According to Frank Williams, VP of operations at Transplace, technological advances in transportation have turned drivers’ cabs from simple metal and fabric cubicles into mobile computer rooms, complete with a host of wireless technologies.

“We will be rolling some fleet management tools out in the near future,” states Williams. “Until then, our technology focus is on helping carriers be more efficient. We do everything we can to make their supply chains efficient. This involves having the carriers be as efficient as possible.” To assist in this goal, Transplace utilizes EDI (electronic data interchange) communication with carriers who have EDI capabilities, which allows information to flow real-time from their systems, through Transplace’s, and then have it be visible to customers. This allows customers to see where their products are down to the SKU level, allowing them to track their products from vendors to the stores, depending on the service they use. “We don’t directly manage fleets, but the technology helps the carriers be more efficient by managing data,” states Williams.

However, there are still some carriers that have not moved to EDI and may not plan to do so. In these instances, Transplace provides Internet capabilities, where carriers can go in, update their load information, and upload documentation that may be required (such as proof of delivery), etc.

Another transportation company moving ahead with fleet management technology is Echo Global Logistics. “We are working on PDA technology, specifically with Apple’s iPad and iPhone devices, as well as Android devices,” states Doug Waggoner, CEO. “Being a 3PL, we are a non-asset provider, so we have applications for shippers and carriers. For shippers, it’s about getting quotes and tracking/tracing shipments. For carriers, it’s about finding loads.”

Mobile fleet management

Ryan Barnett, market analyst at Xata, is seeing a growing trend toward the adoption of tablet computers and rugged handhelds in the industry. “If you ask fleet managers who have used these before if they would be willing to do business without them again, 100 percent of them say no,” states Barnett.

He is also seeing a trend toward looking to technology as a way to deal with regulations, such as hours of service, international fuel tax agreement (IFTA), and compliance related to speeding.

In response to the growing demand for fleet management technology, Xata has rolled out Compliance Connect, software that allows fleet managers to utilize the programs they already have in place. For example, if they have a proof of delivery application—where they are getting signature capture or a route for a route salesperson for the day—that can be done on a handheld device, Compliance Connect adds vehicle- and driver-related information straight into those applications. “In other words, Compliance Connect can empower those applications with things like vehicle speeds, trip start times and stop times, GPS-related location data, hours-of-service-related compliance data, and so on, so that companies can better utilize the major software investments that they already have,” explains Barnett.

Xata also offers another fleet management application called Turnpike —a “black box” that goes in a truck. It records engine-based data and sends that information via Bluetooth to a driver’s handheld device. According to Barnett, it can work with over 55 devices, including Android tablets, Motorola rugged handhelds, and Blackberrys. The drivers log in and can see their hours-of-service-related information. “We then automate that process, so that drivers never have to fill in paper log books again,” he adds.

The technology also gathers all of the vehicle-related data, including how efficient the truck is in terms of MPG, fuel usage, how much time was spent at each stop, and so on. Using the driver’s device, this information is transmitted to a fleet management portal, where the fleet manager can see how the drivers are doing.

Xata followed a natural progression to get to this point. “We asked: How do we enable additional parts of applications that they may be using?” explains Barnett. “This is where the proof of delivery comes in. We realized that Xata is not the best company to create an application that does complete workflow automation and complete proof of delivery. We have identified over 50 companies that have proof of delivery solutions out there. In addition, some carriers are using their own IT staffs to make their own software for proof of delivery.”

This is what led to Compliance Connect. Xata asked: How do we give customers a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) that can look at vehicle- and driver-related data, and integrate that straight into their back-end system, so they can get the most out of their investment in their handhelds and their software applications? “In other words, Compliance Connect allows customers to re-leverage the investment that they already have,” Barnett states.

Converging solutions

According to Chris Jones, EVP, marketing and professional services at Descartes, there are a number of components that make up a fleet management system. The company saw three of them coming together: route optimization (determining how to get there and the stops on the routes); mobile solutions (classic handheld technology); and telematics (driver and vehicle performance, including compliance with regulatory requirements).

“Customers liked what we were doing individually in different areas, but they wanted the information combined,” he explains. That is, customers were saying, “We like what you do in route planning, but we also want to know if our drivers are doing what they are supposed to do. And, as things change during the day, how do we effectively interact with the drivers?”

In response, Descartes launched MRM 2.0 for the private dedicated fleet world. MRM 2.0 integrates the three fleet management components together in a real-time way to more intelligently manage fleet resources.

“At the time, we were very much into the routing and mobile technology,” continues Jones. “Then, we acquired some significant state-of-the-art telematics technology. We are leveraging the consumer/commercial technology conversion that is taking place. This is driving down the cost of the technology. In our case, we chose to adopt Android as the operating system for our telematics solution.”

Descartes has also worked on the integration infrastructure, such as supporting in-cab connections, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G as well as its move to 4G.

Descartes also has programmable logic controls built into its technology, which allows it to gather and report data. “For example, we can create programs and routines in flow diagrams,” states Jones. For example, a customer can create an alert that says if a truck is idle for more than three minutes, this can be reported to the driver. “In some cases, the driver may need to shut down the vehicle,” he notes. “In New York City, for example, if a truck is idling for more than three minutes, the driver can get fined.”

Marine fleet solutions

Technology is advancing on water as much as it is on land, according to Dean Rosenberg, president at PortVision. PortVision was among the first companies to take advantage of AIS (automated identification system) for business intelligence shore-side. In 2005, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the U.S. Coast Guard mandated the use of AIS for all large vessels for collision avoidance at sea.

“We came up with a concept of listening to those collision avoidance signals, ingesting them shore-side into a data warehouse, and then using that data to solve business problems for customers on-shore,” he states.

As a result, the company now has Web-based analytic platforms and fleet management platforms, which process about 50 million individual ship location reports every day—about 200 reports every second. The company also maintains a data warehouse of about 16 billion arrivals, departures, passings, and individual vessel movements that it can give back to customers to help them solve problems, do historical reporting, conduct analysis, support training, support market intelligence, and support internal logistics and fleet management.

“This is how we started,” continues Rosenberg. “What we found as we were growing our footprint around using AIS in different ways for different customers was that the fleet owners themselves wanted some ways to enhance the visibility of their own assets, both in open water and near shore.”

PortVision found that the ability to integrate AIS data with traditional satellite data (whether Inmarsat, Radium, or other proprietary satellite data), as well as with cellular data for when a vessel is near shore, provided the opportunity for a fleet owner with enhanced visibility of their fleet while actually lowering their cost, since they wouldn’t always have to be actively on the higher-cost satellite network.

Depending on the ship, a ship will spend some percent of time in open water, where only satellites can support communication between ship and shore. A ship also spends a significant amount of time near shore and in port. During this time, PortVision can switch to both AIS and cellular communication and provide the fleet owner with real-time visibility of vessel movements in and near port. “It is not uncommon for us to have individual vessel movements for vessels around the world in 30-second increments,” Rosenburg continues. “This supports commercial disputes, compliance issues, and training.”

As the technology advances, Rosenberg is seeing some new trends:

•  In general, the industry is getting smarter about applying technology. Customers are using data created by technology for greatly expanded uses, such as gaining market intelligence.

•  With advances in technology, fleet owners are also able to share and integrate more information with customers, for things such as improving supply chain efficiencies, dealing with demurrage claims, and tax reporting.

•  Finally, in the past, it was only the vessel managers and the core group of people associated with the vessels who were “in the know” about vessel movements. “Now, technology is pushing this information out to many more stakeholders, including vessels they are not in control of,” he states. “For example, the commodities trading community is using the data for a better understanding of global movement of commodities around the world. In addition, the major oil companies are using technology data to enhance logistics and support just-in-time supply chain-related activities at refineries.” wt