Trucking Technology Report - July 26
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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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High-Tech Consumer Trends Boost Fleet Systems
Trends in consumer communications technology mean better service will be available to the transportation industry as well. The rapid increase of consumer use of cellular communications has expanded the portion of the country with cellular coverage – cellular communication is available in most of the country and nearly every mile of major highways, and the number of towers is still growing fast.
Distribution Differs for Retail vs. E-Tail Commerce
Traditional retailers conduct distribution differently than online retailers, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 39 multichannel retailers and 36 dot-coms. Only 10.3% of traditional multichannel retailers ship online orders via distribution centers customized to e-commerce, and 61.5% of multichannel retailers fulfill online orders through facilities established before they began selling products online.By contrast, 30.6% of pure-play Internet retailers use shipping methods and facilities developed specifically for handling online orders, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Another 30.6% of pure e-tailers have drop-ship arrangements with manufacturers and distributors, compared to only 5.1% of multichannel retailers.
PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted the study in conjunction with the publication Eretailing World. Logistics (07/00) Vol. 39, No. 7, P. 24
IBM's Offering Permits Data Sharing Between Hand-Helds
IBM on Tuesday unveiled its new BlueDrekar middleware, which integrates Linux-based applications with Bluetooth wireless technology. Long anticipated, Bluetooth products permit radio waved-enabled communication and data sharing between handhelds, computers, and appliances.By integrating two of the industry's most promising technologies, IBM expects to bolster the adoption of wireless networking. BlueDrekar is intended to be standards-compliant, and promises to help simplify home networking's complex wiring and connections systems. CNet (07/25/00); Miles, Stephanie
AT&T Wireless Operations Show Progress
AT&T's second-quarter results indicate that, while the company's stock price may not increase significantly any time soon, the company's wireless and cable operations are showing progress.In addition, the company posted operating profit of $1.9 billion, or 57 cents per share, up from 49 cents per share a year earlier. Its performance beat analysts' expectations of 54 cents per share. However, the company posted a mere 3% increase in revenue to $16.2 billion, compared to $15.8 billion. Including acquisitions, revenue increased 4.5% to $16.9 billion, compared to $16.1 billion a year earlier.
The company's lackluster revenue is the result of core consumer and corporate operations that brought in $12.1 billion of sales for the quarter. Its consumer operations have been diminishing for years. However, analysts are more concerned with a decline earlier in the year with its large corporate subscribers. AT&T cut its corporate operation's growth prediction for a second time yesterday and now expects a 6% increase in sales for 2000. USA Today (07/26/00) P. 1B; Young, Shawn
Mobile Net Competition Pushes Phone Makers
The competition in the Web-enabled wireless device market is likely to remain fiercest among the leading manufacturers of mobile phones – Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola. Nokia has the largest market cap outside of the United States, climbing as high as $260 billion. Meanwhile, competitor Ericsson, which is the second leading producer of mobile phones, is at $200 billion.Each company is known for a particular design trait of their mobile phones or other telecom equipment. For Nokia it is appearance, including the availability of some phones in various colors. But Ericsson has a substantial lead in the development of mobile systems, including switches and network gear. In addition, the company has begun an extensive marketing campaign with AT&T to chip away at Nokia's mobile phone lead.
Ericsson Internet-enabled phones have been well-received by consumers, demonstrated by their new phones selling out three times in a row on their first day of arrival in stores. Motorola is probably best known as having been the leading developer of analog phones for decades. But the company has recently slipped behind rivals in producing digital phones in a short time frame.
Another large producer of mobile phones is Mitsubishi. Its T250 is designed to compete with Ericsson's R280LX Internet phone. While the T250 has a larger 10-line LCD screen, it is also more expensive than the R280LX, with a price of $199 versus Ericsson's price of $99. The T250 battery only offers a talk time of 2 hours, compared with the T280LX's talk time of 4 hours.
The company is hopeful that its recent deal with Microsoft for installing their software in its mobile phones can also help its aspirations to surpass Nokia in market share. Internet World (07/15/00) Vol. 6, No. 14, P. 62; Lightman, Alex
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