MONTREAL -- MagnaTech, a software developer for the travel trade,
released MagnaTech TRIP, a robotic program that enables Sabre
agents to automatically generate electronic invoices and e-mail
them to clients.
Currently, any Sabre agent can use the GDS commands to access
recent invoices, print them for mailing or copy them for
e-mailing.
However, said MagnaTech president Jacques Thibault, if an agency
needs to send numerous invoices, the process is time-consuming, and
if the missives go by snail mail, it is costly in paper and
postage.
Thibault termed TRIP as a software robot that "wakes up at an
appointed time" to sign into Sabre and perform keyboard commands
normally performed by agents.
Running unattended, he said, it scans Sabre for new invoices,
archives copies for the agency and, depending on agency and client
needs, bundles the invoices for e-mailing to customers according to
a predetermined schedule.
The product was first developed for Carlson Wagonlit Moorpark in
California, which is headed by president Barbara Redman. As a
result, the product is named for her as The Redman Invoice
Processor (TRIP).
Redman said her $18 million agency saved $22,000 in the first
nine months of usage, based on previous monthly costs of $800 for
printed forms, $500 in postage and $1,200 in labor.
Introductory pricing on the software is $800 for a one-time
setup fee and $50 a month for maintenance; Thibault said he will
review pricing for 2004.
More information is available by calling (888) 393-3602,
e-mailing [email protected] or visiting www.magnatech.com.