FAQs - C3 Reservations™

Frequently Asked Questions

• How much do we need to involve IT? Does the product function without integration?
• Can we integrate purchase order information into the system? What format do you support (do you support EDI)?
• Is C3 Reservations compatible with SAP?
• Can C3 Reservations update our companies business systems?
• Most other appointment scheduling systems that I have seen only handle inbound receiving, does C3 Reservations deal with outbound appointments?
• Can we gradually roll-out the system?
• How Does C3 Reservations handle Vendor Report Carding or Vendor Compliance?
• How long does it take to implement C3 Reservations?
• My carriers often bill me for driver detention. How can I monitor if my carriers are on time for their appointments or not?
• What does the vendor do if it knows that it will not be able to ship the product that it initially set the appointment for?
• How will my carriers know if I make a change to an existing appointment? Do I need to call them?
• How do we justify the purchase of the system i.e. what does the system cost?
• I noticed the time slice on your schedule is one hour, how does the system calculate the duration of the load?
• Is there a special training for carriers and vendors?
• Can we limit which appointments the carrier sees on the web portal?
• Does C3 Reservations support multiple sites?
• What kind of support and maintenance is provided?
• The labels that are on the screen are not pertinent to my business. How complicated is it to change the labels so they mean more to me?
• Would it be possible to try the system before we purchase it?

Answers

1. How much do we need to involve IT? Does the product function without integration?

C3 Reservations is a hosted solution that is accessible over the internet. Therefore your IT department will not need to purchase any specialized hardware or software and they will not need to administer a new software system. You will access C3 Reservations with a standard web browser. Minimum browser requirements can be found here.

C3 Reservations functions as a standalone system, therefore it functions without integration. There are definite benefits to an integrated solution however these benefits need to be compared to the costs of sending or receiving data to and from C3 Reservations.

2. Can we integrate purchase order information into the system? What format do you support (do you support EDI)?

Yes, purchase order information can be integrated into C3 Reservations. C3 allows for the creation, update and deletion of purchase orders by external systems. C3 supports three different means of receiving purchase order information, they are:

• Web Services
• FTP File transfers
• Microsoft Excel uploads

For customers that require a dynamic and seamless integration in C3 Reservations, C3 recommends its Web Services interface.

C3 does not support any specific EDI transactions at this time.

3. Is C3 Reservations compatible with SAP?

Via its Web Services interface C3 Reservations is able to be seamlessly integrated into SAP, however C3 Reservations is not a certified SAP system.

4. Can C3 Reservations update our companies business systems?

Yes, C3 Reservations provides outbound integration into external systems via web services and FTP file transfers.

5. Most other appointment scheduling systems that I have seen only handle inbound receiving, does C3 Reservations deal with outbound appointments?

Yes, C3 Reservations handles outbound appointments. Any specific site can be setup to handle inbound and/or outbound appointments. All of the constraints that can be used to define an inbound shift can also be used to define an outbound operation.

6. Can we gradually roll-out the system?

Yes, and C3 encourages that customers roll out the system at a rhythm that makes sense for their operation. For example, at start-up a customer may decide to have only their largest carrier or supplier use the web portal to begin with. This allows the business to get comfortable with the business processes and make any adjustments before any large scale changes are made. As the process is streamlined other carriers can be gradually be added onto the system.

7. How Does C3 Reservations handle Vendor Report Carding or Vendor Compliance?

Vendor & Carrier compliance is an essential component of a Dock Scheduling system. C3 Reservations allows you to capture, analyze and report on faults attributed to various aspects of a vendor/carrier appointment. These faults can range from the simple tracking of on-time deliveries to complex metrics regarding load compliance. C3 Reservations is then capable of taking all this data and automatically generate compliance reports on a regular basis to provide to all parties involved. This ensures you have the necessary tools and data to efficiently monitor your vendor and carrier compliance.

8. How long does it take to implement C3 Reservations?

Depending on the size of operation a C3 Reservations implementation can be as quick as 1 week. On average it will take between 2 to 3 weeks, but again it depends on the size of the operation and the overall scope of the implementation.

9. My carriers often bill me for driver detention. How can I monitor if my carriers are on time for their appointments or not?

In order to monitor your carriers' compliance, you can use the built-in Carrier Report Card which provides direct access to a carrier's performance against it's own past and even against other carriers. Can't find the information you need in the built-in report card? No problem! Our fully customizable reporting engine allows you to extract the exact data that you want. You can then create your own report cards based on this data and using a familiar tool like Excel.

10. What does the vendor do if it knows that it will not be able to ship the product that it initially set the appointment for?

If a vendor or carrier knows that they will not be able to make an appointment or even if they realize they will be shipping less product than initially intended, they can very simply go to the web portal and request an amendment to their appointment. As part of the amendment process they will be requested for a reason code and they will also be able to request an alternative date if relevant.

11. How will my carriers know if I make a change to an existing appointment? Do I need to call them?

No, you do not need to call or email your carriers or vendors when you change an appointment. When the business makes an amendment to the appointment a system generated email will automatically be sent to all the parties involved. This includes, the vendor, the carrier and the business as well.

12. How do we justify the purchase of the system i.e. what does the system cost?

There are several ways an operation can justify the cost of the system. Here are some examples of how current C3 Reservations customers have justified the purchase of the system:

• Radically improve the appointment taking process such that a 50% reduction in cost is realized. This comes from no more phone calls, no more faxes and no more emails.
• Increase warehouse productivity.Optimized schedules make the warehouse more efficient, by reducing congestion and optimizing resources.
• Eliminate driver detention invoices.
• Make vendors accountable to service level agreements. Some companies have service level agreements with their vendors that entitle them to rebates of 1 to 2% on total purchases if service levels are not respected.

The cost of C3 Reservations is based on a customers usage of the system. For each appointment there is a transactional fee which can vary from $.25 to $1 depending on the annual volume.

13. I noticed the time slice on your schedule is one hour, how does the system calculate the duration of the load?

Duration can be handled in one of two ways. First, its possible for a user to manually set the duration on each appointment. If duration is a factor in your operations, then the system will adjust the length of each slot to reflect this constraint. The second way is by setting up rules that automatically calculate the duration of an unload based on any property of an appointment (PO, type of load, carrier, supplier, destination, or any other). This is obviously the best approach as it ensures consistency in calculations and rules can be adjusted at run time.

14. Is there a special training for carriers and vendors?

The C3 Reservations self-serve external portal has been designed to be a system that does not require any formal training. The carrier/vendor portal utilizes techniques such as software wizards that guide the user through a step by step process. An extensive on-line help is available and C3 will assist the customer in preparing any specific training materials for the carrier or vendor.

15. Can we limit which appointments the carrier sees on the web portal?

Yes, a carrier will only see the appointments that have been assigned to them. They will not be able to view another carriers appointments.

16. Does C3 Reservations support multiple sites?

Yes, C3 Reservations not only supports multiple sites it also supports multiple warehouses at each site.

17. What kind of support and maintenance is provided?

C3 Solutions provides a 7 X 24 help desk to all of its customers. C3 also guarantees a level of system availability that is defined in its Terms of Use Agreement.

18. The labels that are on the screen are not pertinent to my business. How complicated is it to change the labels so they mean more to me?

All of the labels that appear on the screen can be modified to fit the terminology that is used by your business. Our product specialists will sit down with you and establish what are the proper terms that need to be put onto the screen for your business. This is a service that is included in the regular configuration of the system.

19. Would it be possible to try the system before we purchase it?

Yes, C3 Solutions provides a 3 month trial period for a fee.