Nov/Dec 2003

When Jan O'Hara launched a wireless solutions business, he decided to focus on the demanding same-day courier market. Nearly two years on, Talecom is thriving, as Sharon Clancy reports

PRS is now so well established as a cost-effective method of transferring data between offices and remote handsets in real time that it's easy to forget how, just 18 months ago, it was merely a fledgling network offering uncertain benefits.

One man who did have a vision of how GPRS might transform business communications with mobile workers is Jan O'Hara, chief executive of Coventry-based Talecom. O'Hara has worked on GPRS technology since its inception, and was convinced it was the means to deliver a best-of-breed, cost-effective wireless solution to the transport and logistics industry. So in May 2002 he set up Talecom (the logo presents it as "T@lecom") to develop a suitable application.

"Real-time job control and signature capture become not only realistic but also affordable with GPRS because it allows instant transfer of data and delivery information between back office and mobile devices. Combining that with a low-cost mobile terminal such as a personal digital assistant creates an appealing package with the potential to achieve a dramatic increase in productivity and reduction in the costs associated with running a delivery service."

 

O'Hara's first target was same-day courier companies, not least because the 4,000-odd courier companies in the UK were all considered potential customers. "Just as important, though, was the fact that the same-day sector presented the toughest challenge for our application. Courier companies have to cope with particularly demanding service levels and also intense competition. Managing deliveries and collections and allocating drivers in real-time is crucial to meet customers' expectations, maximise driver productivity and manage costs."

wireless delivered

Wireless Delivered is the application that has resulted. It incorporates two-way messaging and on-screen signature capture, with optional live tracking and satellite navigation. Wireless Delivered uses flyingSPARK's Wireless Intelligence Layer to manage a continuous line of communication between the organisation and the courier's PDA over a GPRS mobile network, and can "push" data out to a specific mobile device.

Data files are uploaded from any back office application via the Internet to a secure file transfer protocol site. The Wireless Delivered Gateway then pushes the data out to the mobile device. In reverse, the mobile device pushes its updated information back to the gateway, then back to the secure site. Using a polling process, the data is then downloaded to the back office application.

The speed of the data transfer is almost instantaneous, says O'Hara, and data costs are kept to a minimum through the use of a pay-as-you-use GPRS wireless data network. Because Wireless Delivered is a "fat client" application (which means the software is resident on the PDA), the user can complete a job even when out of communication coverage. The PDA simply uploads its data the next time it is connected.

Also incorporated in the Wireless Delivered back office system is the ability to change the configuration of the units remotely, allowing fast updates to the system whenever required.

Talecom currently charges users £55 per driver per month, which includes the GPRS and voice airtime contract, an XDA PDA from O2 and 2 megabytes of data per driver per month. This is sufficient for 50 jobs per day, says O'Hara, including status reports and transfer of data-heavy POD signature-capture files. Talecom is currently developing the product for use on other mobile networks.

There is a new version of Wireless Delivered called Runsheet for the next-day delivery market. The Runsheet application will send up to 70 jobs to the driver overnight. Talecom has also adapted the application so that it can include failure codes. If a courier cannot make a scheduled collection or delivery in the morning (because the customer is not there, for example) the job can be rescheduled for the afternoon round with either the same or a different driver.

Navigation and tracking

Two other options are designed to increase the appeal of Wireless Delivered to the general delivery market. One is TomTom satellite navigation, costing £20 per month. When the job is sent to a driver's PDA, so are the longitude and latitude of the delivery address. The driver simply requests directions to the desired location, and the TomTom navigator works out the best route based on the vehicle's current position. The route is shown on screen, and the driver can also select verbal turn-by-turn instructions.

Real-time tracking, available at £10 per month, can help controllers increase productivity by allocating the nearest driver to a collection address.

How wireless data provided the final link for Hellmann

The first company to deploy Talecom's Runsheet solution on a nationwide basis is express delivery company Hellmann Overnight Logistics. It is equipping its team of 500 drivers with Runsheet following live trials at depots across the UK.

Hellmann aims to replace its current paper-based system over the next six months. By April 2004, all 500 drivers across the UK and Ireland will be using the system on a daily basis. To prepare for this structured roll-out, full training is currently being given to drivers at individual depots by Hellmann's IT department.

Delivery and collection jobs for the day are sent to the O2 XDA handhelds carried by each driver. The XDAs also link the driver to Hellmann's Internet site gateway, providing instantaneous consignment status and proof of delivery information. Hellmann customers are able to check the status of their deliveries independently via the Web site.

Steve Travis, director of Hellmann Overnight Logistics, comments: "During extensive tests, the Runsheet solution provided a significant improvement both in terms of the efficiency of our drivers, and in cost savings. We already had an effective Web site, and Wireless Delivered is the final link in the chain.

"The system also enables our customers to access the status of their deliveries independently at any time; and the potential for future use of the system's satellite navigation and tracking facilities is a real plus point."