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Learn how IBM i (AS/400) Power users can streamline their shipping operations and increase their parcel throughput with ease
Up and running since 1988, IBM i (AS/400) operating systems (now Power Systems), are a cornerstone of many businesses’ shipping operations. Today, over 100,000 companies, including numerous Fortune 500 enterprises, continue to rely on IBM i Power systems. Over time, these systems have maintained strong reliability, scalability, and durability, which is a key reason they remain relevant in today’s modern business environments.
For parcel shippers, IBM i (AS/400) Power systems serve as a central hub for managing various business functions, enabling smooth day-to-day operations. However, as e-commerce demand, customer expectations, and supply chain disruptions continue to rise in 2025, the pressure on fulfillment accuracy and speed is significant.
With growing parcel volumes and increased complexity, businesses must be equipped with a solution that can manage higher throughput without impacting efficiency. Implementing advanced technology that works seamlessly with their IBM i systems, scales with growth, automates workflows, and adapts to changing conditions is the key to staying competitive.
For shippers relying on IBM i (AS/400) Power systems, there are proven strategies and tools that can empower your business to meet and exceed the ever-growing demand for efficiency. Let’s start by looking at challenges that may arise if you fail to adopt a modern shipping strategy.
The Challenges of Handling Increased Parcel Throughput
Increasing your business’s parcel throughput is often a sign of business growth. It can lead to improved customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, and higher revenue. However, it is not always an easy undertaking. A quick increase in orders can stretch a company’s staff and resources thin without proper planning. Operational bottlenecks and a slowdown in tasks due to inefficient processes can result in order processing delays, late shipments, and unfulfilled customer expectations.
Consumer demands and expectations surrounding the delivery of their products and customer service continue to rise. Because of this, there is heavy pressure on shippers to ensure they meet order fulfillment timelines and delivery promise dates. This requires businesses to adapt their shipping operations quickly to meet high order volumes and keep their customers satisfied.
As a reliable system for over 35 years, the IBM i (AS/400) Power system remains a trusted platform at the heart of many enterprise operations. However, there are IBM i (AS/400) Power users that still rely on homegrown shipping solutions that may lack the flexibility, automation, or adaptability needed for today’s competitive logistics environment.
To keep up with the rapid growth, shippers must find scalable, efficient technology solutions that can scale with their business. These solutions should offer the adaptability, speed, and intelligence needed to meet today’s dynamic parcel shipping demands without overhauling your operations.
Strategies to Handle Increased Parcel Throughput Like a Pro
The challenges of managing increased parcel throughput are evident. But, with the right strategies, IBM i (AS/400) Power systems users can tackle these obstacles effectively with speed, accuracy, and confidence.
Below are six key strategies that will empower shippers to boost throughput while maintaining efficient and scalable operations.
1. Automating Order Processing
Order processing automation is crucial for businesses experiencing an increase in demand. Automating tasks such as order entry, address validation, and order routing can minimize the need for manual data input and accelerate fulfillment. This significantly reduces the possibility of costly errors and allows businesses to handle increased parcel throughput with ease.
When integrated directly into IBM i (AS/400) Power systems, order processing automation substantially improves precision and creates a seamless flow from order to shipment. The result is faster processing, fewer mistakes, and efficient shipping dispatching.
2. Rate Shopping
Rate shopping is an invaluable strategy for shippers utilizing IBM i (AS/400) Power systems to efficiently handle the challenges that come with increased parcel throughput. Automated rate shopping technology gives shippers the ability to compare rates across carriers in real-time, selecting the optimal carrier for each shipment. It accounts for several key factors including transit time, carrier performance, mode, and service type.
Not only does this allow shippers to stay cost-effective for both their business and their customers, but it also ensures compliance with routing guides and operational requirements even during peak seasons. It’s an optimal tool for making well-informed decisions, guaranteeing timely deliveries, and maintaining a competitive edge. [Learn more about how IBM i (AS/400) users can avoid manual carrier selection.]
3. Real-Time Tracking and Visibility
The modern consumer holds high expectations when it comes to shipment tracking and proactive updates throughout the shipping process. With the right shipping solution, IBM i (AS/400) users can provide the real-time, end-to-end visibility customers expect at each step of the journey.
Notifications of early, on-time, or shipping delivery delays make visibility more convenient for consumers, builds trust, and reduces “where is my order?” (WIMO) inquiries, improving the overall customer experience. Through integration with advanced multi-carrier shipping software, IBM i (AS/400) Power users can deliver the shipping transparency today’s consumers demand. [Explore the vital role of real-time tracking for IBM i shippers.]
4. Dimensional Weighing Technology
Incorporating dimensional weighing (DIM) technology can significantly boost your company’s parcel throughput. It ensures accuracy by automatically retrieving package weight at the shipping scale, eliminating errors from manual barcode scanning and weight entry as well as discrepancies between manifest weight and actual weight.
By leveraging real-time data in combination with factors like dimensions, service type, destination, and carrier rates, IBM i users can process faster and reduce shipping and labor costs for a more efficient process. [Explore how you can automate your package weighing process.]
5. Seamless Integration with Existing Systems
With an increase in parcel volume, the need for accurate, streamlined data across your existing systems is crucial. For IBM i (AS/400) Power users, integrating your shipping solution with your existing systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, warehouse management systems (WMS), and order management systems (OMS) is crucial for maintaining accuracy, speed, and visibility throughout the entire shipment process.
Direct integration helps eliminate manual tasks and reduce associated costly errors. It enables a smooth flow of information, keeping inventory numbers, order status, and customer communication consistent. A seamless integration of your core technology with your shipping software will increase your ability to manage high volumes with fewer touchpoints.
6. Carrier and Labeling Compliance
Processing more packages can mean managing a more complex shipping network. It is critical to stay compliant with each carrier’s labeling and documentation requirements. Even minor mistakes like incorrect label formats, outdated codes, and missing documentation can cause significant delays, fees, and unhappy customers.
IBM i shippers need a shipping solution that is equipped to handle carrier-specific labeling and documentation requirements and adjust requirements as they change. Advanced multi-carrier shipping solutions ensure smooth operations and deliveries with built-in compliance for major and regional carriers, as well as tools like address validation and automated documentation generation. [Unpack and understand the components of essential shipping documents.]
There are many strategies for shippers using IBM i (AS/400) Power systems to manage increased parcel throughput. What would make the process much easier is a comprehensive platform that brings all those strategies together into a single, streamlined solution.
Introducing: Varsity Logistics’ Multi-Carrier Shipping Software Solution
Varsity Logistics has stood as a top-tier supplier of multi-carrier shipping software for companies in need of both parcel and freight shipping capabilities for over a decade. Designed exclusively as the only holistic solution for the IBM i, our comprehensive parcel shipping suite hosts various top tier supply chain execution modules engineered to handle even the most intricate small package shipping.
Varsity’s ShipSoft™ – Parcel seamlessly integrates with ERP, legacy, and Order Entry systems running on IBM i (iSeries, Power, AS/400) systems. It delivers a unified and automated shipping solution that ultimately eliminates manual data entry and significantly reduces shipping costs for your business. This solution incorporates several advanced tools to apply the necessary strategies for businesses to handle increased parcel throughput with ease, including:
- ShipSelect: Automate the carrier selection process with real-time rate shopping by comparing various carriers and services levels to select the best-fit carrier for each individual shipment. Varsity’s ShipSelect enables rate shopping across parcel, LTL, and FTL carriers based on your pre-defined business rules, helping you and your customers save.
- ShipTalk™: Extend visibility to your customers with real-time shipment tracking, delivery updates, and direct communication throughout the entire shipping process. ShipTalk™ enables streamlined operations, reduced customer service inquiries, and improved customer satisfaction.
- SpeedWeigh: Boost your shipping accuracy and speed with automated package weighing and processing. SpeedWeigh instantly captures package weight at the scale, enabling shippers to pull weight data the moment an order is scanned. This tool eliminates manual entry, additional scans, costly errors, and potential delays.
- Seamless Integration: Varsity is designed to integrate directly with all major IBM i ERPs, WMSs, and OMSs, as well as your homegrown and custom systems. This allows for the smooth flow of information across your core technology, helping your operations stay efficient and agile. [Explore how Varsity works with your tech stack.]
- Built-In Compliance: Ensure every shipment meets service standards as well as carrier, documentation, and labeling requirements. Supporting both regional and major carriers, Varsity helps eliminate chargebacks, reduce errors, and provide consistent service. With configurable business rules, you can automate export documentation and identify the shipping requirements needed for each package. ShipPack also provides item-level packing validation, automatically generating advanced shipment notifications (ASNs), UCC 128 labels, and other necessary compliance documents.
Varsity’s multi-carrier shipping solution brings all these capabilities together in one unified platform for IBM i shippers. Powering the automation of daily shipping tasks, enabling real-time visibility, providing full compliance, and offering significant cost savings, Varsity promises successful management of modern shipping complexities.
To learn more about Varsity’s shipping platform offerings and how our software can help you tackle increased parcel throughout with confidence, contact our team of shipping experts or request a demo.
