Feb/Mar 2008

Businesses wanting both vehicle routing and scheduling and tracking solutions can now obtain them in a single package from Paragon, one of the best-known specialists in the scheduling market. The announcement, which was made exclusively to m.logistics, comes as Paragon upgrades its core scheduling system with new functionality.

The tracking capability comes through an agreement the company has signed with Navman Wireless, under which it has become a reseller of Navman's vehicle tracking solutions. Paragon managing director Will Salter told m.logistics: 'A lot of users who want a tracking system as well as routing and scheduling say they would like to buy the whole package from us, and leave us to handle all the implementation and support, rather than deal with two separate suppliers. Now we can offer this.'

He adds: 'For some time we've been able to integrate with at least half a dozen tracking systems, and we will continue to do this. But Navman becomes our system of choice where the operator leaves the decision to us.'

Paragon has written its own software interface to the Navman system, and says this close integration makes it easier for the company to include monitoring of ancillary vehicle information such as load temperatures or CANbus-derived vehicle diagnostic data.

 

In recent years Paragon has moved beyond routing and scheduling to offer what it terms execution systems. This functionality is embodied in its Paragon Fleet Controller software, which allows users to manage the execution of its delivery schedules in real time. Now data from the Navman tracking system can be fed automatically into this system, helping managers to monitor operations against plan, and to take action where there are delays or other problems.

In addition, through the links between Navman Wireless and its parent company's associated satellite navigation business, Paragon can include Navman satnav with the tracking system, and can feed route information automatically to the driver for each new call.

Meanwhile, Paragon has just released version 5 of its core routing and scheduling system, which introduces some significant innovations. In particular, the underlying routing engine has been rewritten to allow resources to be considered in much more detail during the optimisation process.

What this means in practice is that vehicles, trailers and drivers are considered separately and individually, rather than being seen as generic resources. 'Not only can the system differentiate easily between vehicle types and sizes,' Salter says, 'it can also take account of the experience and abilities of specific drivers, having regard to their competence with vehicle types and so on. And it can decide whether each driver has enough hours available to complete the required task.'

This information is held in a new feature called Resource Manager - a self-contained SQL database, which can also be used to produce detailed reports. Currently it focuses on the scheduling task, but Salter says it may be developed in future to allow more wide-ranging management of drivers' working time.

The new system also gives users the ability to apply differential rush-hour traffic speeds to specific areas of the country, using their own local knowledge. Speeds can be applied by time of day and even by direction - and it's all done interactively on digital maps.

Finally, Paragon has added a new strategic modelling tool to its portfolio. Territory Optimiser helps users divide regions of the country automatically into territories that are balanced in terms of geography and work load. It complements the company's higher-level modelling tool, FastNet, which helps users to determine the optimum network of regions, depots and outbases for their distribution requirement.