Trucking Technology Report - Aug. 24
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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:
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BNSF Website Provides Carload Shippers With Estimated Transit Times
Carload shippers who use Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway can now use the company's Web site to locate estimated times between any two points on the railway. BNSF's application is the first to let customers see for themselves the transit time. Chuck Schultz, BNSF's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, stated that the application is part of their effort to serve customers better and more easily. The Web page can be found at www.bnsf.com.
epresentatives. Journal of Commerce Online (08/22/00); Kaufman, Lawrence H.
G-Log, Consolidated Commerce Form Partnership
Global Logistics Technologies will partner with Consolidated Commerce to market privately-created online marketplaces. The partnership will use Consolidated's software technology platform and G-Log's supply chain and transportation management software. The joint program will allow digital marketplace customers to take advantage of order fulfillment and planning while viewing orders and inventory. Consolidated's eMarketplace software will join G-Log's GC3 software to help customers plan and manage global shipments within the same framework online. Journal of Commerce Online (08/23/00)Sprint Plans to Let Travelers Access Corporate Data
Sprint plans to launch a mobile service that enables corporate customers to access private company information during travel. The Sprint PCS Wireless Web for Business links wireless devices o such applications as e-mail. But security concerns may arise.
Corporations are concerned about the possible misuse of the service's wireless link that can penetrate corporate "firewalls" to access information. Firewalls are networks used to protect a company's Web site information from unauthorized use. The service uses a method that decrypts and then re-encrypts the user's transmissions. But this leaves the information exposed to hackers for a brief moment. Darryl Sterling, an associate at Mainspring, says the loss of a corporate user's wireless device could also lead to a breach in security. Wall Street Journal (08/24/00) P. B10; Harris, Nicole
Verizon, Unions Reach Accord
After 18 days, the strike of Verizon Communications workers ended last night following a settlement between the local phone company and its unions. Verizon officials said it would take as long as a month to handle the over 60,000 customer service orders and roughly 20,000 requests for new service. The strike started with a walk out of 87,000 workers across Verizon's territory. However, about 50,000 of those workers in New York and New England came back to work Monday after a tentative settlement was reached with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and a unit of the Communications Workers of America. But the remaining employees, represented by the CWA's Mid-Atlantic unit, remained in negotiations until yesterday. The division, which represents 10,000 workers in the Washington, D.C., area, had yet to resolve issues including required overtime and work-related stress, according to union officials.
The three-year agreement formed last night, which applies exclusively to CWA employees in Verizon's southern region, immediately reduces the amount of required overtime from 15 hours per week to 7.5 hours per week for customer service workers. Other workers will have required overtime restricted to 10 hours a week immediately and eight hours as of January 2001.
Verizon said it would provide all union workers with a 12% salary raise, a 14% pension increase, and stock options. The company also agreed to restrict the number of jobs it shifts to other regions. Washington Post (08/24/00) P. A1; Schafer, Sarah
Cellphones Could Soon Go Way Beyond Call of Duty
By October 2001, all mobile phone systems in the United States will be required to trace 911 cell phone calls within a range of 100 meters. While the E-911 technology will be very expensive to deploy, it will also save many lives.Developing location technology for emergency purposes could also lead to new wireless business strategies. Some leading telecom companies including Sprint and Ericsson have developed location-based technologies that could transform e-commerce. Location-sensitive coupons, time-sensitive coupons, and health alerts are some of the location services developed by the firms.
Location-sensitive coupons could enable such Web merchandising sites as Amazon.com to send advertisements, which would be triggered by entering a store, to a registered user's mobile phone. Health alerts could also be sent to a customer's mobile phone warning of potential health risks, such as poor air quality, in the user's location. Location technology also presents major privacy issues since advertisers and Internet businesses could know the places a customer visits. USA Today (08/23/00) P. 3B; Maney, Kevin
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