Trucking Technology Report - July 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:
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Revving Up Build-To-Order
The automotive industry is putting its online build-to-order (BTO) efforts in overdrive. Ford Motor, General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Toyota, Volkswagen, and other industry leaders are hoping that the BTO movement that boosted supply chain cost efficiency in the PC industry can be applied to theirs. However, unlike PCs, cars are the product of a complex network of suppliers and dealers, and come in a vast array of configurations.
The potential cost savings of a Web-enabled BTO system are great: industry insiders say that putting the process online could reduce surplus inventory and supply chain costs by 14%, or $3,643 per car. While analysts say that the industry is overestimating cost savings and customer demand, manufacturers are working to bring dealers online before online distribution networks like CarsDirect.com do.
The industry must also support supply chain collaboration, which will require wooing suppliers and the Federal Trade Commission. In addition, products must be simplified, design cycles quickened, and manufacturing processes made visible and enabled by upgraded systems. eWeek (07/24/00) Vol. 17, No. 30, P. 63; Moad, Jeff
The Widening World of Internet-Linked Wireless
With roughly 5 million Internet-capable handheld devices on the market, the need for safe business transaction technology is increasing. The market is expected to expand significantly in upcoming years. Strategis Group predicts that by 2005, there will be 500 million wireless users throughout the world. This increase in users could pay huge benefits for Internet commerce companies, such as First Data Merchant Services. The company has already finalized a deal with Entrust Technologies for supporting its security software, called digital certificates, to Web merchants.The digital certificates are used to confirm the identity of parties engaged in a transaction and also for data encryption. First Data and Entrust Web will collaborate on marketing the certificates and will also market WAP certificates. The WAP certificates are designed exclusively for Internet transactions involving wireless devices. The two companies hope to take advantage of the lack of high-tech security software in the telecom market.
MasterCard International Vice President Christopher W. Jarman has been gathering a variety of vendors – from card manufactures to networking companies – in anticipation of the need for open, world-wide standards for payments transmitted over the Internet via mobile phones. Jarman says the standards will support a variety of wireless payment methods, including chip cards and digital wallets. He adds that he expects the standards to be introduced in a small group of countries, including France and the United Kingdom, before the end of the year. Credit Card Management (07/00) Vol. 13, No. 4, P. 52; Murphy, Patricia A.
Big Wireless Outlays Hit Telecom Bottom Line
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The ultra-competitive nature of the telecom market has influenced both companies to direct huge amounts of funds to maintain their long-distance telephone businesses and expand operations in the wireless market. But the spending also increased Deutsche Telekom's wireless subscriber base by 30.5%. BT reported that sales for the fiscal quarter increased by 36% from the previous year's levels. Wall Street Journal (07/28/00) P. A12; Fuhrmans, Vanessa; Naik, Gautam
Cisco Creates Community of Internet-Wired Homes
Cisco Systems is creating, along with the planned community of Playa Vista in Southern California, a huge, futuristic consumer community. When it is finished, the 1,087-acre residential and commercial neighborhood will contain 13,000 homes, condos, and rentals as well as 6 million square footage of space sectioned off for retail and office needs. Homes in Playa Vista will vary in price from $200,000 to $1.5 million, with the equipment for the new e-houses accounting for about $1,000 worth of the price tag.The technology of fiber optics and Internet telephony will make possible everything from remotely locking and unlocking doors and fine-tuning the water temperature to knowing that the fridge was left ajar. PaeTec Communications will make sure all is in order, when the first stage of construction is finished in 2002 and the first residents begin moving in, through monitoring the whole cyber works of the community.
The market for appliances geared toward the futuristic e-consumer may reach an estimated $8 billion by the time Playa Vista is under way. Associated Press (07/25/00); Edwards, Cliff
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