Jan/Feb 2009

These days, telematics system suppliers are increasingly coming to the view that they need to offer customers more than just vehicle tracking and monitoring alone. They reckon fleet operators are demanding integration with wider transport management functions.

In some cases the telematics suppliers add these new management features themselves, while in other cases it's the transport management specialists who pick up the baton, integrating telematics and tracking features into their own systems.

We thought we'd take a look at a company in this second group, so in this artice we're focusing on Haultech, a long-established supplier of transport management software.

Lately Haultech has developed a real-time system called Haultech Interactive, a vehicle tracking and real-time activity-monitoring program. We've examined this not just on its own, but also in the context of a related product, Haultech Traffic, a transport planning application. Both are aimed particularly at companies in the multi-user third-party logistics sector.

 

Our impression

The core components of Haultech Traffic are interactive job booking and entry, load planning and consolidation, resource allocation, and performance and financial control of the operation.

Traffic accepts delivery and collection information in three ways – from manually-input data, from individual customers (via a password-protected Internet site), or from third-party shared-network businesses such as Palletline.

A key feature is an Internet portal that gives a user's customers control and visibility over their orders, including the ability to book consignments directly on the Web, track consignments and generally interrogate the system about job status.

All jobs are collated in an on-screen diary, which shows one of five potential status situations – booked, scheduled, actioned, completed and invoiced. The diary can be configured so it displays information key to the operation, and there is a series of tools to help the load planning processes.

A 'load totaliser' calculates the number of jobs and pallets, along with the weight and volume of each job. Once a load is created it is assigned to a driver, vehicle, trailer or subcontractor.

Integration of information from the tracking system creates a 'live' screen, which allows planners to allocate jobs throughout the day to the most appropriate vehicle. Status is changed automatically to 'complete' once an electronic proof of delivery is received or a scanned delivery note scanned.

Performance and financial control features are built in. The Revenue screen assesses the viability of each planned load and the system automatically calculates the cost of the job on the basis of the rates and tariffs selected.

The latest addition to the software is a Carbon Calculator. It integrates seamlessly into Haultech Traffic, and both customers and carriers can use it to calculate the carbon footprint.

Haultech Interactive incorporates the Navman Wireless vehicle tracking system by default. It produces detailed fleet performance reports, including start-stop times, time spent waiting at delivery points, routes taken and distance travelled. Driver and vehicle performance reports can also be included.

Real-time information includes time of previous drop, mileage to next drop and current location. All of this is integrated back into Traffic, so planners have up-to-date information and can allocate the most appropriate vehicle as new jobs are received during the day.

With the e-POD module, delivery manifests are uploaded to the handheld complete with delivery addresses and consignment and customers details. Routing and mapping information can also be sent (Haultech uses Windows MapPoint).

Drivers collect electronic proof of delivery as deliveries are made, including any notes about damages, shortfalls and so on. Once the signature has been obtained, the driver saves the job and sends the signature back to the Web portal.

Customers use the portal to view delivery signatures and details and location of the vehicle carrying their goods. Because the live data is integrated back into Haultech Traffic, there is an audit trail of the delivery process, making it easier for the carrier to answer any customer queries later.

Haultech offers a Bluebird BIP-5000 rugged PDA as its standard mobile computer terminal, but the software is said to work with any Windows-enabled mobile terminal.

For customers who prefer to stick with paper-based documents, Haultech has developed a system in which documents can be scanned in, and will all be referenced to the same barcode (for traceability, and to eliminate the need for multiple entries of consignment details).

Data from Traffic and the in-cab telematics system is aggregated and available in a series of reports. As you would expect, there are the classic reports on actual versus planned mileage and trip times, together with a specially strong set of financial performance reports, including outstanding and non-invoiced jobs, estimated load revenues, planned versus actual load reports, revenue reports and customer activity trends.

Our verdict

Haultech Traffic and Interactive are both excellent examples of how technology can be used to control costs and improve customer service at the same time. The applications work well together, and are especially strong on eliminating manual input and paperwork to speed up the time between delivery and payment, so should have especial appeal in the current economic climate.