TMW Systems has released version 8.0 of TL2000 for carriers and logistics services firms operating on the IBM System i (AS/400) platform. The latest release of TMW’s robust operations and dispatch software for the IBM operating system is the result of more than 20 years of continued investment and development, the company says.
According to TL2000 General Manager Ray West, version 8.0 saw significant development and extensive beta testing during the first eight months of this year. “Customers are excited about the additional power and improved features of this latest version,” West says. “Both new customers for the system and our vibrant TL2000 user community, which includes many influential carriers, report greater operational efficiencies with the additional capabilities found in version 8.0.”
Delivery of TL2000 software now will transition to a new rolling release model that delivers product enhancements and new features more quickly while reducing total cost of ownership for customers, the company says. West, who also directs product management for TMW Systems, says the most recent release features key enhancements driven by the work of the TL2000 Customer Steering Committee; this TMW-sponsored product advisory group has a rotating membership of 15 active customers who meet regularly to direct ongoing development and improvements for TL2000.
According to the company, notable improvements in version 8.0 include error-checking for driver-entered data in mobile communications, easier edits to correct dispatch data and enhanced application security and configuration features, such as company-level menu authority.
Extending the utility of TL2000 through Web applications is also a significant area of growth with a number of milestones on the horizon, the company says. Leveraging TMW’s next-generation .NET platform and cross-platform development team, the company is planning to offer multiple applications based upon a standardized Web framework to TL2000 customers over the next several months; the first of these applications – DriverSeat, CarrierHub and eStat 2.0 – extend the TL2000 system to users outside a company’s walls via the Web.
DriverSeat, now available for TL2000, focuses on a company’s drivers and owner-operators. CarrierHub, available for TL2000 in early 2009, extends connectivity to a company’s brokered carrier base. A newly enhanced eStat 2.0 offers self-service opportunities for shippers.
Other activities planned for TL2000 include improved integration with TMW’s optimization solutions, IDSC ExpertFuel and IDSC MatchAdvice, to help minimize fuel purchase costs and optimize power-to-load-matching. Increasingly, TL2000 customers also are taking advantage of TMW’s commercial-grade Asset Maintenance Software, TMT Fleet Maintenance for System i.
