The Year In Trucking IT
Security takes center stage in a tough year for fleets and technology providers.
JOHN BENDEL
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
This difficult year for fleets was also tough for technology providers. Still, 2002 had its share of trucking technology debuts. Not surprisingly, after Sept. 11, 2001, many of these address security issues. Most of these solutions involve vehicle location and GPS technology.
Other new products deal with more general trucking problems. Here we've rounded up some of the most interesting.
In general, the IT offerings reviewed here were introduced or began actual operation in the past 12 months. Some are new products from totally new companies. Others are new offerings from established technology providers. And sometimes the blurry line between new products and upgrades of previous offerings is hard to define.
It is impossible to review all the new technology developments of the year. So we're featuring those that seem most clearly new from an evolutionary, marketing or business standpoint.
That being said, here is what was new in 2002.
Routing/Scheduling
Next Generation Truck Routing: Velant's Transportation Management Center
Conceived by Don Ratliff, executive director of the Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech, Velant hosts a powerful array of computers at its suburban Atlanta headquarters where it crunches vast quantities of data to come up with customized, optimized truck routing. Velant calls it "clustered parallel computing architecture," which Ratliff says far outperforms earlier routing programs capable of dealing with only a relative handful of virtually unlimited routing variables.
Once your company's profile and logistical parameters have been set up, you send Velant your orders and in a matter of hours — or less — they send you back an optimized routing plan, for one distribution location or many. It's all done over the Internet or a dedicated connection.
Velant claims its Transportation Management Center automates and optimizes all of the decisions around truck transportation, from routing, scheduling and load building to freight consolidation, mode selection and backhaul coordination.
Of course, Velant offers the advantages of an ASP (Application Service Provider), such as built-in software maintenance and upgrades, as well as the disadvantages, which include reliance on remote communications and continuing — though volume related — expense.
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Transponders
One Tag Fits All: Mark IV IVHS Ubiquity
Truck windshields may not fill up with transponders after all. Mark IV's Ubiquity transponder — or tag — is designed to work with most North American toll collection and weigh-in-motion services.
According to Mark IV, Ubiquity operates at more than 80% of all North American toll facilities, including locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado and California, plus sites opening soon in New Hampshire and Maine.
Ubiquity will also provide connectivity for customers of the PrePass weigh-in-motion system.
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Document Management
Truckstop Scanning For Truckload Carriers: Pegasus TransTech's Transflo Express
Sign up for Transflo Express and your driver can take shipping documents to the fuel desk of any participating truckstop. A clerk will scan the documents, the digital images are sent to headquarters (or a third-party service) and the originals returned to your driver. Pegasus claims its service replaces drop boxes and courier services, speeds billing and thus cash flow. Transflo Express scanning is currently available at many Pilot Travel Centers.
Transflo Express is a clear challenge to Transportation Management Inc.'s TriPak Express, a service that picks up from truckstop drop boxes and delivers to carriers, third-party scanning services or its own Ohio-based document-imaging service. The stepped-up rivalry has been intense and occasionally public.
In July, Pilot Travel Centers and TripPak clashed briefly over Pilot's demand for drop box rent at Pilot locations. Pilot changed its mind after TripPak customer fleets objected to possible increased costs. Later, U.S. Xpress, an early user of Transflo, signed a deal with TripPak. But Pegasus signed other big carriers, such as Heartland Express and LandStar. Pegasus expects to expand the service to other truckstop chains.
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Maintenance Systems
Tire Management Made Practical: Michelin's eTire system
Michelin's eTire system lowers the cost of tracking tires — from any manufacturer — in detail. The system includes the InTire Sensor, sidewall-mounted SensorDock, hand-held or drive-by reader and BIB Track software to capture tire pressure, wheel position and maintenance information. The system reads operating temperature inside a tire and corrects readings as if the tire were cold.
BIB Track software interfaces with BIB Tread, Michelin's retread management software to trace tires through repairs and re-treading cycles.
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Real World Data For Fleets And Suppliers: NEXIQ's eTechnician
It's all about remote diagnostics and an onboard system that considers the importance of vehicle health. The eTechnician system gathers data from the truck's own systems, tracking wear on components and the overall condition of the unit. Wireless capability enables remote diagnosis and control of a truck's electronic systems. Users view data on a web site.
NEXIQ takes the data gathering capability one step further than most. OEMs and truck component makers also have an interest in the real world performance of their products; with the fleet's permission, NEXIQ can share relevant data with manufacturers, whose support can help lower eTechnician costs to the fleets.
Properly spec'd, eTechnician is capable of operational functions, such as GPS location, state mileage tracking and wireless dispatch. It can communicate with most popular wireless media, from cellular to satellite.
Unfortunately, eTechnician's future is clouded by the NEXIQ's recent bankruptcy filing. According to a NEXIQ spokesman, a number of companies have expressed interest in buying eTechnician, which will probably survive with the same name but under a new corporate banner.
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Operations Systems
Business System In A Box: Transcore's Keypoint For Carriers
Transcore charts new carrier software territory, with Keypoint for Carriers, a self-contained system including both hardware and software.
It all comes in a Sun Microsystems Cobalt Qube 3, a small blue computer that measures 7.5 inches by 7.63 inches by 7.75 inches. Nothing needs to be installed on a user's computer or network. Plug the Qube 3 into a computer's network card or into an office network hub, open the included web browser software and it's ready to go. You'll be surfing the Keypoint software, designed to work through the familiar web browser interface.
Keypoint customers pay only for use of the software, not for a license or for installation, and they don't worry about maintenance, patches or upgrades.
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Onboards For The Budget-Minded: Tripmaster TKO Series
Tripmaster says its new TKO Series of onboard computers are for cost-conscious fleets. The TKOs are aimed at smaller and mixed truck-size fleets. Vehicle data comes from onboard sensors or the J-1708 data bus, so the TKO can be installed on any size or type of vehicle.
All three models of the TKO Series feature a new, integrated terminal/keypad platform. All are capable of GPS recording, automated electronic DOT logs, hands-free state mileage and downloaded route assignments.
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End-To-End Truckload Bundle: Catch4's MODUS
MODUS is a relatively low-cost truckload carrier business system, from dispatch through payment. Colorado technology startup Catch4 has taken aim at the small to mid-size fleet market, providing onboard hardware, dispatch software, satellite tracking, location mapping on the Internet, logistics reporting and online payments through the Automated Clearing House Network.
For a fleet of up to 50 trucks a MODUS software license costs $3,000 for one year. After that it's an 18% surcharge, or $540, for upgrades and technical support. MODUS hardware costs $599 per truck and comes in mirror-mount and roof-mount versions. Customers can choose between ground-based cellular communications or satellite coverage over the ORBCOMM low-earth-orbit satellite network. (ORBCOMM increased its trucking profile in 2002. In addition to newcomer Catch4, ORBCOMM also announced an agreement with trucking software veteran, XATA Corp.)
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Automated Operations: PeopleNet's PACOS Operations System
PACOS automates communications through the delivery cycle, sometimes called the circle of service. The system automatically notifies dispatch of progress and of problems over PeopleNet's g2x mobile communications system. Driver action is not required.
PACOS notifies dispatch or anyone else in the supply chain when there is an exception, when a truck is detained for example. It will also flag driver behavior, such as excessive speed.
According to PeopleNet, PACOS will be available to customers at no charge through OTAP, the company's over-the-air programming feature.
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Taking The Freight Postal: Prophesy Transportation Solutions' ShipperMail
It isn't for every fleet, but ShipperMail serves a unique and interesting transportation niche — companies that truck mail directly to postal BMCs (Bulk Mail Centers) and SCFs (Sectional Center Facilities) for major postage savings. ShipperMail consolidates shipments that will eventually be delivered by the the U.S. Postal Service into truckloads and LTL pool shipments. The idea, according to Prophesy, is to get the shipments as far into the postal distribution network as possible.
Prophesy launched ShipperMail in April and released an enhanced version 2.1 in October.
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Software Optimization
Mining Your Own Data: Maddocks Analytics
Maddocks Systems teamed with GHI Technologies to come up with what Maddocks calls a business intelligence solution for truckload and LTL carriers. Some people call it data mining.
The idea is to make strategic sense of your company's day-to-day information, to learn more from that daily data stream than immediately meets the eye. According to Maddocks, program users can quickly learn customer revenue by origin and destination, average shipments, service type revenue, rate per loaded mile trending, load revenue analysis and trending analysis over time. Those are just a few of what Maddocks claims are 10,000 business questions the program can answer. It's the kind of information that can lead to better-informed decisions.
Maddocks Analytics is built on a Microsoft platform and gets its data from the databases created by Maddocks TruckMate software.
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Mobile Communications
Connectivity Built In: Volvo Link
Volvo is the first heavy truck OEM to include mobile communications at the factory. Volvo Link is Volvo's fully integrated, two-way satellite communications system with a hidden antenna and a display built into the dash.
Volvo Link requires no keyboard to send messages. Using the windshield wiper control arm, the driver scrolls through a list of pre-formatted messages or creates his own. The Driver Message Center displays incoming and outgoing text. Dispatchers send and receive Volvo Link messages over the Internet. Truck location, vehicle diagnostics and reports concerning mileage, fuel economy, engine running and idle time can be generated with a simple command.
Volvo Link can be retrofitted into any late-model Volvo VN or VHD (2000 model year and newer). The monthly service fee is fixed at $14.95, plus per-usage fees that typically range between 20-50 cents depending on usage.
Volvo Link operates over the ORBCOMM low-earth-orbit satellite system.
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Asset Tracking
As a direct result of Sept. 11, 2001, competition has increased dramatically in the area of asset and trailer tracking. Many companies have jumped into the marketplace for devices that tell management where their equipment is.
Here are three recent entries in the burgeoning field, each with a unique approach to the same problem.
Tracking By Low-Earth-Orbit Satellites: AeroAstro S 10-20 Asset Tracking
The AeroAstro device, called the S 10-20, incorporates a GPS receiver, satellite transmitter, microcontroller and long-life battery pack in a unit small enough to install on top of a trailer. Users view assets on a web site with mapping and customizable reports. Add-on sensors can detect door openings, cargo tampering and temperature, for example.
The tracking unit will sell for $349. AeroAstro claims its battery pack will last for up to four and a half years, depending on the frequency of communications. Tracking service will begin at $9.50 per month per unit for two location reports per day.
The S 10-20 communicates over the GlobalStar low-earth-orbit satellite system originally developed for remote telephone access. However, GlobalStar has been operating in Chapter 11 reorganization since February of this year. But an AeroAstro spokesman said GlobalStar's financial problems were not material to the success of this service.
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Tracking By Geosynchronous Satellite: SkyBitz GLS Asset Tracking
SkyBitz communicates over the M-Sat satellite, 23,000 miles up, and synchronized with the earth's rotation to hold its place in the sky. It is the same kind of high-orbit satellite used by Qualcomm's OmniTRACS and Vistar Datacom's GlobalWave, a SkyBitz competitor.
SkyBitz tracking unit uses standard AA batteries and Global Locating System (GLS) — an alternative to Global Positioning System (GPS). According to SkyBitz, GLS lowers power consumption and cost and is said to be accurate within 15 meters, as good as most commercial GPS systems.
SkyBitz is hoping for big fleet acceptance. Its communicator units will sell in large quantities for about $375 each. Once-a-day location service available to users over a web site will begin at about $7.50 a month for large-fleet users. Prices for smaller fleets will be higher.
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Tracking By Ground-Based Cellular: Axiom Navigation's Accu-Tracker
Axiom Navigation introduced a series of Accu-Tracker devices that transmit GPS location and other data over the Cellemetry or Aeris.Net Microburst ground-based networks. Accu-Tracker models offer various input/output configurations and options such as motion sensing, which can help catch unauthorized movements. Untethered trailer tracking would require the battery backup option. All units provide geofencing capability and can alert dispatch when a vehicle goes off route.
Both Cellemetry and Aeris.Net use the analog cellular network, which offers the widest ground-based coverage. The Federal Communications Commission has guaranteed continued maintenance of the analog network for at least five years. After that, however, analog coverage could erode — particularly in urban areas — and analog users may have to buy dual-mode, analog/digital equipment.
