InfoShip® DMS Service (black box) Overview

InfoShip can be configured to use the client screens from your ERP, WMS, or homegrown host application to drive the shipping process rather than using the InfoShip client screen. InfoShip uses its DMS Service to communicate with your host application in this configuration. The InfoShip DMS Service is a combination of several Windows® Services written using .NET technology and runs as a background process on the physical InfoShip DMS Server. This configuration is often referred to as a black box.

Communication with InfoShip DMS Service is done over TCP/IP sockets using text-based or XML messages (requests) from the host system with corresponding responses from InfoShip DMS Service. The InfoShip DMS Service is often used with in-motion systems where the host system initiates each transaction.

Using a sophisticated socket server, the DMS Gatekeeper application utilizes Microsoft Message Queues to handle incoming and outgoing messages. Requests are received from any external client and placed on the queue. Outgoing responses are directed to the appropriate recipient. The InfoShip DMS Service can be configured to use a pool of up to twenty instances of DMS Servers and twenty DMS Application Servers to process the requests on the queue. Because of our pooling design, the DMS Service is able to handle very high transaction volumes. A white paper providing more technical details is available.

The message structure between InfoShip DMS Service and the host system can be defined to process entire shipments where information for all packages for the shipment (e.g. a Delivery Note in SAP®) are passed from the host to the InfoShip DMS Service in a single message. InfoShip DMS Server then processes the data as a single shipment and provides true multi-package shipment rating back to the host system.

Alternatively, the message structure can be defined so the host passes to InfoShip DMS Service only the information for one package at a time. The InfoShip DMS Server that takes the transaction for processing will process the package as a single shipment returning the rate for the single package in the return message. Electronically banded, multi-package shipment rates can be requested after a carrier has closed a particular manifest. This information can be requested through a transaction with the InfoShip DMS Service or through a variety of other methods.

Small package carrier shipments for BAX Global®, DHL®, FedEx®, UPS®, UPS Supply Chain Solutions®, USPS®, and various local and regional carriers, plus LTL shipments can be processed through InfoShip DMS Service.

The InfoShip DMS Service can be used for a single distribution center or in a central server configuration supporting multiple distribution centers. The host system/InfoShip DMS Service message structure includes a distribution center ID, location ID, or similar field, to identify the shipping origin for the transaction when it is used in a central server configuration.

Since InfoShip DMS Service communicates directly with the host system, transaction information is immediately available for any department that has access to the host system, which can reduce time to generate invoices and provide up to the minute order status information for customer service and sales.

The above description of a “black box” InfoShip DMS Service system is a brief example of one of the many ways InfoShip can be configured. Contact CLS at 800-407-0280 to discuss your company’s specific requirements and find out how InfoShip can benefit your operations.