Trucking Technology Report - Nov. 20
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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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E-Retailers Vow to Deliver the Goods
Last holiday season, Internet retailers let down many online shoppers by delivering their purchases late, damaged, or sometimes not at all.
With holiday sales predicted to reach $10 billion this year, many retailers are taking additional measures to ensure that consumers have a satisfactory e-shopping experience. Home products retailer Crate & Barrel, for example, has defined specific cutoff dates for guaranteed delivery by United Parcel Service (UPS). Customers ordering from Crate & Barrel after Dec. 21 are not guaranteed delivery.
Amazon.com (AMZN), considered by many to a model e-tailer, has also enacted an order timeline. The latest that customers can order from Amazon for guaranteed delivery before Christmas is Dec. 20. Additionally, Gap is urging its seekers of casual apparel to shop early, since it is not making any guarantees this season.
Due to the shorter calendar this season, some retail consultants believe that consumers will simply go out to the store to buy their gifts this year. According to a study released Monday by the Boston Consulting Group, however, about 96% of last year's holiday
-shoppers will be back online this season. USA Today (11/14/00) P. 3B; Grant, Lorrie
Landstar Keeps the Trucks Running Via Homemade Net Applications
Landstar System Inc. (LSTR), a $1.4 billion transportation and logistics firm, employs no drivers and owns no trucks. Landstar contracts owners, operators, and a network of agents to handle its daily operations. The company has developed several Internet applications over the last few years. Landstar's 7,100 truckers and 1,000 agents, all of whom are independent entrepreneurs, use Landstar's technology solutions to communicate more effectively. Agents use Landstar's Web site to post available loads for truckers. Truckers use the site to search for loads they want, report the status of a load, or check the balance of an ATM card.
However, despite Landstar's innovative use of the Internet, its truckers, or "business capacity owners" (BCOs), have not been able to access the Web from the place they need it the most - their trucks. To solve this problem, Landstar partnered with PhoneOnline.com - a supplier of software and services for wireless Internet access - in order to provide its BCOs with convenient access to the Web.
Today, Landstar and PhoneOnline.com's Web-based applications now enable Landstar's BCOs to access the Internet via wireless phones. If a BCO needs to report its current location while on the road, for example, it
an select the state from a scroll-down list and key in the first few letters of the city. Any information sent using the phones, by agents or BCOs, is transmitted to Landstar's management system. Frontline Solutions (11/00) Vol. 1, No. 12, P. 24; Douglas, Merrill
E-Steel Moves Industry Value Chain Online
Steel industry marketplace e-Steel has quickly risen to the top, boasting almost 3,500 member companies and offering a strong business model and smooth operations.Now, although a small percentage of global steel business is done online, e-Steel anticipates greater growth as technology facilitates faster and more convenient connections, according to the company's CEO, chairman, and founder, Michael Levin. Levin attributes his company's success to industry experience as well as partnerships with key suppliers - including U.S. Steel and Dofasco Steel - and consumers such as Ford (F), Chrysler, and Toyota.
E-commerce, or collaborative commerce, has special promise in the value participating companies can derive from it, Levin says. Whereas a long series of connections are required in offline ordering and delivery of steel, all facets of the value chain can be accomplished online much more efficiently. eCommerce Business (11/06/00) Vol. 1, No.15, P. 24; Spiegel, Rob
Wireless Matrix, Bell, Telus Forge Alliance for Wireless IP Services
Wireless Matrix made an agreement last week with Bell Wireless Alliance/ TELUS Mobility Wireless Investment Fund to offer its IP Anywhere services to users of wireless Web phones. The Bell Wireless Alliance/TELUS Mobility Wireless Fund offers financial support for small and medium sized companies developing wireless technologies.The IP Anywhere services allow firms to communicate with and operate industrial sites in far away regions. The Wireless Matrix IP Anywhere mobile data service will focus on offering international Internet capability to 200 million non-PC data devices owned by corporations. InternetNews.com (11/16/00); Nicholls, Paul
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