Please visit our new TrackAbout Knowledge Base at https://supportkb.trackabout.com for the most-up-to-date documentation on TrackAbout and TrackAbout Mobile.
Bulk Deliveries & Forecasting
Overview
The Bulk Delivery and Forcasting Module is used to track deliveries of bulk products (liquid CO2, liquid oxygen, etc) into tanks at customer sites.
Getting Started
Mobile Data Collection: Tank Initialization
This data is collected during the initial setup of a bulk tank in TrackAbout.
- Item# (The part number of the tank)
- Owner of tank
- Barcode Number
- Serial Number
- Customer Number (Where the tank in installed)
- Total Capacity/Volume
- Install Date
Mobile Data Collection: Bulk Delivery
This data is collected during the filling of a bulk tank
- Timestamp
- Person logged into handheld
- Tank barcode number or serial number
This is used to determine the customer number
- Weight or volume of bulk gas delivered
Optional checkbox to exclude this fill from normal usage calculations – It was leaking, I didn’t fill it all the way, etc
- Signature
- Signer’s Name
This is not shown above, but it is possible to also enter an order number. In the example below the TrackAbout handheld is creating the order number during the delivery.
This is also not shown above, but it is possible to deliver more items than just the bulk product. For instance barcoded cylinders may also be delivered on the same order along with the bulk product.
Mobile Printing
During the delivery process the user can print a delivery confirmation. Today this is done on a 4 inch wide rugged mobile printer connected to the handheld via Bluetooth wireless technology, but this could be done on other printers as well.
The printout looks like the example below. The logo at the top of this receipt is editable as are the text at the top and bottom of the document.
Delivery Forecasting
This feature predicts when bulk tanks will need to be filled based on historical usage patterns.
The only forecasting model supported today is a weighted average of the most recent 5 filling cycles. Each customer can be assigned to a different forecasting model.
A forecast report allows users to view bulk tanks with planned delivery dates in the near future.
Integration
The data collected during deliveries can be integrated back into an existing business system. There are a variety of technical mechanisms availible for this integration. Please contact TrackAbout for more information on integration options.