Connecting Kinetic to the Podfather logistics platform
Enabling smooth two-way hand-off between Kinetic order management and the software that handles delivery
Challenge
When an external system handles a vital business process, Kinetic needs completely reliable and transparent data exchange with that system.
Outcome
Kinetic deals as well as ever with all internal functions, and Podfather takes over effortlessly for actual delivery.
Our client is a quarry group, not a typical user of Epicor Kinetic. They sell aggregates, asphalt and ready-mix concrete, which means their processes for manufacture and delivery differ from the conventional ones assumed in the ERP.
As part of their initial implementation we had already created a custom one-step dispatch system on top of Epicor's Customer Shipment module, to deal with the fact that, for them, shipment involves a heavy goods vehicle waiting outside a weighbridge window, not a packing desk and arrangement with a courier.
So when they chose a proof-of-delivery and logistic management software platform to replace paperwork with web monitoring and mobile apps, they came back to META eight to make sure it worked with their Kinetic system.
The requirement
Podfather is a comprehensive cloud system for handling fleet operations, logistics planning, route optimisation and ePOD. As such, it is complementary to Epicor Kinetic with little overlap. There is an extensive and capable API, naturally, but there had not previously been any integration with Kinetic.
The need, as ever, for our client, was for zero friction at the point of dispatch. They needed to be able to work from their existing dashboard of orders, click a button, and have all details transferred immediately to the Podfather system, the driver pick it up on their app and be able to depart. The status of the shipment should change within Kinetic once the delivery was made, and documents transfer back to the Kinetic system. Invoicing should only become possible once delivery and receipt was confirmed.
The approach
We have a standard proven approach for integrations with Kinetic and we followed it in this case too. Data matching, wherever possible, is done via BAQs so the source, calculation and destination are all clear to system admins without having to look in code. The actual integration itself, the calls to and from the external system, are all handled from one Epicor Functions library, so the exchange surface is contained and manageable.
In this case, the data exchange was two-way, but only to be triggered from within the Epicor system, so there was no need to provide endpoints inwards.
Podfather works with its own data structures, including customers, addresses, vehicles, drivers etc, so with the client we established which elements would be synced between the systems, and which standalone, and how to handle the differences in data structure. As a result, with the functions library and some BPMs, any addition, edit or deletion of, for example, a customer, would ensure that Podfather received the update to work with. Addresses needed handling for both saved versions and "one-time" ones stored only on the sales orders.
For vehicles, it was decided to manage them only on Podfather, and a BAQ created in the Kinetic system that calls on the Podfather records to create dropdowns within the Kinetic UI.
They were to continue to use their dedicated dashboard for dispatch. Instead of, as previously, the "Dispatch" button creating a shipment and marking it shipped, it would create the shipment, leave it unshipped, and hand off all data to Podfather. This involved ensuring that all relevant data was up to date and immediately updating if it was stale, creating and allocating the run, and selecting the delivery template for the type of job. The driver would then receive it on their dedicated app and fulfil the delivery from there.
Another function, on a schedule, was set to poll the Podfather system for updates on delivery status, and any completed shipments set to shipped, ready to invoice.
The final piece was to retrieve the delivery documents. The client uses the DocStar document management system, so the Kinetic function fetches the Podfather PDF proof of delivery, uploads it to DocStar, and sets it as an attachment to the shipment in the Epicor system.
The outcome
From the view of the users, this is all very simple.
They can select a Podfather-stored vehicle from within the Kinetic dashboard, and set the delivery to dispatched. The driver confirms they have the details on their app, and it's done.
When the customer signs for the delivery, marking it complete, the Kinetic system picks the fact up. Within minutes, the office can see it's ready to invoice and view the documents if needed.
Can we put a value on META eight's work here? No, not directly. The efficiency is undeniable, but it largely comes from the Podfather system. Our part in it was as an enabler.
So there are no hard facts to offer on benefits. However, some months later, the client offered this comment:
"This was our most successful project ever. Not a single person complained!"
And if you know, you know. For an integration, that's the best commendation.