New product simplifies reading and recording of PODs

Custom-developed recognition tool Alan Peat FOR THOSE in the freight industry with problems reading and recording POD (proof of delivery) documents, BRAIL (barcode recognition and image listing) - a new product just launched by the Microsoft development house, Quartz IT - might be just the answer. This is a custom-developed POD recognition tool that scans and reads both the POD document and any of its relevant bar codes and automatically records them into the database. It is operated by two distributed modules Ð one for reading and one for validating. The reader module will perform the actual bar code recognition while the validator will be used for capturing unread barcodes. The initial system comes with one reader and one validator but is upgradeable to 20 of each for high volume environments. "The majority of companies in the market don't have a mechanism to get these files read and recorded," said Quartz development manager Richard Davis. "Most of them will be using hand-held barcode readers, but these don't scan the whole document as well. Retrieving the entire document for customer queries usually results in a paper chase." The new Quartz recognition tool, however, scans the whole POD and its barcode and can then electronically transfer the data to specific users or departments within the user company for validation or retrieval. An additional module allows for the information to be instantly recalled through the Internet where queries arise. "We are initially niche marketing this into the courier/express industry," Davis told FTW, "where POD recording is an essential part of the business. "But it is also viable for any other companies working the freight market, and who have volumes of PODs to read and record."