New Firms Offer IT Alternatives to Carriers
Trucking companies weighing investments in information technology often have two choices: Buy the hardware and software and then hire the personnel to run the system, or outsource the job to someone else.
Now there may be a third option: Buy the technology and logistics services as needed from an application service provider on the Internet.
Just as leasing a truck or trailer saves up-front capital costs and spares the expense of maintaining equipment, Web-based enterprises are providing inexpensive access to information technology and logistics software in which customers pay only for what they use. Several such operations, called application service providers, have focused their services on trucking — a potential boon for small carriers lacking the deep pockets of their bigger competitors.
One of the first companies offering “a la carte” services is Pegasus TransTech, which has launched Transflo.com to provide online document imaging on a transactional basis.
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For the full story, see the Sept. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
