking Software

This is an exciting month for the team here at SQBX. We will be attending the Nacums (national association for college and university mail services) conference in Nashville Tennessee from July 17-20th. Please feel free to visit our booth 13 on the trade show floor. We will be conducting live demonstrations of the our powerful web based package tracking solution SQBX. In addition to exhibiting, our chief systems architect will conducting an educational seminar discussing the benefits of cloud computing and how it relates to the university mail center. SQBX for those of you out there that are not familiar with our product is the world's first and fastest 100% cloud based package tracking solution. Being that the system resides on the cloud, there is minimal impact to your IT staff, but will provide you with the enterprise solution that can handle even the most demanding receiving environments. We pride ourselves on high level of service as well as staying ahead of the pack by constantly improving our solution. Inbound package tracking has never been easier, and your experience will never be better than when working with us here at SQBX. We look forward to seeing at the conference in July.

Vehicle Tracking

Ever wonder why it takes so long for your employees to complete a relatively simple task when they leave the building or facility? SQBX vehicle tracking is the answer. We are able to track and trace the status of your fleet of vehicles. By embedding a GPS device into the diagnostic port of your vehicle we will give you the eye in the sky to manage the activity of your drivers. We can create geo-fences against a map and alert you when your drivers are out of bounds. The powerful reporting engine can present data such as speed, ignition on or off, stop time, fuel consumption, RPM, hard break events, and point to point location. Increase driver safety and reduce expenses by monitoring the activities of your drivers when they are out of your sight. This system can by coupled with our package tracking solution in order to get a real time view of where a particular package is when it is in transit. Are your vehicles being used for the personal benefit of your employees outside of work responsibilities? Put an end to unauthorized use through the watchful eye of SQBX vehicle tracking software solution.

Universtities and Package Tracking

Colleges as Universities are tasked with the job of handling, sorting, and storing packages for their student body and faculty. This can be a daunting task depending on the size of the school, mail room staff, and space available. SQBX is the ideal solution for college mail centers. Our system can quickly scan packages upon receipt from the carriers, locate the position or mailbox of the recipient from the database, inform the mail staff of any special instructions, notify the recipient of the package, and notate the storage location of that package. This will process can be done in a matter of seconds with the use of a hand held scanner or mobile computer coupled with the powerful think engine of SQBX. We have taken email notification to the next level. Our system can schedule notifications to be sent on a scheduled basis. For instance, SQBX will send a 1st notification upon receipt of the package, a second notification 2 days after the first notification, a 3rd notification 2 days after the 2nd and a final notification 2 days after the 3rd. These events or emails can be customized to meet the needs of the particular school. SQBX inbound package tracking system can even send these notification directly to the recipients cell phone via text message. This is an industry first. Please stay tuned to learn more about some of our innovations in the student mail center that have made SQBX the package tracking system of choice by many large and small learning institutions across the country.

Point to Point Shipping and Tracking

Our developers here at Ubiquia have been hard at work designing the latest enhancement to our SQBX line of tracking solutions. We have created a true point to point tracking system for inter-office mail. Here is how it works. The originator can create a shipment directly from their desktop through our web based shipping portal. This will give the originator the option to rate shop the package to ensure the lowest possible rate to meet their delivery objective. Once the rate is selected, they can print a shipping label to affix to the package. At this time, a pick up request will be sent to the mailing staff that there is a pending shipment ready to be picked up. When the mail courier picks up the package from the originator or sender they will scan the package in as picked up and this is the beginning of the tracking process. If the package is traveling by common carrier like UPS or FedEx you will be able to see the shipment status directly in SQBX even though it is outside of the boundaries of your organization. Once the package lands at it's destination and scanned in as received, this status will be visible to both the recipient as well as the sender. The package will finally be delivered to the end recipient and signed for which is the final step in the tracking process. The system will provide complete visibility to both the recipient and the sender as to the current status of a particular package. Call today and request a live demonstration on our Point-to-Point package tracking system and see for yourself the POWER OF SQBX.

Point to Point Tracking and Shipping

We are pleased to introduce you to our latest member of the SQBX tracking family. We have taken SQBX to a level that is heads and shoulders above the competition. SQBX inbound tracking system now has the capability of creating pick up requests directly at the desktop of the end users. They will be able to create shipments inside SQBX using our powerful rating engine and schedule a pick up from the internal mail staff to get into the mail stream. These shipments can be internal mail documents using the companies mail delivery personnel or the shipment can be created so that it goes through common carriers like UPS and FEDEX. The process does not stop there. SQBX will now send an email to the end recipient acknowledging that the shipment has been picked up and all of the steps in the process can be scanned and tracked much like what you would find on the FEDEX tracking screens.

This is an ideal application for large organizations that would like to track internal mail pieces within their organizations.