Where's my car? With Web-based tracking and tracing options, railroad shippers can answer that question easily with a click of a mouse

Railway Age, Nov, 2003 by Marybeth Luczak

Who among us hasn't enjoyed being able to track and trace our orders from such Websites as BarnesAndNoble.com? This value-added feature puts us in the driver's seat from the moment we place our order for the latest $29.95 best-seller to the moment it arrives on our doorstep. So, it's not surprising that rail shippers expect a similar option from the Class I's and small roads that transport their commodities for nearly $42 billion a year. Not only can rail customers monitor inbound and outbound shipments on the Web (in real-time) for inventory management purposes, they can provide draymen with advance notification of trailer or container arrival and streamline the shipment process by eliminating telephone calls to rail customer service centers for information.

Tracking and tracing is just one in a suite of Web-based tools--including pricing and sending rail shipment instructions and bill paying--that railroads now offer. Through AEI (automatic equipment identification) tag readers, each railcar's location is relayed to railroad computer systems, and can be viewed online or sent via EDI (electronic data interchange) to a shipper's own system. Intermodal or carload shippers simply enter a single car number, fleet of numbers, or unique shipment numbers into their rail carrier's e-business site to find out where their products are en route (even if the products transfer to another rail carrier's line). Multiple deliveries over several rail lines can be traced through Railinc's Steelroads.com site, which provides car location and status information from more than 400 railroads.

While many shippers have installed fleet management software and hired third-party logistics providers to track their goods over the years, others are coming to appreciate the online self-service options that the railroads began providing more recently. Following is a sampling of what both large and small roads are offering.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

BNSF offers shippers "iPower," an integrated set of Web-enabled tools for scheduling, managing inventory, paying freight bills, and tracing and tracing shipments on up to 300 cars. Shipments can be tracked via waybill or equipment numbers, and unique identification number, such as a purchase-order number or SKU. Customizable reports are available to analyze data.

"Tracking and tracing is our most popular Internet tool," says Kathleen Kummant, vice president of business development for BNSF, who reports that several thousand user-IDs have been issued to its shipping customers. "From the dawn of time, customers have had an appetite for knowing where their shipments are. Whether their requests came to us via postal mail, telephone, fax, or email, a lot of time was absorbed by customers and railroads' customer service centers to get that information. Now we've opened up access to that data, which is more efficient for all of us. Over the last few years, this service has helped shippers manage their inventories, as well. A Wal-Mart rep, for instance, can see the flow of goods headed into the eight regional distribution centers he is charged with. Let's say he plans to bring a trailer to our facility in Chicago and there is a five-day commitment to deliver that trailer to his distribution center in Los Angeles. BNSF makes a commitment to move the trailer from Chicago to our L.A. facility in three and one-half days, and a motor carrier is scheduled to receive and deliver it to Wal-Mart. That motor carrier can use our online tracking tool to find out if the shipment is delayed, which would put his commitment in jeopardy. We report, on an exception basis, any shipments that miss ETA, so they can be redirected, if necessary."

BNSF can also send tracking information via EDI to shippers' computer systems. "Typically shippers who choose this option are more sophisticated in the automation process and managing their overall inventory, as they have spent a great deal of IT dollars to query and analyze information themselves," says Kummant. (Even if shipper EDI systems are not compatible with the Class I's, Transentric's Agilink[R] intelligent messaging service maps, converts, and delivers EDI communications seamlessly.) "We're becoming more than just a transportation company," Kummant sums up. "We're becoming a supply chain solution company, providing the information our customers need to be more efficient, in a format they want."

CN

CN's "Velocity powered by CN" e-business tool lets shippers plan loading operations, order equipment, send shipping instructions, release loads, check on car status, and find out which cars are en route to their facilities or ready to load. For those shippers with inventory management tools of their own, CN sends tracking information through EDI for automatic updates.

"More customers are requesting shipment tracking services than ever before," says Anita Ernesaks, vice president, e-business for CN. "They're looking for something that's available 24/7, in real-time, and in a format they can use. They can schedule reports and receive them via email to analyze. Shipment tracking not only helps with resource planning and inventory management, it allows our customers to provide better service to their own customers."