A 2-way Technology Stages a Comeback
John Bendel
Technology Editor
Parke Cox Trucking Co. Inc. installed a new mobile communications system in half of its fleet in 1999. Management liked the system, but the recession intervened and full implementation had to wait almost two years.
The sharp economic downturn undermined a promising technology provider that had launched with much fanfare late in 1999. That's when Parke Cox bought the system called Mobile Messenger from Terion Inc., which was based in Melbourne, Fla. at the time. Today, Cox is equipping the rest of the fleet with a system called Global T-Fleet from Global 2-Way of Marco Island, Fla.
It's the same system, despite the name changes. But the road from field testing to full installation wasn't easy for Parke Cox, a truckload carrier based in St. George, Utah.
Parke Cox operates 46 power units and 77 trailers in 43 of the lower 48 states. "Out of those 77 trailers, a dozen are flatbeds," said Don Cox; the rest are dry vans.
"I'd say 99.9% of my business is out of the state of Utah," Cox explained, adding that he avoids New York and the New England states.
"We've been in business since 1947 - just a small family corporation," Cox said. "When I came on board with Dad in 1985, he only had about four or five trucks. We slowly grew over the years, not necessarily because we wanted to. But we've had some good customers and as they grow you've got to grow with them. If you don't, somebody else will."
Changing With The Times
Like most truckload carriers, Park Cox originally relied on pay phones for communications. "Then we had pagers; we had pagers for years," Cox recalled. "Then we finally got cell phones."
Parke Cox still provides cell phones to drivers who want them on a split-cost basis (see sidebar). But Global 2-Way now provides the primary means of communication between driver and dispatch.
Cox said he had been solicited many times by another mobilecom provider, but he could never cost-justify the technology. He said that some carriers he knew had installed systems, but then restricted usage.
"You've got to use it as a tool. But it seems like a lot of the carriers I talk to, yeah, it's a tool, but let's don't use it because every time we use it, it costs us money," he explained. "I'm thinking, that's stupid."
Cox said he was drawn to the Mobile Messenger system at the time of its launch late in 1999. He was attracted by the initial cost of approximately $1,500 per truck, far less than the leading mobilecom provider at the time.
Testing The Waters
"Back when we started in late '99, we had 40 trucks. We just wanted to test the waters, so all I ordered were 10 (Mobile Messenger units). We had 10 for a year or two. Then we finally got another ten and so at one time we had up to 20," said Cox.
But by then, a disastrous recession was beginning to take its toll on the technology startup. In August 2001, Terion was forced to suspend marketing of Mobile Messenger. In January of 2002, Terion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They would emerge only months later to concentrate on their trailer tracking product, FleetView. But they had to leave the two-way driver communication market behind.
Contrary to some reports, Terion's driver-communications network never stopped functioning. In fact, it continued to serve customers up to and beyond the bankruptcy filing. Even in the months before Global 2-Way took over, the system was maintained. However, service deteriorated as FM stations dropped out of the network.
It was a difficult time for Parke Cox.
"As the days and weeks went by, it slowly, progressively got worse and worse as the FM stations dropped out. It did get to the point where it was almost worthless," said Cox.
Parke Cox had about $38,000 invested in equipment.
"They (Terion) said, 'Hey, stick it out,'" Cox recalled. "'We're looking for a buyer."'
So that's what Parke Cox did.
For a while, Parke Cox returned to cell phone communications. "It seemed like a month or two," Cox said.
Then Global 2-Way took over and the deterioration of the FM network reversed itself.
"It wasn't very good at first, but as each day went on it got better and better. We could see it was actually working again. That's when we made the commitment to go back and start using it again. Finally, about six months ago, we ordered the remaining units. So now we have 41 trucks completely outfitted," Cox said, adding that soon all Parke Cox trucks will be equipped with Global T-Fleet.
Always Improving
"They're up and running and it's getting better all the time. You've got the satellite tracking, you've got the bread-crumb trails. I can communicate back and forth with my drivers. It's been good for my dispatchers. I've gotten more production out of them," Cox said. "It's nice to pull the screen up in the morning and find out where your trucks are so you can kind of prioritize your day."
Coverage is not total, but that's not a problem for Cox.
"A lot of the time you'll have messages instantaneously. Other times you might have a delay of a few hours or an hour, whatever. But for what I need, it works just fine," he said.
Cox said Global T-Fleet's 2-way messaging is a boon to dispatchers and drivers alike.
A dispatcher doesn't need "to have the paperwork or file sitting on his desk all day long waiting for the driver to call. My dispatchers love it because they can just hit the button, go on to the next project and be done with it," Cox said.
"The thing that's nice about it, the driver can retrieve that information six, eight, 10 hours later, whatever's convenient for him, and it's there waiting for him. He can save it or recall it whenever he wants."
About six months ago, Cox said, he decided to outfit the rest of his fleet with Global T-Fleet.
"I've got everything but one or two trucks installed and it's just a matter of getting it done," he said.
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