Jan/Feb 2004

Sentinel Live is the brand name of a vehicle tracking system launched by a newly-formed company, 2020 Fleet Management. Founder and managing director Simon Atherton told m.logistics the product is already arousing interest among some big fleet users, especially in the local government sector.

The "live" element in the name draws attention to the system's use of always-on GPRS links to transmit information on vehicle location back to base. He says initially the company also developed a system based on GSM communications, but the GPRS version turned out to be more cost-effective, especially for larger fleets, "so we've pretty much put the GSM system aside and focused on the GPRS version."

Each tracked vehicle is fitted with microcomputer, GPRS wireless hardware and a GPS receiver, and sends an updated position report at regular intervals. The information is relayed over the Internet to 2020 software on the user's PC. Updating happens automatically whenever there is an Internet connection, so the company says that if a broadband connection is used, businesses "really can see the position of all their vehicles at all times."

The company emphasises its willingness to develop bespoke versions for individual operators, and accepts that the basic product may answer only 25 per cent of specific users' needs. It aims to provide the other 75 per cent on a consultancy basis. For this reason it was not prepared to tell us the exact cost of the system, pointing out that it is highly dependent on order size and exact specification.

 

Atherton told m.logistics that the company had made a point of charging fees to potential users for running trial operations, explaining: "When they are paying, users have more incentive to run a thorough trial and get as much benefit as possible from it."

He says this has not discouraged clients. "In fact every operator that has trialled the system so far has gone ahead and bought it."

Atherton has an IT background, and previously ran a business specialising in barcode label compliance and software for suppliers to the automotive industry. "But that market reached a plateau, so we were keen to expand into new areas."

The new company has been funded from a combination of £100,000 in private investment, funding from Bolton Council and grants from Business Link in Bolton and Bury.