Payne Transportation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, announced that it has implemented Transflo Express truckstop scanning from Pegasus TransTech for its truckload operations. The flatbed and dry van carrier will use Transflo Express to facilitate U.S.-Canadian border crossings as well as speed billing and driver pay. Payne is part of the Mullen Group of companies and operates some 200 units that in large part serve the oil industry.
The company maintains three terminals in Canada as well as one in Houston; many of Payne’s loads are oversize. Thomas McKee, director of driver services for Payne, says that Transflo Express will help the company comply with eManifest, a Canadian government initiative that requires carriers to submit data to the Canada Border Services Agency prior to arrival at a border crossing. Payne currently participates in a similar U.S. Customs and Border Protection program for southbound loads called ACE for Automated Commercial Environment.
Pegasus TransTech says Payne is one of more than a dozen Canadian fleets that have implemented Transflo Express in the last 60 days. Transflo Express provides U.S. and Canadian fleets an opportunity for drivers to scan delivery documents and get proof of delivery back to their fleets. In addition, drivers picking up loads in Canada can scan shipping documents back to their fleets in order for carriers to arrange for customs clearance.
Once fully implemented, CBSA regulations require trade partners for all transportation modes to electronically provide cargo, conveyance, crew/passenger, secondary and importer data to CBSA before arrival at the border. “It’s not mandatory in Canada yet, but when it is, drivers who pick up in the U.S. will send paperwork to us using Transflo Express, then we will forward it to the broker and enter it into the system,” McKee says of the eManifest program. “Whatever that system will look like, it’s probably going to go live in the next year.”
According to McKee, the cost of Transflo Express is a fraction of what it costs to fax documents from the United States to Payne’s Winnipeg headquarters; the savings are particularly beneficial for the company’s revenue owner-operators who must absorb the cost of sending paperwork. “They can spend as much as $80 per month for faxing right now,” McKee says. “Since Payne is now taking care of that cost, they’re ecstatic about it.”
Pegasus TransTech says that with Transflo Express, Payne drivers hand their delivery documents to a cashier for scanning; in seconds, these documents are delivered electronically to Payne headquarters. Transflo Express speeds the flow of paperwork, reducing days-sales-outstanding and increasing cash flow. With more than 800 truckstop locations offering Transflo Express, the service is convenient and does not require fleets to purchase any special equipment. Transflo Express is available at all Pilot, Flying J, and Love’s travel stops, as well as many independent truck stops throughout the United States and Canada.
