Trucking Technology Alert - Dec. 6
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- @Track, GE Capital Fleet Services Sign Agreement
- Outsourcing Cuts Logistics Complexity
- Wireless System Tracks Inventory
- Wireless Networks Pose Risks
- Outsourcing Cuts Logistics Complexity
@Track, GE Capital Fleet Services Sign Agreement
@Track Communications Inc., a provider of wireless-based vehicle fleet management and intelligent mobile-asset-solutions, reports that its subsidiary, Minorplanet Systems USA Limited, has entered into an agreement with GE Capital Fleet Services to market and sell the company's Vehicle Management Information (VMI) solution to commercial customers leasing vehicles from GE Capital Fleet Services.The VMI technology helps maximize the productivity and profit of companies operating service vehicle fleets. It provides comprehensive and detailed reporting regarding the location of vehicles, the routes they have taken, time spent at each location, the speed and distance traveled, and time worked by service technicians. @Track Communications News Release (12/06/01)
Outsourcing Cuts Logistics Complexity
Faced with the increasing complexity of logistics technology, as well as a need to reduce costs quickly, many large companies are outsourcing their transportation and logistics functions.Although many companies are reluctant to allow an outside enterprise to operate their critical supply chain functions, they are in fact discovering that third-party logistics (3PL) companies can obtain lower transportation prices and are better at integrating logistics functions into their supply chain management environments. According to a recent survey by Northeastern University and Accenture, almost three quarters of Fortune 500 companies have outsourced at least one major logistics function such as shipment tracking, warehouse management, freight payment and transportation management.
Moreover, the survey discovered that these Fortune 500 companies intend to spend more on third-party logistics services over the next three years than they did in the past three years, despite the downturn in the economy. Michael Hickey, associate partner in Accenture's supply chain management practice, says that many manufacturing companies are also discovering that once they have signed on third-party logistics providers, these 3PLs can also tie together the disparate services and applications offered by trucking, shipping, and rail carriers. Because a third-party transportation service handles shipments for a number of firms, it often has greater leverage with freight carriers and can demand lower prices, which can save the manufacturing companies a lot of money. InternetWeek (11/26/01) No. 887, P. 25; Wilson, Tom
Wireless System Tracks Inventory
The California Department of Water Resources is using a wireless barcode system developed by Canada-based Psion Teklogix to track materials in a dozen of its key storage facilities.The new system, dubbed TekRF system, was integrated within six to eight months and extends the department's main SAP R/3 materials management database to character-based handheld devices used on the warehouse floor. According to a department official, the new system is being used to "cut down on data-entry errors and loss of information." Preliminary reports show that the system has enabled 70% and 95% of goods issue transactions to be completed with the wireless barcode system. Government Technology (11/01) Vol. 14, No. 14, P. 36; Byerly, Tom
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Wireless Networks Pose Risks
The advent of wireless networks is a step toward a long-standing vision of electronic connectedness that promises to revolutionize everyday life.But this forecasted revolution raises several questions. For one thing, too much wireless use can be an unhealthy addiction, and security and privacy is greatly reduced. A new system of protocols for wireless behavior may need to be instituted, especially since its potential for distraction in the school and workplace is so great. Technical challenges also need to be overcome: Interoperability between different technologies must be established, and a hybrid system that can seamlessly shift between formats is the most likely solution.
Companies continue to develop new wireless technologies, such as telematics systems for automobiles and the forthcoming Valhalla, a system from Universal Electronics that can control multiple appliances with a single remote. If the wireless revolution is to have a positive impact, it must be viewed as a force for sociological rather than technological change, argues anthropologist Robert Blinkoff. Newsweek (12/10/01) Vol. 138, No. 24, P. 56; Levy, Steven; Branscum, Deborah; Croal, N'gai
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