Every Consignment Visible From Pickup to Invoice
Zinform Logistics runs the whole freight job in one place: receiving and assigning loads, manifesting, dispatch, tracking and invoicing. Your customers can see where their freight is without ringing you.
Software built for New Zealand businesses since 1989
What is Zinform Logistics?
Zinform Logistics is a freight management system. It handles the full consignment lifecycle in one place: receiving and assigning loads, manifesting, dispatch, real-time tracking and invoicing, without the double entry that usually sits between those steps.
It is part of the Zinform suite, built and supported by Exodesk. Tracking updates come from Transsend on the driver’s phone, and completed consignments flow into Zinform Accounts for invoicing. Because the pieces are built together, a job entered once does not need re-entering anywhere.
If you are still working out whether you need a system like this at all, our guide to freight software covers the category, what to look for and what implementation involves. This page is about the product itself.
Why does freight admin take so long?
Most freight operations can tell you when a consignment was picked up and when it was delivered. The trouble is everything in between, and everything after.
A load gets entered in one place, manifested in another and invoiced in a third. Each hop is a chance to mis-key a reference or miss a charge. Nobody notices until the customer queries the invoice, by which point the paperwork is a week old.
Meanwhile the phone rings. Customers want to know where their freight is, and somebody in the office has to stop what they are doing, find out, and ring back.
Both problems have the same cause. The information exists, but not anywhere the person who needs it can see it.
What can Zinform Logistics do?
Real-time consignment tracking
Status updates at every stage: pickup, transfers, swaps, delays and final delivery. Updates come from the driver through Transsend, so the record is created where the event happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Dispatch and manifesting
Receive and assign loads, build manifests and dispatch from one screen. Loads can be split, copied or replicated, and vehicle changes take a moment rather than a rebuild.
A portal your customers use themselves
Track-n-Trace lets clients check consignment status without ringing. The full Client Portal goes further, letting them submit requests, upload manifests and view or print consignment details.
Invoicing that follows the job
Completed consignments flow into Zinform Accounts and invoice automatically. Job details carry through rather than being re-entered, which is where most billing errors and delays come from.
- Reporting on job history and financial performance, so you can see which lanes, customers and vehicles actually make money. Pairs with Power BI where you want to go further.
- Integration with what you already run, rather than a demand that you replace it. See business software integration.
How does the client portal reduce phone calls?
Most “where is my freight” calls are not complaints. They are customers with no other way to find out.
The portal gives them the answer directly. They log in, see the consignment, and see the same status your dispatch team sees. No call, no callback, no interruption at your end.
It also works the other way. Customers can submit job requests and upload manifests themselves, which removes a re-typing step from your office and puts the detail in the hands of the person who actually knows it.
The result is fewer interruptions and, in our experience, fewer disputes, because both sides are looking at the same record.
How does it fit with Transsend and Accounts?
This is the part that separates Zinform Logistics from a tracking app bolted onto an accounting package.
Transsend captures it
The driver records the pickup, the transfer, the signature and the delivery on a phone, offline if there is no coverage. See Transsend mobile forms.
Logistics runs it
Loads are assigned, manifested and dispatched, and every status update lands against the consignment as it happens.
Accounts bills it
Completed jobs invoice from the same record, so what you billed and what you delivered are the same thing by construction.
Bought separately, those three jobs usually mean three systems and two integrations that somebody has to maintain. Here they are one system, which is the practical reason the double entry disappears.
Who uses Zinform Logistics?
Operations that move other people’s goods and have to account for them accurately.
- Freight and transport operators running scheduled or ad hoc line haul, where manifesting and vehicle changes are daily work.
- Couriers and local distribution with high consignment volumes and customers who expect to see status themselves.
- Third-party logistics providers handling freight on behalf of clients who need their own visibility.
- Wholesale and distribution businesses running their own delivery fleet alongside the rest of the operation.
The wider technology picture for these operations is covered in IT for logistics and transport.
How does a Zinform Logistics rollout work?
Freight does not stop while you change systems, so the rollout is built around that rather than around a switch-off date.
We map how a job moves through your business now
From the point an order arrives to the point it is invoiced, including the parts that happen on paper or in somebody’s head.
We configure it to your operation
Your customers, lanes, charge structures and the way you actually manifest. This is where a system either fits how you work or fights it.
Drivers and dispatch go first
The people who use it most get it first and get trained properly, because their confidence determines whether the data stays accurate.
Invoicing switches over
Once jobs are flowing through cleanly, billing moves across. Doing it in that order means you are never invoicing from a system you do not trust yet.
Then the customers get the portal
Client access comes last, when what they will see is worth looking at. Rolling it out earlier tends to create the calls it is meant to prevent.
What does Zinform Logistics cost?
Licensing is monthly and scales with the size of the operation. Configuration and data migration are quoted separately once we have seen how you run. Both figures are given before anything starts.
What moves the number is consignment volume, how many users need access, whether the client portal is included, and how much history has to come across from the current system. Migration is usually the variable that surprises people, so it gets scoped properly rather than estimated.
The comparison worth making is against what the current arrangement costs you now: the re-keying, the invoices that go out late or wrong, and the time spent answering questions a portal would answer. IT consulting can size that before you commit to anything.
Questions
Zinform Logistics FAQs
What is Zinform Logistics?
Zinform Logistics is a freight management system that handles the full consignment lifecycle: receiving and assigning loads, manifesting, dispatch, real-time tracking and invoicing. It is part of the Zinform suite, built and supported by Exodesk in New Zealand.
How does consignment tracking work?
Status updates are captured by the driver through Transsend on a phone or tablet, covering pickup, transfers, swaps, delays and final delivery. Because the update is made where the event happens, the record reflects what actually occurred rather than what somebody remembered later.
Can our customers track their own freight?
Yes. Track-n-Trace lets clients check consignment status themselves. The full Client Portal goes further, allowing them to submit job requests, upload manifests, and view or print consignment details without contacting your office.
Does it handle invoicing?
Yes. Completed consignments flow into Zinform Accounts and invoice automatically from the job record. Because the detail carries through rather than being re-entered, the invoice matches what was delivered.
Will it work with the systems we already use?
Usually. Zinform Logistics is designed to integrate rather than to demand a clean sweep. What is realistic depends on what you are running, which is one of the first things reviewed.
What does Zinform Logistics cost?
Licensing is monthly and scales with the size of the operation, with configuration and data migration quoted separately once your process has been reviewed. Both figures are given before work starts. Consignment volume, user numbers and how much history needs migrating are what move the price.
How long does a rollout take?
It depends on how much data has to migrate and how complex your charging is. The sequence matters more than the calendar: drivers and dispatch first, invoicing once jobs are flowing cleanly, and customer portal access last.
Do our drivers need a separate app?
Drivers use Transsend, which is part of the same suite. It works offline, so updates captured out of coverage sync automatically once a signal returns rather than being lost or written down.
What reporting is available?
Reporting covers job history, financial performance and operational efficiency, which is what shows you profitability by lane, customer and vehicle. Where deeper analysis is wanted, the data can feed Power BI.
Is it suitable for a small fleet?
Yes. The benefit comes from removing double entry and the calls asking where freight is, and a small operation feels both of those as keenly as a large one. Licensing scales with size, so a small fleet is not paying for capacity it does not use.
Show us how a job moves through your business
From the order arriving to the invoice going out. We will show you where the double entry is and what it would look like without it.
Christchurch 03 343 3124 · Dunedin 03 479 2941 · Nationwide 0800 396 3375
Book a demo
Tell us how your freight moves and where the admin piles up