When McLeod Software Corp. came on the scene almost four decades ago, the company was replacing typewriters. The provider of transportation dispatch, accounting, operations and brokerage management software, and document management systems rewrote its product line between 2000 and 2003 and is now many “refreshes” deep with plans to launch a new web browser user interface over the next few years across its PowerBroker and LoadMaster operations systems, which have grown to host more than 1,100 companies.
McLeod made the announcement this week, along with several other updates, at its 2022 user conference in Nashville, which drew a record-setting number of attendees at 1,500-plus and had more vendors compared to previous years, representing the company’s growing integration partner roster.
One of the TMS provider’s latest integration partners is Isaac Instruments. After publishing an open application programming interface (API) for digital freight matching within the PowerBroker system almost two years ago, McLeod said it is publishing the same type of open API for mobile communications, ELD systems and trailer monitoring and tracking. The first two deployments of this open mobile communications API with the new LoadMaster Symphony Mobile Communications Service (SMCS) include Isaac for tractor telematics, hours of service information, driver dispatch workflow and document image capture as well as TGI Connect for its trailer telematics solution.
All new integrations for LoadMaster with both ELD/mobile communications and trailer telematics will employ this new standard Open SMCS API going forward, allowing any qualified telematics provider to develop a supported integration solution with McLeod.
“Our goal is to be easy to interface, to have the most and the best interfaces,” said McLeod Software CEO Tom McLeod. “Our API will eliminate that bottleneck and allow us to get vendors up and running more quickly.”
Like its APIs, the new web user interface will launch with PowerBroker as PowerBroker Web in early 2023, following a pilot with first-time users. The interface will later be released on the LoadMaster and LoadMaster LTL systems, capturing McLeods full product line.
McLeod said the company has been able to preserve its robust functionality throughout the many refreshes its systems have been through, and the new interface will allow users to do even more, “finding the magic,” McLeod said, where users can get jobs done quicker with automation.
