Trucking Technology Report - June 28
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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:
- Cell Phone Plan May Hasten Cashless Society
- Regulators Delay Auction of Spectrum for Internet
- Airport Searches for Better Signal
- Start Small, Think Big
- Web Pages Fit for Your Handheld
Cell Phone Plan May Hasten Cashless Society
Mobey Forum, backed by Nordea, UBS, Barclays, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Visa, will set the standards for mobile phones that will act as credit cards.The technology, supported by Nokia, Siemens, and Ericsson, will use a second chip inside the phone to act as a credit or debit card, which will communicate with tills over a built-in local network. The standard is the first move to convince banks and mobile manufacturers to use common technology for mobile payments; security would be provided by a PIN number.
Regulators Delay Auction of Spectrum for Internet
Federal regulators postponed an allotment of spectrum for broadband, wireless Internet access after they deemed it impossible to meet an upcoming deadline.The FCC's move indicates how tough it has been for government spectrum managers to uncover a way to set aside airwaves for third-generation wireless. Such airwaves were scheduled to be picked out in July. The FCC revealed on Wednesday that it would continue to dedicate time to the issue, but did not divulge when it expected to devise a plan. Wall Street Journal (06/28/01) P. B4
Airport Searches for Better Signal
Minnesota's St. Paul International Airport inked an agreement yesterday to outsource management of its commercial mobile services in an effort to get improved phone coverage, a broadband, wireless Internet service, and more money from service providers who want to take advantage of the 37 million travelers who go through the airport every year.Concourse Communications will manage wireless activities at the airport, including the installation of antennas. Concourse's agreement with the Twin Cities airport allows it to take 30% to 70% of the revenue that wireless operators pay to the airport. Concourse will deploy an indoor mobile network that any carrier could employ to enhance its coverage and service quality, according to Dick Snyder, senior vice president of business development for Concourse.
The network will offer data transmissions speeds as high as 11 Mbps. Saint Paul Pioneer Press (06/28/01); Moylan, Martin J.
Town Shoes first selected Rams merchandising software to monitor store inventory levels at its distribution center and at each store, although it only required some of the software's features. The company later replaced Rams with Merchandising Express software as its tracking needs expanded.
Meanwhile, Sears, Roebuck and Co. has long been a user of logistics systems, which has enabled the company to trade electronically with 4,500 suppliers for over a decade. However, the company's vice president of vendor relations, Dave Giometti, wanted a logistics system that would enable incoming products to be shipped directly to their destination points upon arrival at the distribution center.
To make Giometti's vision a reality, the company began using EDI to transmit electronic purchase orders to vendors, which then shipped the goods with bar-labels attached. When shipments arrive, employees at the distribution center use a device to scan the labels and quickly route the goods to waiting trucks. Darwin (June 2001) Vol. 1, No. 9, P. 109; Gibbons, Lauren
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However, Zframe is working on a system that it claims addresses several of the problems. The company's client-server software delivers an exact rendering of a Web page or application in devices that are compatible with the Palm OS and Microsoft Pocket PC devices.
Although the product remains in the initial development stages, experts knowledgeable about the system believe it has great potential. Meta Group CEO and co-research director Dale Kutnick believes the concept is dead on. Zframe is conducting trials of the system with a few companies. InformationWeek (06/18/01) No. 842, P. 73; Nelson, Matthew G.
Start Small, Think Big
Canada's Town Shoes and Sears, Roebuck and Co. have launched supply chain optimization programs. Town Shoes, which operates a chain of 49 shoe stores, did not have the same supply chain needs as much larger companies, such as Wal-Mart, notes the company's senior vice president, Peter Gerhardt.Web Pages Fit for Your Handheld
Handheld devices have yet to fulfill their potential as essential Internet access tools. Handhelds have fallen short because of the variety of screen sizes, the processors' inability to support data-heavy applications, and the browsers' limited functionality.
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