|
In
an attempt to widen its outreach and
benefit from the increased
application of IT in freight
transportation, KTM Bhd, has
developed an electronic booking
system for its freight services.
The
general manager of KTMB general
manager (freight services division)
Abdul Radzak Abdul Malek said KTM
would be the first railway operator
in the region to introduce e-freight
services which based on the
web-based application.
"We
have identified the requirements and
framework of the rail e-freight
system. If every thing goes well, we
may run our system with pilot user
by August this year and fully
operational by end of this
year," said Radzak.
The
system generally contained two types
of information - first will be the
general information on freight
timetable and general information,
which will be mainly of interest to
the general public.
The
second will be the operational
information, which will be benefit
rail shippers or block train
operators.
“This
will include features like wagon
requisition, query on invoice and
wagon status, creation of on-line
consignment note, creation of online
invoices, and query on customers
credit balance,” said the general
manager of information technology
department, Shafiin Yunus.
Shafiin
highlighted the advantage of the
e-freight system and its business
process in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Shafiin
said that the e-freight system
allows shippers to make electronic
bookings, request for wagons,
monitor the position of wagon and
subsequently make payments
electronically from their premises.
He
said the system saves shippers time
and cost since they no longer have
to call officers for confirmation of
wagon or even having to physically
go to any railway station to handle
their consignments.
"One
of the most interesting features of
the e-freight is its ability to
track the position of wagon on real
time along our national grid,” he
said.
“We
are working very closely with Thai
counter part to harmonise the system
to ensure that the information flow
will be smooth when our train
crosses the border," said
Shafiin.
Meanwhile
Radzak said the harmonisation of
information flows between Malaysia
and Thai counter part would reduce
delays in the transportation chain.
“KTM
Bhd has had several discussion on
this issue and hopes that Thai
railway authorities would be able to
iron out all other minor problems
and utilise our wagon tracking
system,” he added.
Radzak
said the added feature of tracking
and monitoring would eventually
raise the usage of rail as one of
the preferred mode of transport.
The
e-freight will also be developed to
create an e-mail notification system
where users can get immediate rate
and price quotations by providing
information on the type of
commodity, weight and other freight
details.
|
