Technology & Support
Technology Principles
At MetaPack, technology 'for all' lies at the heart of what we do. Our ethos is based around the principles of:
Scalability – as a SaaS, MetaPack is a browser-based application which facilitates the connection and availability of its functionality to all regardless of platform, location or discipline. It is offered on a pay-as-you go basis with limited setup costs, enabling both the largest and smallest of organisations to adopt the best practice standards it offers. To reciprocate this, our architecture is horizontally scalable, giving us the ability to add multiple application instances and databases over a limitless number of servers.
Visibility – We have adopted open architecture standards to facilitate rapid development, easy adoption of MetaPack's functionality and consultation of our databases. Our software supports multiple transports, protocols and formats:
- transports are based on TCP/IP based communication
- protocols include SOAP, HTTP, FTP and JMS
- formats include XML, CSV and plain text.
To complement the above standards, MetaPack has developed its own SOAP API protocols for all its own systems functionality. Calls range from simple operations to automate operations (eg populate consignment details) to advanced layered queries (eg what is the best carrier to use at this time, to delivery to this place, for this product?)
Flexibility – MetaPack is open and flexible which is essential as all logistics operations are different. It supports databases, applications servers, operating systems and hardware platforms from most major vendors across the entire ‘fulfilment stream’, from web front end, back office systems, warehouse management through to ‘pack & despatch’ where MetaPack takes over. MetaPack also facilitates the extension of the delivery chain by acting as a conduit to all UK and European carriers as well as supporting customer service functions as they monitor and act on the status of the parcel until it reaches its destination.
