c3 reservations®
Dock scheduling FAQ
Access & Technology
For the main portal used by the scheduling team, the requirements are 1280 X 1024. As for the external portal, used by carriers or suppliers, the requirements are 1024 X 768.
Yes, since C3 Reservations is a web based application, it can be accessed from anywhere in the world, you just need an internet connection and a computer or mobile device.
Using the C3 Hub Progressive Web Application on their mobile devices, warehouse and yard personnel can easily capture time stamps related to arrival, on dock and departure times. The C3’s Progressive Web Application is compatible with ANY mobile device.
C3 Reservations can be accessed with any browser, as long as they meet the minimal HTML5 requirements.
Integration
Yes, purchase order information can be integrated into C3 Reservations. C3 allows for the creation, update and deletion of purchase orders by external systems. C3 supports three different means of receiving purchase order information, they are:
- Web Services
- XML file transfers to SFTP
- Flat file transfers to SFTP
For customers that require a dynamic and seamless integration in C3 Reservations, C3 recommends its Web Services interface.
C3 Reservations offers a two level PO structure (Header and Line). Typically, the header level would contain generic PO information (PO#, Site, Warehouse, Supplier, etc.) as the line would include specific item information (Product#, Product Description, etc.).
Via its Web Services interface, C3 Reservations is able to be seamlessly integrated into SAP.
Yes, C3 Reservations provides outbound integration to external systems via web services and SFTP file transfers.
Security
Yes, when users are created, they can be associated to one or multiple sites.
Customers can have their own custom roles with particular sets of permissions to control which group of users can perform what tasks within the system. This applies to both internal and external roles.
C3 constantly monitors its systems and will use all reasonable efforts to promptly react to any type of incident. C3 has a Business Continuity Plan in place for the Hosting and Processing Environments and has established a detailed Disaster Recovery Plan. SQL servers are in mirroring and we have monitoring tools with alarms to ensure all the data backups are running properly.
C3 guarantees between 99.0 % and 99.9% uptime depending on the selected Service Program package.
Implementation
C3 Reservations is a hosted solution that is accessible over the internet. Therefore your IT department will not need to purchase any specialized hardware or software and they will not need to administer a new software system. You will access C3 Reservations with a standard web browser.
C3 Reservations functions as a standalone system, therefore it functions without integration. There are definite benefits to an integrated solution however these benefits need to be compared to the costs of sending or receiving data to and from C3 Reservations.
Yes, and C3 encourages that customers roll out the system at a rhythm that makes sense for their operation. For example, at start-up a customer may decide to have only their largest carrier or supplier use the web portal to begin with.
This allows the business to get comfortable with the business processes and make any adjustments before any large scale changes are made. As the process is streamlined other carriers can be gradually be added onto the system.
C3 Reservations implementation can be as quick as 3 weeks, depending on the size of operation and the scope of the project.
The C3 Reservations self-serve external portal has been designed to be a system that does not require any formal training. The carrier/vendor portal utilizes techniques such as software wizards that guide the user through a step by step process. An extensive on-line help is available and C3 will assist the customer in preparing any specific training materials for the carrier or vendor.
When starting a new implementation project, we always make sure to have a dedicated team working with you from day 1, whether you decide to have remote or on-site sessions.
Additionally, as soon as the contracts are signed, we will send you our C3 Reservations Scope Document, so you can start gathering relevant information prior to the kick-off to speed up the C3 project deployment configuration.
Our Project Team is composed of business specialists who are experts in yard management, dock scheduling and site/warehouse operations. Our business specialists have been dedicated to Yard Management and Dock Scheduling for many years, have visited numerous warehouses and yards and have successfully helped our customers optimize their operations.
Our entire implementation process is focused on customizing & adapting the use of C3 Reservations based on the customer’s context, needs and requirements. C3 Reservations is a highly configurable system that should reflect our customers’ specific processes and requirements. In order to leverage this strength, our implementation team are very attentive to processes and business rules, specific to every customer’s context.
In order to ensure a successful implementation, we use our agile methodology called C3 Hub Agile Management Process (CHAMP). It is an iterative and incremental method of managing our projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner. The implementation process of C3 Reservations follows a series of sprints, which contains a number of well defined and documented activities that allow the project to move forward in a productive manner.
Based on our methodology, Super Users and Super Trainers are trained throughout the project. Those users have to test and familiarize themselves with the application between each work session. At the end of the project, the users are expected to be knowledgeable and trained on the application. Since the application is configured to your specific requirements, it becomes very intuitive.
Company
C3 Solutions was incorporated in June of 2000. Since that time, C3 has been focused on providing yard management and dock scheduling solutions. We believe our longevity, unique focus, and proven success is a key advantage to our customers.
C3 is a privately held company. The key shareholders of the company are Nicholas Couture and Greg Braun.
C3’s customers are leaders in their respective industries throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. While C3 is very proud of its customers, we diligently respect their privacy. Upon request, we can provide customer references.
Pricing
There are several ways an operation can justify the cost of the system. Here are some examples of how current C3 Reservations customers have justified the purchase of the system: Radically improving the appointment taking process to gain a 50% reduction in cost. This comes from no more phone calls, no more faxes and no more emails. Increase warehouse productivity.
Optimized schedules make the warehouse more efficient, by reducing congestion and optimizing resources. Eliminate driver detention invoices. Make vendors accountable to service level agreements. Some companies have service level agreements with their vendors that entitle them to rebates of 1 to 2% on total purchases if service levels are not respected.
We invite you to take 5 minutes to fill our ROI Calculator which will provide with your estimated total yearly savings.
C3 Reservations ROI Calculator
C3 Reservations is a software as a service offering (SaaS) and there are two elements to the initial pricing.
There is a one time implementation fee. This fee will vary depending on the complexity of the customer’s operation.
There is also an annual usage fee. The annual usage fee covers the usage of the system, the hosting and the support and maintenance of the system. The annual usage fee is calculated according to the customer’s usage volume.
The cost of support and maintenance is included within the overall C3 Reservations annual fee. All C3 Service Program levels include 24/7 support.
C3 offers four different service programs; Basic, Standard, Pro and Enterprise. All of the service programs include at least one test environment except the bronze program, which does not include a test environment. For more information on C3’s service programs contact a C3 sales representative.
Support
C3 offers emergency support 24/7.
Support is provided by C3 resources located at C3 Solutions’ offices in Montreal, Canada.
Customers may report issues either via our online issue tracking tool (for medium & low severity issues) or by calling our emergency hotline (for high & critical severity issues). When using the emergency hotline, our support resources are contacted right away and will be providing assistance according to our standard support agreement.
For other non-critical issues, C3 resources will be responding within C3’s business hours. JIRA, our issue reporting tool, is typically used by C3 resources to provide feedback on issues. If needed, we will contact the customer by phone or even send a WebEx invitation if screen sharing is needed to help the investigation.
We have up to date replicas of our customers’ production environments on platforms we use to test security patches, major configuration changes and software version upgrades before releasing them in production.
We generally release 2-3 versions per year and deploy them in production during a predetermined maintenance window. We usually try to keep all of our customers on the latest version whenever possible. The control a customer has on receiving upgrades will vary based on their selected service program level. We have created deployment and configuration tools that minimize the need for downtime in most cases.
Functionality
C3 Reservations includes an email notification feature that allows to send customized email content to your stakeholders (e.g. suppliers, carriers, vendors, purchasing, customer service, schedulers, etc.).
Yes, C3 Reservations handles outbound appointments. Any specific site can be setup to handle inbound and/or outbound appointments. All of the constraints that can be used to define an inbound shift can also be used to define an outbound operation.
In order to monitor your carriers’ compliance, you can use the built-in Carrier Report Card which provides direct access to a carrier’s performance against it’s own past and even against other carriers. Can’t find the information you need in the built-in report card?
No problem! Our fully customizable reporting engine allows you to extract the exact data that you want. You can then create your own report cards based on this data and using a familiar tool like Excel.
If a vendor or carrier knows that they will not be able to make an appointment or even if they realize they will be shipping less product than initially intended, they can very simply go to the web portal and request an amendment to their appointment. As part of the amendment process they will be requested for a reason code and they will also be able to request an alternative date if relevant.
No, you do not need to call or email your carriers or vendors when you change an appointment. When the business makes an amendment to the appointment a system generated email will automatically be sent to all the parties involved. This includes, the vendor, the carrier and the business as well.
Duration can be handled in one of two ways. First, its possible for a user to manually set the duration on each appointment. If duration is a factor in your operations, then the system will adjust the length of each slot to reflect this constraint.
The second way is by setting up rules that automatically calculate the duration of an unload based on any property of an appointment (PO, type of load, carrier, supplier, destination, or any other).
This is obviously the best approach as it ensures consistency in calculations and rules can be adjusted at run time.
The allocation of timeslots is done by the validation of the PO/booking details provided in the request (e.g. truck type, pallet count, commodity, supplier/carrier) against the shift set up for a given site/warehouse/date (e.g. truck type restrictions, standing appointments, reserved times, max pallet counts).
Yes, C3 Reservations not only supports multiple sites it also supports multiple warehouses at each site.
DC users have a direct access to the system and can therefore plan their workload based on booking schedules and pallet counts updated in real time.
DC users have a direct access to the system and can therefore plan their workload based on booking schedules and pallet counts updated in real time.
Capacity constraints (e.g. number of bookings, pallets, lifts) can be set up at the time slice and shift level. Color coded indicators show how a shift’s workload evolves and can help schedulers prioritize last-minute/special requests. Constraints can optionally be configured to activate/deactivate over time to adjust to the demand.
Appointments can be flagged as ‘no show’ manually (with optional reason code and comment) and/or automatically after a configurable delay following their planned Scheduled Time. No Show events can trigger email notifications to the various parties involved. Special reports can also be generated to trace this compliance aspect (e.g., Number of No Show bookings, by carrier, by month).
C3 Reservations includes a flexible built-in reporting tool to which users can be granted a read-only, edit or admin access. Reports can be created and exported directly from the application.
Customers may also choose to schedule a daily extract of their data to be used for integrated reporting with their other systems.