Tracking

The Tracking job type is a general use Tracking (Visibility) job that can integrate with multiple external partners to retrieve current location and status information. Tracking, when successful, may do one or more of the following:

  • Add a current location event history record
  • Update the ETA of a load or trip
  • Alter the status of stops on a load, or of the load or trip

The output of the job may be attached to the entity using the Attachment Server.

The loads or trips to track may be specified by Input File and ESC.

The following Job Parameters may be specified when defining a Tracking Job Definition:

  • Parameter 1 – External Source (Required): Specifies the external source from which the tracking information should be received. This value is not case sensitive. If no value is specified or if the specified source is not supported, the system records an appropriate error, which can be viewed from the History of Job Queue page.

    Note: See Supported External Sources

  • Parameter 2 – Mode (Optional): Specifies the tracking mode. Valid values are: ‘LTL’, ‘VLTL’, ‘DLTL’, ‘TL’, ‘PARCEL’. This value is not case sensitive. When no value is specified, mode will be determined from the ‘Function Name’ of the first Charge Detail which references a Tariff Charge with an associated External Engine.
  • Parameter 3 – Settings (Optional): Specifies the control settings and values. Valid settings are listed below. Each control should specify the setting name, followed by an equals sign (=), followed by the value. When specifying multiple controls, separate each with a semi-colon (;). Unknown and improperly formatted controls will be ignored.
    • AlertType: Expected values are existing Alert Types. If specified, an Alert will be generated when the Tracking call returns an error. The text of the error will be set as the Alert Text.
    • AttachResponse: Valid values are “True” or “False”. If “True”, the response returned by the External Source will be attached to the Load using the TM Attachment Server (if installed). The default value is “False”.

    • ThreadLimit: The maximum number of threads to be used while creating tracking requests with the external source. The default value is "8".

    • ThrottleLimit: A numeric value representing the maximum number of tracking requests to generate per minute. Some external sources impose limits on the number of tracking requests that can be created. By setting this value lower than the external source limit, customers can avoid account suspensions or exceeding quotas. A value of zero indicates no limit. The default value is "500".

    • TrackingInitiatedRefNumType: If specified, a value of 'True' will be stored in the designated Reference Number for a Load when tracking is successfully initiated with the external source. This value can be used as a visual indicator that tracking has been initiated. Additionally, if the reference number type is configured as a visible reference number type for Loads, the value can be used in Entity Selection Criteria to avoid repeated attempts to initiate tracking for a Load which is already being tracked.

    • ETATolerance: A numeric value representing the duration, in minutes, that should be used to compare ETA in tracking status responses to the corresponding ETA stored in TM (if any). If the absolute difference exceeds the value indicated by this parameter, the tracking provided ETA will be applied as a revised ETA. A value “0” indicates all ETA values will be taken. The default value is “0”.

      Note: Some external sources also support tracking by calling endpoints configured in TM. This type of tracking is referred to as ‘push’ tracking, as the information is pushed into the TM system from the external system.

Entity Selection Criteria Usage

Entity Selection Criteria must retrieve Load ID or Trip ID's.

 

Notes:

  • For more details, see the "Job Server" topic in the Transportation Manager System Administration Guide.

  • Tracking with project44 as external source only supports loads with two stops for LTL tracking. Loads with intermediate stops cannot be tracked using the LTL tracking integration to project44. Loads with more than two stops will result in an appropriate error being logged in the job history if they are selected for tracking.

  • The tracking job with project44 as external source should only be used to initiate tracking. All subsequent tracking requests should be configured with project44 to be sent as ‘push’ tracking to the endpoint configured in TM. Entity Selection Criteria should be defined such that loads which have already had tracking initiated successfully are not selected. See the TrackingInitiatedRefNumType Setting description for more information.

See Also

Job Types
Job Server
List of Alert Types (Employee)