Trucking Technology Alert - July 18
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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:
Mobile Messaging Growing
The industry is leaning towards use of short message services via mobile phones, due to the overwhelming popularity in younger crowds.The new wave of short message services also utilizes location-specific information, which could ultimately provide another advertising channel for companies. However, the new technology could cause major problems with unsolicited messages appearing on customer phones, resulting in services being changed or mobile devices being turned off.
NTE Sees Good 2Q
NTE announced recently that company transactions rose 300% compared to the same period last year.According to reports, NTE had its most successful quarter since being founded seven years ago. First-quarter results increased by 55%, and membership boosted to over 1,200 companies, noted officials.
The privately held transportation exchange assists firms in buying, selling, and managing transportation services through the Internet. Journal of Commerce (07/17/01)
Cities Get Cellphone Ban OK
Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth announced Monday that Florida towns and cities could take action against those who use wireless handsets while driving.Butterworth said local governments could decide on handset use while driving without any conflict with state law. Since no state law discusses handset use while driving, Butterworth said local government could come up with their own limitations. Officials in Miami-Dade and Broward counties welcomed the decision. It makes sense because it enables each community to design an ordinance for that specific community, according to Pinecrest Mayor Evelyn Greer.
In June, New York became the first state to prohibit handset use while driving, a decision that Florida legislators have been unwilling to make. Miami Herald (07/17/01) P. B1; Clark, Lesley; Ponce, Eunice
Flexible systems and Internet ordering have helped bring manufacturers a step closer to mass customization. With the Internet, manufacturers can link up supply chains in real-time in order to create leaner operations. Mass customization points toward build-to-order (BTO) manufacturing, which Dell Computer has mastered on its way to becoming the largest PC maker in the world last year.
Dell's manufacturing process lets consumers specify the features they want on their PC and pay up front by credit card; the PC maker then has the PCs assembled and dispatched, and they often arrive within three days. Dell relies on a standard pre-assembly module, with most of the customization coming from the chosen software--PCs are put together in four minutes and it takes 90 minutes to load up the software. Car makers, in particular, are looking to take advantage of mass customization because it has the potential to lower supply-chain costs by up to $80 billion a year, and some industry players are optimistic about "virtual" BTO, or using the Internet to find where the desired car exists in the distribution system.
Other manufacturers, such as Maytag, are approaching mass customization through the "build-to-replenish" model, the key BTO stage that requires a company to make another product once one is sold. Economist (07/14/01) Vol. 360, No. 8230, P. 63
Mass Customization a Goal
Manufacturers are making progress in "mass customization," but the selling of highly individual products on a mass scale is believed to be years away.
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