Technology

McLeod releasing new versions of flagship products

Sept. 16, 2013

SCOTTSDALE, AZ. Among the many things McLeod Software has to celebrate at its annual User Conference in Scottsdale, AZ, this week is a growth rate that is on track to double the more than 20% compounded annual growth rate the company achieved in 2012, 2011 and 2010. “Our customers are investing in new systems and upgrades to their existing systems at an unprecedented rate,” the company noted in a published progress report.

Staff size has been growing as well to keep up with the pace of business. According to McLeod, the number of employees has also nearly doubled over the past three years. “Our product development efforts have been greatly accelerated by the company’s growth, and we expect that trend to continue,” they said.

Another growth area is in application hosting services. “Our application hosting services business continues to grow,” the company noted. “McLeod hosts our LoadMaster Enterprise, PowerBroker, DocumentPower Enterprise and Freight Management Solutions systems for customers based on each customer’s preference….a growing number [of customers] are asking McLeod to host and manage the system for them. We expect this trend to continue.”

Product introductions and enhancements have also moved along at a rapid clip in 2013. This spring, the company released Version 11.2 of its LoadMaster and PowerBroker products. This week’s annual User Conference will see the unveiling of Version 12.0 of its flagship products. It continues the year’s expansion of enhanced functions and new capabilities, including:

The CRM module, which was developed to enable sales activities to be planned, recorded and measured while giving McLeod LoadMaster or PowerBroker customers a full 360- degree view of their existing customers using information already in the system.
The new FlowLogix visual workflow and business process management tool, designed to allow the creation of workflows and business process automation solutions across the LoadMaster Enterprise, PowerBroker and DocumentPower Enterprise systems.
McLeod Navigator, which is deployed using a configurable Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboard, designed around the Balanced Scorecard concept.
The new McLeod Carrier-Broker Exchange (CBE), a private marketplace available only to McLeod Software customers running LoadMaster and/or PowerBroker. Brokers can control which carriers are able to view their available posted loads and carriers will be able to filter for the brokers whose loads appear in their planning space.
Expanded functionality for customers who handle intermodal shipments.
Expanded capabilities for McLeod mobile applications.
For Rapid Alert Notification System (RANS) users, the ability to push those alerts directly to the McLeod mobile application.
For McLeod Symphony Mobile Communications customers, the ability to read and send messages through the LoadMaster system from a mobile phone.
Enhanced cross-docking and route planning capabilities for LoadMaster LTL users.
A new module called the Market Rate Index, designed to allow LoadMaster and PowerBroker users to easily see spot, contract and internal rates for the order, dispatch, or quote they are viewing.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.