Vector, a mobile-first workflow and transportation management platform, has announced Vector Back Office solution to help carriers and shippers streamline data entry. It combines Vector’s industry-leading smartphone scanning app with intelligent processing to automatically fill data into documents.

“Smartphones are very intuitive to use and integrate with existing systems -- making complex tasks extremely easy,” said Brian Belcher, Vector’s COO and co-founder.

“We built our platform to be used in conjunction with smartphones and the result is simplified document handling and creation for drivers and back office staff. This combination of a scanning app built specifically for the trucking industry, and an intelligent, automatic document management system, provides a highway-to-back-office solution that’s faster, simpler to use, and more customizable than anything the industry’s seen before.”

According to Belcher, Vector Back Office “reads” all of the information in scanned images; whether it’s a printed document, handwritten notes, Scantron sheet, bar code, or data table, it’s identified and indexed. This is particularly useful for rendition billing.

“Vector Back Office knows and detects all the information each shipper needs to have in its invoicing materials -- even requirements that are unique to each specific customer -- and gathers and includes it everywhere it’s needed,” said Belcher.

“For example, invoicing one shipper may require a bill of lading as well as other documents, such as an unloading receipt and/or a scale ticket for reimbursement -- Vector makes sure that’s all included in the invoice. Vector streamlines all data entry, and allows customer invoicing to go from days to minutes.”

Through Vector, document templates are developed with each customer.  Templates can be highly customized or very straightforward.

“Then a document, matched to the template -- such as a bill of lading -- is scanned through a camera phone, or office scanner,” said Belcher. “Once the image is opened, the template ‘sees’ the information and automatically populates the data into the document. Vector even ‘learns’ a company’s workflows, as well as the requirements each particular shipper might have.”

Belcher said Vector takes a true pain point away from fleets.

“The trucking industry has long been a paper-intense industry -- traditional operations classify and organize freight documents,” he said.

“But with our system, there is no more shuffling mailed-in paper, faxes, or having to manually sift through and index document scans coming in piecemeal via lots of different emails. This eliminates the need for manual entering of information and cuts down dramatically on data errors. It’s fast and efficient and represents the new age in the digitization of the supply chain.”

Vector Back Office is turnkey, according to Belcher.

“Information can be easily integrated with a customer’s API system to pull billing data to create invoices. And digital documents are stored securely in the cloud, and always easily searchable and instantly accessible by anyone who needs them.  No more back rooms with file cabinets loaded with documents.”

https://withvector.com/overview