Sept/Oct 2003

A low-cost, easy-to-use real-time proof of delivery and remote worker management system running on standard PDAs (personal digital assistants) with mobile phone connectivity has been launched by Road Tech Computer Systems, the company behind the Roadrunner transport management software system. It is being called Roadrunner SDI (Smart Driver Interface).

The idea is the system can give smaller parcels and courier companies the same kind of real-time POD gathering capability enjoyed by giants such as UPS, but at a more affordable price ­ and without any complex systems integration work. The company is also targeting other types of small business such as taxi firms and local delivery businesses.

Users can sign up for the system online and download the software directly from the Road Tech Web site for installation in existing PDAs. It is self-extracting and self-installing, so in theory there is no setup for the user to do. The service costs £15 per unit per month, plus £11 (typically) for GPRS data transfer, which users set up independently. Road Tech is promoting the fact that this provides effectively unlimited text messaging.

Managing director Derek Beevor says the company made a policy decision to base the system on relatively low-cost standard PDA-phone hybrids, rather than much more expensive industrial handheld terminals. It is recommending O2's XDA range. He acknowledges that dedicated terminals are more robust, and are therefore preferred by some users, but says the lower initial cost of a PDA was considered to make it more appealing, especially to the smaller business users and owner-drivers who are targeted by the service (and who might already have suitable PDAs).

 

On signing up for the service, users are automatically allocated a secure dedicated Web page, through which they can send drivers details of collection and delivery requests, consignment references and information about their loads. Drivers capture delivery data and other information and send it back to the Web page in near-real time over the GPRS link.

Initially the dedicated Web page and the PDA-based forms are made up of standard templates that would typically suit a parcels operator (they include a "diary" facility and other menu options). However, Beevor says the company is hoping users will request their own screens for specialist activities. "We can then defray the development costs by making the new screens options for other users."

Road Tech is emphasising that this is a stand-alone system and not an alternative to its much more sophisticated Cab Link system, which can monitor and report on vehicle performance and other factors. "Telematics are not just one thing," Beevor says, "they involve a whole range of functions."

However, the company is currently considering extending the scope of SDI to include a turn-by-turn navigation capability to guide drivers to their destination. This would probably involve a link with the map-based TomTom Navigator system for PDAs.