Same pallet, two screens, two chances to get it wrong
Your office runs two systems side by side. The network portal is where consignments must go to be labelled, trunked and tracked. Your own system, whether it is a transport package, an accounts package or a large spreadsheet, is where you invoice customers, plan local collections and keep your records.
So every booking is entered on one and then copied to the other. Weight on one says 480, on the other 840. A postcode is corrected on the portal but not in your system. At month end the invoice run pulls from your system and the network's charges pull from theirs, and the two never match without an afternoon of checking.
Two systems with no bridge between them
The network's portal is designed for the network: routing, labels, tracking. Your own system is designed for your business. Neither was built to talk to the other, and member depots are left to be the bridge.
- Some portals offer file imports or exports that nobody has set up.
- Some offer an API for members, which needs development to use.
- Your own system may accept imports that are never used.
- Without either, staff copy and paste, which invites typing errors.
The cost of every booking twice
Double keying is slow, but the bigger cost is disagreement. When the two systems hold different weights, sizes or services for the same consignment, you either bill the customer less than the network bills you, or bill them wrongly and spend time on the credit note.
It also makes the office fragile. The staff who know the quirks of both screens are hard to cover when they are off.
How we connect the portal and your system
- We look at what the network portal offers members: API, scheduled export, file import or reports, and what your own system can accept.
- We choose one place for staff to enter bookings, usually the one with the better screens, and push the booking to the other automatically.
- Where only exports are available, we read them on a schedule and update your system with anything created or changed on the portal.
- A comparison runs daily on weight, size band, service and postcode, and lists any consignment where the two disagree.
- Differences are corrected on one side by a person, and the change is logged.
- At month end the same comparison runs across the whole period before invoices go out.
| Field | Common mismatch | What the check does |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Digits swapped or estimated | Flags big differences |
| Size band | Half on one, full on the other | Flags any difference |
| Service | Upgraded on one only | Flags for pricing |
| Postcode | Corrected in one place | Flags for zone change |
If the network portal offers no way in or out beyond manual screens, we will tell you before doing anything else.
After the systems are joined
Staff enter a booking once. The copy in the other system appears without anyone touching it, and when something differs the list tells you. The month-end check becomes a short review rather than a day of cross-referencing.
New staff learn one screen, not two.
Signs this is your office
- Every consignment is typed into two systems.
- Customer invoices and network charges rarely agree first time.
- Only certain staff know how both systems work.
- Imports or exports exist on the portal but nobody uses them.