Iridium's simple interface overlays an incredibly complex piece of software, designed and built over years to offer a broad range of functionalities to a wide range of clients in the courier and retail sectors.
Don’t let the volume of features listed below confuse you. Clients are free to cherry-pick one or more functions of this parcel shipping, management and returns solution as the primary benefit of our software for their business and then enjoy access to all the rest as and when they are needed.
Features of Iridium
- Courier Booking System – Iridium is a courier booking platform. It is possible for any courier, courier comparison business, etailer or retailer to use it as their main booking system.
- Direct booking with any number of carriers – Once integrated into a client’s website, Iridium can place bookings directly with a range of carriers, e.g. TNT, DHL, etc., connecting to them via their APIs. You choose which and how many.
- Generation of documents – Iridium will automatically generate the air waybill (AWB) that is required for a shipment, i.e. the courier shipping label. It will also produce a customer receipt for each booking or the returns slip where applicable.
- Multiple brands – A subscription to Iridium allows a client to use it with any number of websites. Iridium provides a sophisticated, yet easy to control, branding mechanism that allows emails and documentation produced on each website to be individualised, allowing a diverse set of booking websites to be centrally controlled.
- Branded documents – PDF templates can be uploaded to Iridium for use as shipping documentation – AWBs, pro formas, receipts, etc. This provides capacity for full branding of all documents.
- Collection time management – Collection time availability varies depending on the postcode and the carrier selected. Iridium gives you full management of collection time presentation. This is particularly useful for retailers offering returns through Iridium, though other clients may also see this as a massive benefit as it allows the customer or you to select when a package will be collected.
- Retrieval of collection times from carriers – Collection times can be gathered from some carriers via their ‘capability and availability’ APIs. Iridium retrieves this information automatically where it is available. This is essential for many clients who rely on accurate, up-to-date collection times.
- Tracking updates – Iridium can retrieve tracking information (where available) for any bookings placed with any connected carrier.
- Courier Services – Any number of services that your courier partners offer can be configured through Iridium, e.g. Next Day, before 10 am, etc.
- Zone configuration – Carriers base their pricing on collection and destination zones. Zones can be groups of countries and/or groups of postcodes (regions) within a country. Iridium allows configuration of regions and zones to support the systems that are used by any carrier.
- Pricing for any journey – Parcel deliveries are charged on a zone to zone basis. Iridium provides full price configuration for all journeys. Both the carrier price (if using a third party carrier) and the selling price can be specified.
- Booking sales CSV downloads – A full list of bookings and selling prices can be downloaded from Iridium, and this information can be imported into almost any accounting system.
- Pro forma and commercial invoices – For international shipments, Iridium will generate the pro forma or commercial invoice for the items to be sent.
- Customer account management – Customer accounts can be created in Iridium. Account holders can be invoiced weekly/monthly rather than pay when booking, simplifying and speeding up the booking process.
- Immediate quoting and booking – Can be used by staff to provide quotes and take bookings over the telephone.
- Dimension or package pricing – Pricing can be based on the weight and dimensions of a parcel or, for some carriers, on the number of parcels being sent. Iridium supports both pricing models.
- Oversize surcharges – Carriers often add surcharges for unusually sized packages (e.g. a fishing rod, something light which takes up more space that its weight would suggest). Iridium supports oversize surcharge rules, an important feature to ensure that your profit margins are protected through correct pricing.
- Remote area surcharges – Carriers charge a remote area surcharge for some destinations, both international and domestic. Iridium allows configuration of remote areas and for additional surcharges to be applied. Again this is important to protect profits through correct charging.
- Customer emails – Automate booking emails to customers, e.g. an acknowledgment and a confirmation with full documentation.
- Email management – wording of emails sent through Iridium can be edited, and a custom template can be used to brand these emails.
- Manifest – For customers making numerous shipments per day, a shipping manifest can be created.
- Associated documentation – Iridium enables you to upload additional paperwork which can then be included within the final documentation sent to customers. Paperwork such as terms and conditions or a restricted/prohibited item list.
- Real time monitoring – Provides ability to monitor courier bookings in real time.
- Failure correction – Bookings placed with carriers can sometimes fail. This can be for something as simple as an incorrectly typed postcode. However, with Iridium you get failure monitoring, and the ability to correct booking information to be resubmitted to a carrier.
- Reasons for exports – Possible to amend the configuration of the available “reasons for export” that customers can use on the pro forma and commercial invoices.
- Security access control – Iridium provides full system customisation. It can also be used by customer support to monitor/make bookings, therefore there are different security levels for different users.