Railinc introduces NextPath

Railinc has announced the commercial availability of NextPath, aValue Added Network (VAN) that facilitates the flow of supply chain information among railroads and their trading partners. Using an “any-to-any” data and document translation capability, NextPath allows users to send and receive all kinds of business documents, from bills of lading to purchase orders, says the company.

All major data protocols are supported and NextPath can easily receive and translate data from any format into any format – translating everything from spreadsheets to XML.

“Building on Railinc’s extensive North American rail-centric data network, NextPath provides VAN services to shippers and 3PLs, as well as railroads and equipment owners,” said Richard Flynn, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Railinc. “With NextPath, Railinc can validate, translate and automate the exchange of business transactions, making it easier for trading partners to do business electronically.”

NextPath eliminates uncertainty by providing an uninterrupted flow of mission-critical information into the supply chain, seamlessly connecting users to their trading partners, says the company. NextPath also offers the largest single source of rail data in North America. Users can receive real-time rail shipment tracking information from more than 425 railroads in their choice of CLM or EDI formats.