Like many of the tools Austin Henderson has created during his 13-year career in transportation, QCSync started out by analyzing a gap in the level of integration between transportation management software systems and the Qualcomm Services Portal.
QCSync was designed to automate the workflow of creating and maintaining current vehicle and driver information in the Qualcomm Services Portal, says Henderson, director of IT infrastructure and innovation for FirstFleet in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
“You run the process as often as you like, and the tool will pull details of vehicles and/or drivers and push them to Qualcomm so that the changes are reflected on their portal,” Henderson says. “The goal of this tool is to keep a real person from having to login at www.myqualcomm.com to make changes for asset management.”
The tool is built to work as a single executable file that is packaged with a few supporting files. The functions that QCSync presently supports are:
• Create Unit
• Change MCT
• Change Performance Monitoring Manager Group
• Change Performance Monitoring Type
• Create Driver
• Change Driver – Name & Password
• Change Driver Performance Monitoring Manager Group
• Delete Driver – Those that exist at Qualcomm but not in the TMS environment due to terminations, etc.
The tool is designed to pull data from any MSSQL database or a flat file. QCSync is available for $3,500, which includes access to additional features in future versions at no cost. Any custom enhancements that are sponsored by individuals will become optional features for the entire user base across the lifecycle of the tool, he says.
“The project isn’t cheap, and you may be wondering why this is the case,” Henderson says. “The situation is that the tool is highly specialized, and there is a narrow market for the consumption of a tool like this.”
Henderon says his sole purpose for QCSync and other projects is to sponsor the adoption of a child for his family. “This is a costly engagement, but it is a goal for my family that we earnestly desire to achieve. It is my conviction in my professional life that I would gladly pay this sum or more for a tool that accomplishes all that this tool enables.”
Henderson can be reached at [email protected]
