Special technology report Transportation management
enhancements to keep an eye on over the medium term? Hannah’s believe is that in the consumer market the capabilities of handheld user devices with integrated capabilities (phone, GPS etc.) has a firm footing. However, he also observes that the transportation management sector is starting to become aware of the possibilities such devices offer for integrating requirements into a single unit; reducing vehicle installation footprints and potentially driving standards for communication. “This will lead to less desire for bespoke systems which have a limited support life and a bigger need to use standard products,” he said. Maquignon observes that innovations are driven by industry leaders who use the software everyday and the network effectively
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TomTom has announced an ambitious plan to help keep motorists moving on the roads, called the TomTom Traffic Manifesto. Using technology such as HD Traffic, Gray points out that the aim is to make better use of the existing road network to enable journey times to be reduced for all drivers. “HD Traffic already helps TomTom subscribers save as much as 15 per cent in journey times, but if 10 per cent of all road users adopted the technology congestion delays could be reduced by 5 per cent across the entire road network,” he said. “That’s good for business as it will increase productivity, reduce driver stress and cut down on wasted fuel.”
We have seen complete payback of a system in less than six months by ensuring more accurate mileage claims alone.” – Irvin Gray, TomTom.
ends up accessing best practices on the platform, which in turn drives continuous improvement for all. “At Transwide we take comments or request from many existing clients and work on ensuring that new functionalities will cover cases across our client base,” he said. “By understanding the practices employed by these leaders, solution providers can incorporate these ‘best practices’ into the software. This feedback mechanism links product innovation with practices proven to deliver industry- leading results.”
Irvin Gray, TomTom:
Choosing a vendor is arguably the most important single decision taken when implementing a fleet
management solution.
Gray anticipates an increased focus on greener, safer driving. He maintains that more businesses will want to capitalise on the link between these focuses and cutting costs. “Solutions which can help fleets address these major issues, such as telematics, will become more commonplace and we expect adoption rates to increase significantly,” said Gray. “We also expect to see an increase in complementary technology to help fleets further with their CO2 and fuel targets, just as TomTom’s ecoPLUS solution is designed to do.” Gray also reminds us that
Pieri says many multinational companies are dealing with the economic downturn by implementing supply chain visibility and international trade compliance solutions to implement a number of strategies to get leaner such as:
1) Eliminating bottlenecks and reducing inventory at the port, at manufacturing sites and warehouses.
2) Reducing fines for holding carrier equipment too long (demurrage & detention).
3) Identifying opportunities to shift modes, e.g. airfreight to seafreight.
4) Using postponement strategies to divert inventory at an international gateway.
5) Becoming a self-filer to reduce the broker's cost to make an entry.
6) Using preferential trade agreements to lower (or eliminate) duties and total landed cost.
7) Rebalancing supply and fulfilment networks by determining tax efficient sourcing and distribution strategies.
“The market for global trade management solutions is gaining momentum by helping companies to implement these new cost- cutting strategies and ultimately will allow them to exit this recession stronger than ever,” commented Pieri.
www.logisticsit.com
Nathan Pieri, Management Dynamics: Transportation management solutions can help companies optimise costs and allow logistics providers to better differentiate their service while improving sales effectiveness.
Pesti believes the person at the end of the chain will increasingly have to be considered and involved within the transportation management equation. He also thinks some of the planning process will move to the drivers. “Drivers must be part of the communications process, and through the help of technology we can make this happen now,” he said.
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SaaS provides for a higher allocation of software development dollars to new value-added features and less in maintenance and configuration management.” – Nathan Pieri,
Management Dynamics.
Harbey foresees transportation management systems vendors being under increasing pressure over the coming years to agree industry side standards so that a tracking unit from one vendor can deliver data to another vendor’s system. “What will drive this requirement will be the need for transport operators to share vehicles across contracts and to sub-contract to other operators,” said Harbey. According to Felten, the integration of dynamic information, such as real-time dispatching and traffic-related features, might be the next innovation to look out for over the next year or two. He adds that support for environmental transparency requirements and intermodal concepts will also play an important role. “New requirements arise with the ‘evolution’ of transport processes – for example from cooperation, changes in supply chains and transportation networks, not only in terms of commercial but also environmental efficiency,” he said. “Transport management systems have to support these new developments and have to grow with the specific market demand.”
October 2010
MANUFACTURING &LOGISTICS
IT 15
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