toliaAs I mentioned in my previous post, at Tradewinds we had developed a very simple and easy to use imaging system that we have integrated into TMWSuite to provide one click document retrieval.  Prior to my arrival at Tradewinds, we had originally been scanning bills and confirmations and had been labeling them in folders and using file names.  This was slow since it was a batch process, it was cumbersome since it relied on manual labeling and it made it hard to find images…naturally the business had progressed and a system was needed.

We did some analysis and explored some commercially available options, all of them very complex systems with workflow and a bunch of bells and whistles that we probably didn’t need, not to mention the hefty price tag that went with them.  So like all projects, I asked for 40 hours of development time to come up with a prototype based on some pretty basic requirements we had identified:

  1. system had to be simple
  2. had to allow one click document retrieval
  3. had to allow everyone ability to check images in (e.g. we wanted to move away from the batch process since this only added delay making documents available)
  4. had to automate the confirmation process which involved stamping our terms and signatures
  5. had to integrate with the TMW paperwork features that already existed within TMW for checking paperwork in

And thus since any good system has to have an acronym, TOLIA (Tradewinds OnLine Image Access) was born. 

Using the power of the .NET framework coupled with it’s GDI elements, I was able to quickly put together three software modules which have become a fundamental component of our system architecture today.  Today TOLIA has blossomed into a collection of five modules.  I will devote an entry per module to keep the postings somewhat concise.

The components of the system are as follows:

  1. TOLIA Image Viewer - Is the tool used to view images, kind of like Microsoft’s Document Image Viewer, but with some components that are specific to document types and processes related to trucking.
  2. TOLIA Batch Entry - A tool used to mass input batches of scanned images such as Bills we receive via TriPaks.
  3. TOLIA Web Viewer - A module that plugs into our internet framework allowing customers document access via our website.
  4. TOLIA QuickScan - Integrates into TMW’s invoicing to allow a simple instant scan mechanism for taking paper directly into the paperwork process inside of invoicing.
  5. TOLIA Invoicing - Used to marry the document imaging system with the invoice printing process in addition to setting up a more flexible delivery mechanism for processing invoices to customers.

My next entry will focus on the TOLIA Image Viewer.

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