June/July 2003

Mobile computing isn't much good unless it integrates with the rest of your system. the established transport management specialists see the chance of a killing here, and now psion teklogix and isotrak have launched their own bid for a share of the market

You'd think transport would be seen as the core of any logistics operation; yet surprisingly, when it comes to integration, for some reason the transport element often seems to be neglected.

In other areas of logistics, information technology has been used to draw the various strands together. Warehouse management software and wireless communications, for instance, are helping to integrate the storage part of the supply chain into corporate networks; and the Internet has improved communications and transactions with third parties.

Yet the transport or traffic office responsible for getting the goods to the customer is often managed separately. It may well be running a fairly sophisticated operation, complete with computerised route scheduling and load planning and vehicle management systems; but that vital link to the warehouse and customer service divisions is often missing, or at least is handled by a relatively simplistic data transfer system.

 

There are signs that this neglected area is now getting the attention it deserves. Last year Road Tech Computer Systems, one of the leaders in transport management software, acquired its own on-board computer system Cab Link, while its Roadrunner software now allows carriers the ability to exchange data with customers.

Earlier this year Mandata unveiled Advanced Services, which links the company's Manpack3 transport management system with a vehicle tracking and mobile data service from telematics specialist Cybit. A Web site allows customers and carriers to transfer job bookings automatically, and transfer delivery manifests directly to a PDA in the driver's cab.

Another transport management systems supplier, Traderman Systems, has also opted for the best-of-breed approach by teaming up with Controlforce to link vehicles in the field directly with the traffic office and warehouse (m.logistics, April/May issue). And from the warehouse management side, Microlise is rapidly building a reputation for an on-board tracking and mobile data package that links directly to its transport management and WMS systems.

Now data capture hardware specialist Psion Teklogix has teamed up with telematics specialist Isotrak to offer a joint package that links the transport management function with vehicles out in the field. The company believes its 20 years' experience in providing wireless computing solutions for specialist markets readily translates into the transport sector, and into other task-oriented mobile computing sectors. Many existing customers, it points out, operate both warehouses and fleets of trucks.

"We believe the transport management market represents a significant international opportunity because of its size, low level of penetration and customer demand for technology solutions that can drive down costs and boost efficiency," says Vipul Palan, business development manager for Psion Teklogix. "More and more operators will be seeking ways to cut costs, reduce waste, meet increased customer expectations and manage the effects of legislation such as the Working Time Directive and road-user and congestion charging."

The alliance with Isotrak is actually seven years old, since Isotrak already uses Psion Workabout handheld computers to deliver its in-cab services. Now, however, Psion Teklogix is to package Isotrak communications technology and managed services into an inclusive package called Transport Management System (TMS).

"The Isotrak hub is proven technology," says Palan. "Anyone can offer a server-based application, but unlike Isotrak's, not all will be robust enough to cope with management of one thousand-strong vehicle fleets. Integrating a mobile workforce takes skill. You have to know what the tasks are and how to manage the raw data that comes into the system."

TMS offers fleet management at national and international levels, and includes real-time tracking, delivery progress monitoring and comparison of planned versus actual journeys. Transport planners can manage driver shifts, improve driver and vehicle utilisation, reduce empty running and cut fuel costs.

It is a managed service offered on an application service provider (ASP) model, and is charged at a fixed monthly fee. Included are a handheld telematics unit installed in the vehicle; wide-area network communications; a central hub; and communications, monitoring and management applications running on the hub.

Psion Teklogix can also call on fellow Psion company Integrated Solutions Group to help customers integrate with existing ERP systems.

"The haulage and distribution industry runs on tight margins so there is a real need for transport operations to be as efficient as possible," says Clive Girling, Isotrak's director of partner relations. "In our experience, customers can treble their return on investment within the first term of a contract through reduced costs, increased revenue and lower working and fixed capital costs."

Although these various moves by existing logistics IT players might look at first sight like me-too attempts to cash in on the excitement surrounding mobile computing, it is arguable that in the long run, what mainstream transport and logistics operators will want more than anything is easy, workable integration of mobile and fixed computing that delivers clear and relatively hassle-free benefits. Incumbent IT suppliers with proven offerings in other parts of the supply chain could offer just the kind of package that will appeal to them.