Our product releases

Personnel at large locations such as distribution centres can use displays and screens to see which vehicles are expected (ETA) and the expected sequence of arrivals. For these arrival displays, in addition to being able to see what is coming in on shipment level (serving cross-dock activities), it is now possible to see what is coming in on truck level (returning from their store replenish activities).

Arrival display UI improvement sorting filter
For all users of the arrival display, the layout and sorting has been improved. All available data fields can now be displayed, filtered and sorted in accordance with your wishes.

A GPS update does not just consist of location information but also contains information on speed, heading, time stamp, etc. Sometimes one or more of these fields has inconsistent or illogical information, for instance a truck doing 200 MpH. In those cases that GPS point is not processed in our ETA calculation. To facilitate easy analysis, transparency and quality improvements in the tracking data we now distinguish in the visualisation of GPS points between processed and unprocessed GPS points. An unprocessed breadcrumb is displayed in light grey and clicking the breadcrumb shows the reason for not processing.

Simacan keeps everyone handling deliveries informed. On top of arrival and shop displays, track-and-trace portals or text messages to end customers, it is now possible to send a SMS to multiple phone numbers for a stop or at a location. Key triggers for such a text message are - for example - the moment of departure or delay of a trip. This SMS text message can contain detailed information about delivery, location, pick-up or drop-off time all while matching the time zone of the location.

The eCMR process in Simacan has been improved. On top of creating, assigning and monitoring a digital consignment note via Simacan, you can now also specify when a digital CMR document is created outside of Simacan. Simacans federated capabilities make it possible to connect to different source systems, so you can collaborate in the same eCMR document with all your supply chain partners.Everyone with their own system and software.

This is particularly relevant when input for the document and distribution is done through different flows and timing, than the creation of the eCMR. This allows you to share information with other systems and stakeholders, while warehouse details remain separate, or are enriched later.

When collaborating with your supply chain partners you can now easily share links to trips, routes, stops or shipments with them. Each link address is unique across operations, thus making sure your supply chain partners end up with the correct and intended information when sharing an url.

Public website Lastmile.info
The first locations with their first and last miles are synchronised in data model OTM5 via DefLog to the test environment of the website Lastmile.info. This is currently not publicly available yet.

Do you want to publicise the best last mile for your location(s)?
You can! Via Lastmile.info, it will soon be possible to share the safest, most sustainable and most efficient last-mile access routes with all your supply chain partners. So, if you are a retailer with locations in areas with many restrictions, window times and/or routes with obstacles? Then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via +31 33 887 4000 or info@simacan.com.

Internal tests with App2track and Trimble are in full swing. The focus is on improvements for smooth handovers to achieve the most user-friendly and integrated experience, from last mile entries by your chain partners to navigation.

In addition to the specific last mile approach route in a trip planning, you can now configure your application in such a way your chain partners gain insights into your locations with all their associated first and last miles. In doing so, editing rights will remain yours but your chain partners are able to see the nuances and latest status of your Master Data.

The introduction of the Notification Center in the Control Tower allows organisations to manage all communication related to the transport operation in one place. You will no longer miss any incoming messages from your drivers, customers or carriers, without disrupting your workflow. We also made it more intuitive to view and respond to conversations. We are gradually rolling out the Notification Center to customers and optimising the user experience based on early feedback.

The Shipment Status now shares insight of a shipment across trips. We clarified which of the shipment actions take place on the selected date and which actions are performed on a different date. Performance enhancements result in faster loading times of shipments in large operations.

We clarified dates in the Trip Detail view in the Control Tower, introducing a bar indicating the date before the first stop and in between stops when there is a date transition. On the map, we now show breadcrumbs in lighter grey for unprocessed gps updates, which were outdated or invalid. Lastly, extensive performance improvements were made to the trip view for a much smoother user experience, with lower processor (CPU) usage.

It has become easier to connect to our OTM5 messages. We provided more detailed clarification on what data to expect. Specifically the fields and values found under ‘externalAttributes’. This way your coding can be done with more simple logic. In these efforts we ensured that our documentation remains always in line with the OTM5 we send out.

The TD matrix is now faster! This enables even larger TD-matrices and thus operations with even more locations, it also improves the lead time for calculating impact on operational changes (like new locations and new last miles). We typically see the time cut in half, but more importantly this enables us to work on new features next year. The TD Matrix is being prepared for the future of logistic planning. To be continued!

The system messages now show additional messages. These messages are created when we process data from a TMS or FMS that enriches the planning. The system messages are now your overview to see who sent planning data. Resulting in a direct accessible overview of all processed planning input, whether from you or your partners.

Operational planners between organisations can now communicate in more detail on the type of vehicle they expect to be used (e.g. electric, panel van, tractor unit, etc). The vehicle type alias can be added in both the requested and actual part of the planning. This makes sure the level of detail required for seamless collaboration between all parties is available through the planning.

Supply chain stakeholders of a groupage trip now have insights into the latest status of their consignment(s) with Simacans Shipment Status. The Simacan platform enables a consignment-based view for execution monitoring derived from orders, ensuring full visibility of the status of a consignment for all involved parties.

Our trip list has received an upgrade which results in faster performance and a fresh look and feel. All to make sure that your trips can be monitored just a bit more efficiently and effortlessly.

The arrival & shop display view, which provides continuous insight into ETAs based on current traffic conditions, is now available off the shelf in API format as per latest OTM5 specifications. Both loading and unloading information on a consignment level is available via API.

Paperless operations with eCMR are now even easier to attain with the integration of App2Track’s flow via our platform. The Simacan APIs for drivers and location employees provide the backbone for your paperless operations.

Operational planners at carriers (with their own vehicles) can now easily view the realised and estimated start and end times for all trips in the new ‘asset view’. This way they gain visual insight into the effect of delays and early arrivals on planned trips.

Simacan satellites - carriers who have a joint access to their shippers’ operation(s) - which are consignor or consignee (e.g a producer of a product) for all consignments on a trip are able to view that trip in its entirety from the triplist. The carrier and satellite are able to chat with one another on the trip. Chat participants can be tagged in the chat not only through their role on the trip, but also through their (actor) name (e.g. @name-producer).

Planning and support employees can now be automatically alerted when we expect the loading/unloading capacity of a location to be exceeded due to the arrival of multiple vehicles at the same time. Responding to the new type of alert means overcrowded locations, and thus additional delays and unsafe situations, may be prevented.

Simacan control tower users will be able to share a control tower page with other control tower users, even if they use a different realm. Making it easier to collaborate more effectively.

As Simacan we monitor trips when they are active and data from the FMS is shared. Since chat messages from drivers are by default only visible to the carrier, we now enabled the chat function just outside the active range in this trip view.

Besides the Trips, Exceptions and Consignment views in the Simacan platform, we now have a new Vehicle view. This vehicle view provides a clear overview of all planned vehicles; planning conflicts are easily spotted, available capacity is visible at a glance and filters can be applied. This enables operational planners to optimise asset utilisation and minimize starting delays based on monitoring insights across fleet management systems.

Location employees can now be informed (individually) when planning is delayed or not starting as scheduled. While there are many options to inform stakeholders via user interfaces or API's, this new step actively notifies employees by texting them with a track-and-trace link to always have the latest information without the need for a login.

The Consignment view in the Control Tower will now support more detailed information on how the consignment is being moved from one location to another for example if it is picked by another trip or vehicle. All loading and unloading actions can also be viewed along with cancelled trips or stops.

This is a product improvement specially for operational planners to view and choose the best possible last mile for delivery. Restrictions on different areas are shown on vehicle type, height, width, length of vehicle, trailer length, weight of the vehicle and axle weight. This improvement also supports the lastmile.info project.

This new feature allows you to create hashtags within the trip chats.The transport managers can hashtag trips with claims or any other important topic and search them later in time. This feature helps to categorise important subjects for future reference. Pre-defined hashtags can also be created by the Simacan team on request. Available for all customers using the Simacan chat API.

It is now possible to have the control tower in different languages. Easy and quick translations are now supported for all Simacan applications.

Dashboards as per your requirement and business needs can now be set up easily and available in the control tower.

New login button is now available on the Simacan website for easy access to all your simacan applications.

There is small UI improvement on the trips which are subcontracted. The icon has been changed to differentiate subcontracted trips from the trips executed by its own fleet. The icon now shows ‘s’.

The Simacan support team is now building a knowledge base portal for all customers to view information as required. It is also possible to manage and view raised tickets as required.

This new view is available in the Simacan Control Tower. It gives all stakeholders such as transport planners, shop and facility managers and drivers real-time access to the location of shipments in transit and their estimated time of arrival, regardless of which truck the shipment is in or which journey it is part of. The overview now provides a very complete and detailed insight, in addition to trip information, and therefore even more transparency.

Integrations with fleet management devices such as Webfleet, Transics, App2Track, LogiApp and Trimble are now available with the Simacan platform to support the driver chat.

It is now possible to have a conversation on the Zendesk ticket raised from the trip within the Simacan Control Tower. All comments and ticket status history will reflect in both Simacan and Zendesk platforms.

With the improved filters on the trip list, the filtering ability becomes even more efficient. Also, there are now more customization options.

The OTM5 planning will now support additional information in the planning such as vehicle information, additional driver information and consignor/consignee information as per the customer requirements.