Sage 100

Anyone aware of the 'new' FedEx tracking number exceeding the length of the MAS tracking field in 4.40? I don't see anything on Sage's KB. I have a client reporting that it's been increased to 36 characters.

BigLouie reported this about a week ago. Not sure what Sage's answer is going to be on this one.

SOL??? Is the new business frame work flexiable enough now that one can simple change the data dictionary field length, do a one time resize of the tables and all is well? And if it is, is Sage nimble enough to perform this task?

@LouisAraiza how did you handle?

What I get to a computer will respond.

Yes it has. Not only has it changed but the position of the tracking number within the label has changed.

@LouisAraiza Any workaround for this? Were you able to fix it? Why are my other Starship customers not calling? I guess maybe they're not using FedEx could be one reason.

Love it. One of my customers switched everything to FedEx yesterday. They are going to be pissed. Can't wait for this conversation.

While FedEx increased the length of the bar code on the label the size of the tracking number actually stayed the same but the position within the bar code has moved. *ugh* they have documentation on their web page detailing this. For the customer totally on FedEx, they have a scanner they will give them for free that is programmed to extract just the tracking number so you can use it to scan the label and it will write the real tracking number into the field. We do a two step right now where they past into comment field, copy just the tracking number and past into the field. When we move to v4.50 I am going to use BOI script to address this.

So this sounds like this is an issue only if the client is not using starship to write the numbers back into MAS. i.e. manually scanning the shipping label barcode into the tracking number field.

This is what FedEx sent out: Nearly forty years ago, FedEx created a new and distinct market when it began providing customers access to next-day, time-definite delivery service. Such innovation has been an integral element of the FedEx business strategy along with dedication to the highest standards of reliability, convenience, customer service and information management. Fast and reliable delivery to thousands of destinations around the world is the most basic FedEx offering. A complex network of airplanes, trucks, couriers, support personnel and hundreds of miles of conveyor belts moves your shipments from origin to destination. Navigation of this network is made possible by the FedEx barcode. FedEx automated material handling systems and sort assist technologies both rely on the FedEx barcode in order to make high-speed sort decisions and direct your packages through the FedEx shipping network. Service features selected by the customer, operational instructions and a unique tracking number are encoded in the FedEx barcode. The barcode is read at numerous points as the package travels through the FedEx shipping network in order to make sort decisions, drive operational workflow, provide positive custodial control and ensure service reliability. In order to offer new products and services and an even higher level of reliability, FedEx Express will be introducing a new 1D barcode, available in September 2011. The new barcode will provide the capacity to include more detail about each shipment and will provide improved read rates and improved legibility of the human readable label content which translates into improved service reliability. The changes that will be made to the barcode are simple. The barcode is increasing from 32 characters to 34 characters. The tracking number is located in positions 17 through 28 of the current 32 character barcode. The 14 digit tracking number in the 34 character barcode starts at position 21 and goes to positions 34. The FedEx Express tracking number will continue to be 12 digits. Zeros will occupy the 2 leading positions. If you scan the FedEx Express barcode for the tracking number only when processing inbound or outbound FedEx Express shipments: If your scanner is owned by your company, you should contact your scanner provider or your internal IT resources for assistance. If you use scan guns owned by FedEx, click here to learn more about the required updates. If you scan the FedEx Express barcode for data other than, or in addition to, the tracking number when processing inbound or outbound FedEx Express shipments: Some of the fields you may be scanning in the current barcode may not be available in the new barcode. Contact Technical Support at 1.877.339.2774 for assistance in determining how you will be impacted. new barcodes If you scan the FedEx barcode and input data into your warehouse management system: Contact your warehouse management system provider or your internal IT resources as a part of your barcode usage review to determine business process impacts. If you perform a warehouse scan for the tracking number length to divert shipments to different areas for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground: Reprogram the scanner to read the FedEx company identifier (FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, etc.) vs. length of the tracking ID. The FedEx 1D Barcode Specification is available to you. If you wish to view and download the specification document, please click Continue. The FedEx 1D Barcode will introduce a new barcode format that changes the location of the tracking number within the barcode. In order for the scan gun provided by FedEx to accurately parse the tracking number, you will need to update the scan gun.