Transportation management software (TMS) vendor MercuryGate International Inc. has integrated its platform with a carrier onboarding tool from DAT Solutions, saying the move will allow MercuryGate's users to swiftly bring on new carriers without leaving the application.

By hosting a website on behalf of users, DAT, through its "DAT Onboarding" tool, allows carriers to complete an online profile and view, print, and sign contracts through PDF documents instead of by exchanging faxes. The process is faster and more accurate than using manual data entry and feeding the pages into fax machines, DAT says.

MercuryGate, based in Cary, N.C., says its TMS users—carriers, brokers, and shippers—will save time and minimize errors by adopting the electronic document-exchange approach.

"Time is money, especially in freight transportation," Greg Sikes, DAT Solutions' vice president of products, said in a statement. "The integration of DAT Onboarding into MercuryGate allows our mutual customers to replace a paper-driven process with one that is far less time consuming, enabling them to quickly onboard carriers and start moving freight."

To complete an online profile, carriers that use DAT Onboarding must enter their equipment type, services, geographic preferences, tax information, and insurance-agent details. Once the profile is completed, carriers can visit any broker's site on the DAT Onboarding platform to sign that broker's contract.

The two companies have previously collaborated on other software connections, as MercuryGate has also integrated DAT's Load Boards, RateView, and CarrierWatch products.