Software specialist launches shipping management system

MACRO 2000, the Cape Town-based software specialist, is charting a new course, with the introduction of a system aimed specifically at the shipping industry. This is in addition to its traditional warehousing and logistics packages in the market place. The offering is called the Shipping Management System, an extension of integrated modules from previous programmes but incorporating the latest technology which is described as a “practical tool” for getting things done and reporting on progress. “We started talking to customers throughout South Africa and realised there was a whole market out there which no one had really addressed before,” says marketing executive, Anthea van Breemen. She points out that the shipping and logistics sector is continually evolving to include new functions. The new system will make management change and flow easier to control. Macro 2000’s Shipping Management System includes management of the complete shipment file, shipping instructions, quotations and estimates,shipment workflow, full voyage management and documentation, interfacing to the warehouse management, transport management, container and LCL management, invoicing and disbursement management. An integral part of the shipment management involves invoicing, with invoices generated per shipment and automatically linked to the quotation. Fully integrated is the transport management system which controls trucks and containers in and out of the yard, routing and planning, printing of transport orders and automatic generation of costing and invoicing. The system includes rules for calculating the value to be recovered from the customer. Founded in 1978, Macro 2000 was initially involved in software for the textile, clothing, footwear and general manufacturing sectors before starting to focus in the mid-1990s on warehousing and logistics. The Shipping Management System, for which Van Breemen reports keen interest, is compatible with all available modules and comes in a lease option ranging from around R4 000 to R20 000 a month.