Leicester: Information and Calculation Transportation System

IRS "Transportation" is a specialized platform of Leicester IT, developed for the integrated automation of the main production business processes of companies providing operations, forwarding and transport support services for industrial enterprises.

2021

Version 7.01 for Windows 10 and version 5.13 for older operating systems

On December 27, 2021, Lester IT, a developer of information systems for transport companies, announced that it had updated the Transports IRS platform. Two versions were released: version 7.01 - for Windows 10 with support for 64-bit architecture and version 5.13 - for older operating systems.

The platform of the Transportations IRS is developing not only by expanding the functionality necessary for automation of railway companies, but also from the point of view of architectural and technological approaches.

Thanks to the support of 64-bit architecture in the Transportations IRS 7.01, the ability to edit the volume of data and the speed of processing them at a time has been expanded. It will now be easier for users to perform tasks that require a large amount of RAM, such as filling in service catalogs or price lists. The installer is also completely rewritten. Version 7.01 was developed using the.Net Framework 4.5, in the future it is planned to further update the version of the used.Net Framework.

Version 5.13 is equivalent in functionality to version 7.01, but is intended for older operating systems - Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. It supports 32-bit architecture. The development used.Net Framework 4.0.

"According to the agency's report StatCounter the share of Windows 10 among all desktop versions of Windows in Russia exceeds 71%, for older versions it remains less than 29%. However, in the corporate segment, the share of old operating systems is higher, so there is still a need for their support. So we plan to release at least 3 years of updates of the 5th series of IRS "Transportation" and they will be functionally compatible with versions of the 7th series, " noted the director of the development department of Leicester IT software Nikolai Stepanov.

The release of the 7th version is the first step towards a comprehensive update of the Transports IRS platform. The plans of the developers of "Lester IT" with a step of 1.5 months to release 3 cumulative updates. And by mid-2022, the release of versions 7.02 and 5.14 is expected.

In 2021, the Transport IRS was increasing its functionality. On the basis of the platform, an API for data integration was developed, and a Lester.SmartIntegration service was created to combine the information systems of railway participants. For basic automation of growing companies, OFU. Business and Tracking packages have been formed. Business can be quickly deployed on servers or in the cloud. The developers also expanded the platform's capabilities to manage the car fleet and account for containers under the responsibility of the agent. In the IRS "Transportation" it became convenient to work with powers of attorney for the right to manage cars. And for companies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, an integration solution was developed with ASU DKR NK KTZh.

OFU.Bisnes and Tracking. Business - budget packages for automation of railway companies

Leicester IT, a developer of information systems for transport companies, announced on February 18, 2021 that it had created configurations based on the Transportations IRS platform, which will provide basic automation for railway operators and forwarding agents. Configurations are formed into packages "OFU. Business" and "Tracking. Business."

The "OFU.Bisnes" package is designed for quick automation of operational financial account operations during operation under transport and expeditionary service contracts. The package includes the following options: maintenance of directories, processing of transportation in the nomenclature of revenue and consumption services of the company, assessment of profitability and approval of orders, issuance of documents for the beginning of transportation, work with shipping information, import of reports of performers, calculation of the actual cost of transportation services, calculation of certificates of work performed and a typical financial accounting scheme.

"The market lacks solutions that will make it possible to take the next step in the path of digitalization to those companies that carry out the bulk of the work in Excel. Business packages are the answer to the need for basic automation, when a growing company no longer has enough Excel capabilities, but the budget is limited, "said Vladimir Gaskov, CEO of Lester IT.

In turn, the package "Tracking. Business" makes it possible to control the movement of cars and containers - the import of deployment, viewing and filtering of data on operations is provided, there is a history of flights and operations, it is provided to maintain a file cabinet of cars and containers, viewing data on repairs, technical condition, units and parts. In addition, it can record the need for cars, select a car for an application according to a number of criteria, plan its movement and monitor the execution of the plan, calculate the forecast for the arrival of the car at the supply station. The package also includes setting up interaction and ensuring work with Rail-Tariff Server and Rail-Route Server.

Packages are developed on the basis of the Transports IRS platform for the modules "Commercial work, planning and calculations" and "Dispatching, accounting and management of the PS fleet." Both are installed "out of the box," but the functionality can be expanded by the introduction of additional technological solutions. A distinctive feature of configurations is the ability to quickly deploy them at an affordable price on client servers or in the cloud.

2020

Reduced cost of enhancements associated with Etran interactions

On December 15, 2020, Lester announced that on average, the cost of extensions to the Transportations business platform package related to interaction with the ETRAN system decreased by 50%: import of data from ETRAN (consignment notes and bids GU-12), formation and export of consignment note blanks for empty wagon shipments to ETRAN, signing of EDS in ETRAN of consignment note blanks for empty wagon shipments exported from IRS "Transportation." The possibility of importing information on passports, runs, repairs, units and parts, as well as the deployment of wagons and containers in the GVC format is included in the Business package.

Cheapening and expanding the possibilities of integration solutions is one of the strategic goals of our company regarding the development of the Transportations IRS platform. We believe it is important to ensure digital interaction between information systems, which reduces overhead and guarantees consistency of data. We began by reducing the cost of integration with the ETRAN system, as from the most popular segment of the interaction of information systems in the field of freight rail transportation, "said Vladimir Gaskov, Director General of Leicester IT.

In general, the Transports IRS platform provides integration opportunities with different types of systems.

First of all, these are railway systems: ETRAN , SAO GVC, ASU DKR (Kazakhstan), ASU VRK, ASU VAREKS, OU KP, NSI systems, sources of deployment, tariff calculation systems and others. When integrating with tariff calculation systems, in addition to information directly about the tariff, data on the plan for the formation of the route, tariff distances, and regulations are also processed. Then they are used to solve the problems of operational-financial accounting, accounting and fleet management, in particular, to create an arrival forecast.

Integration with accounting systems can take place at document level and posting level. Web-based solutions based on the Transports IRS integrate with payment gateways, so you can pay bills with a card.

In the portfolio of Leicester IT, there are projects for integrating the Transports IRS with ERP systems (based on SAP, 1C, as well as self-described) and CRM. The mechanisms of the "Transportation" IRS are open for integration with the CRM system in terms of processing customer requests. Close integration with reference books reduces the manual labor of sales employees and ensures the continuity of accounting for cost offers to customers.

In 2020, for transport companies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it became possible to integrate with the automated system for managing contractual and commercial work (ACS DKR) of the Kazakhstani national carrier JSC NK KTZh and integration with the Zhibek-Zholy customs and brokerage center. Integration with DKR ACS includes automated import from DKR ACS of shipping information on shipments, updating the status of shipments when wagons move through Kazakhstan, linking consignments notes to customer orders and automatic export of telegrams to confirm tariff payment. The solution for integration with the customs broker implies operational interaction in the ASU-ASU mode in terms of importing SMGS consignment notes, invoices of container cargo and other customs clearance documents. The import is made on the basis of the provided web services of the SIRC system "Zhibek-zholy" both in the database of IRS "Transportation" and in file storage.

Ability to be used by independent developers

On November 2, 2020, Lester IT, a developer of information systems for transport companies, announced the modernization of the Transportation information and calculation system in a platform that independent developers can use when creating IT solutions for transport companies.

In IRS "Transportation" a large number of specialized railway facilities have been assembled for working with loading, wagons, dislocations, issuing specialized documents, and so on. In addition, part of the scenarios and procedures that implement key business logic are open, allowing you to make adjustments and create your own scenarios. To create desktop application interfaces and web services, a system API and a high-level application REST API have been created and continue to develop.

Until now, only Leicester IT has been engaged in the development of solutions based on the Transportations IRS. The platform can now be used by independent developers when creating IT solutions for transport companies.

The platform assumes the ability to write fully dynamic user forms. It allows you to customize the user interface by creating custom document forms, adjusting object editing forms, customizing tabular view forms, and other methods.

IRS "Transportation" allows you to create self-sufficient technological solutions based on customized user functionality by transferring scenarios, templates, as well as transferring mode settings. The behavior of objects and the relationships between them can be changed and expanded, there are mechanisms for creating different types of relationships between objects.

The IRS platform "Transportation" supports automation on the basis of any types of contractual relations common in transport companies: a feasibility study contract, a complex contract, a difference contract, a commission contract, a transit contract and others.

2015: IRS "Transportation" has become multilingual

On December 24, 2015, Leicester announced the implementation of universal support for multilingual display of the interface, user data and reference information in the Transports IRS^[1].

Screenshot of the program window (2015)

According to the company, this is the first Russian development for automation of the railway region, supporting the interface of many languages. Transport companies operating with foreign partners will now be able to create personal offices, Internet portals and printed forms of transportation and financial documents in the language of their customers.

Now system interfaces and portal solutions based on it, user data in the repository and directories can be entered and displayed in any language. You can localize any reports, including those required by the state authorities of foreign countries, which will allow operators, forwarders and transport departments of enterprises using the Transport IRS to automate activities, to interact more easily with foreign customers.

author = Vladimir Gaskov, CEO of Lester IT Speaking with a client in his language will be literally possible. We added this functionality to support Russian transport companies in the international market.

You can connect any language on the system, there are no restrictions on the number of connected languages.

The multi-language support system in the Transports IRS provides several translation connection options: automatic translation or creation of automatic transliterations, import of finished translation, manual entry and editing of individual fields.

2014: Structure of IRS "Transportation"

The structure of the Transports IRS contains functionality for the planning, execution and analysis of the operational, financial and commercial activities of the contracting authority. Comprehensive automation of the activities of all divisions of the company involved in the organization of freight transportation provides the company's management with a convenient tool for obtaining reports and analytical sections of data in the system. This allows you to make correct management decisions clearly and in the shortest possible time.

IRS "Transportation" provides solution of the following tasks:

• Transport planning;
• rolling stock accounting; cost of repairs, units and parts;
• calculation of rental relations;
• tracking of rolling stock;
• conducting claim work;
• Evaluation of the efficiency of MS use;
• calculation of transportation costs per unit of production;
• "own opinion";
• determination of profitability per wagon per day.

Along with specialized capabilities, the Transportations IRS contains standard ones that are used for the effective operation of any modern company: electronic document management, a multi-level system for distinguishing access rights, and a data security system.

Structure of "Transportation" IRS system

Core: electronic document management, systems for demarcation of access rights, export-import of data, regulatory and reference system

• Operational Accounting Module

• Module "Shipping information accounting"

• Financial Accounting Module

• Module "Tracking, control and accounting of rolling stock"

• Customer Relationship Accounting (CRM System)

IRS "Transportation" consists of several basic modules (systems), each of which is designed to automate a specific standard "section" of the work of the transport company. The complete set of modules can be installed during the configuration of the system - they will exchange information and work together within a single system, as well as selective - each of the modules can be installed separately.

Within each of the main modules, technology solutions are offered that are designed to implement individual specific business processes of the company.

Notes