The Hindu Business Line : PCS forays into logistics solutions with ASP model

PCS Industries Ltd, part of the Patni group, has announced the launch of their application software designed to meet the requirements of the courier and logistics industry.

The Web-based solution apart from integrating disparate systems helps courier companies track consignments and manage information on a real-time basis.

The solution is being offered as an ASP (application service provider) model for both the Indian courier companies and some overseas operators particularly in West and South-East Asia. It would be gradually extended to cover logistics, cargo and transportation.

Mr A.S. Velpanur, Vice-President of the Software Business Unit of PCS, told newspersons that the company has already signed up with three leading courier companies and is close to partnering with four more companies, three of them based in Kerala and one in Mumbai.

"Our solution, trackyourpac.com, was internally developed to meet the company requirements of tracking product movements. When the company was in the process of preparation of this application, it found that there was market potential for such product especially where logistics plays a major role in the business process."

He added: "While major courier companies had their internal IT departments, which over the years had developed software applications for own use, there was still a segment of courier companies that needed an integrated software solution.

"This gap prompted our entry into this domain. There are about 2,000-plus courier companies within the country that offer us opportunity for growth with the ASP model."

Apart from tracking consignments, courier companies can also better manage their internal process with the deployment of this application that integrates the network.

Right from master module, transaction, billing and records and archival and retrieval systems, the entire system is hosted at the company data centre located in Mumbai.

The company has initiated steps for customer contacts for cargo management system, fleet management and tracking system for the logistics as well.