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The most successful logistics managers (and sleigh based delivery drivers) were likely those who could turn to technology to cope with the busiest (and most wonderful) time of the year writes Sergio Barata, General Manager EMEA, Telogis

During the recent holiday season whilst people up and down the country were purchasing piles of food, beverages and presents for their friends and families, spare a thought for those who were able to help make this period as the song goes the most wonderful time of the year.

For fleet managers, this represents one of the most challenging periods on the calendar.

Each year, we hear horror stories of traffic jams and huge queues of HGVs and LCVs snaking for miles outside of distribution centres. We hear about angry customers waiting for their parcels and how it has ruined the holiday. With so many elements to juggle, how can fleet operators keep on top of everything?

Most importantly, how can they ensure their customers get all their present in time?

With research showing that more than half of fleet executives still use manual systems for everyday fleet management tasks, it’s no surprise that many fleets are struggling to cope with the increased holiday workload.

Technology is like Santa’s little helper for fleet and logistics managers, as it plays a vital role in helping to balance distribution centre schedules, driver timings and route traffic and ultimately keep everyone happy. For fleet operators who want to stay ahead of the competition, there’s no time to lose to adopt the latest tech.

Avoiding queues at customers or distribution centres

Long lines of vans and lorries parked outside depots and distribution centres can lead to angry locals – or even a visit from the police – and cause delays for anxious customers waiting for their packages. For fleet managers, it is vital to first look at their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to establish what is expected of them, and then plan accordingly with the distribution centres in advance to map out the best timings for goods collection.

With this information, fleets can use a tech platform such as Mobile Resource Management (MRM) to plot out the details to spend less time idling in an endless queue. This allows for smoother and less stressful journeys, as well as happier customers.

 

Avoiding traffic jams with smarter route planning Even without the additional holiday traffic clogging up the roads, a study
earlier this year found that congestion in the UK’s major cities has created a 20 per cent decline in average vehicle speeds, resulting in a whopping 324.3 billion miles of delays altogether – and this is costing our economy around £9bn.

As a result, optimising routes to avoid traffic and achieve marginal gains is more important than ever. MRM provides managers with live analytics that allows them to plan out the best routes beforehand and establish which
driver is best placed to arrive at the desired destination the soonest, as well as being able to manage time slot deliveries. The technology can then track the vehicle’s location once it’s out on the road, and even re-route the driver at a moment’s notice if road conditions suddenly change.

With in the moment visibility over the status and location of each customer’s delivery, this not only means that drivers can take the most efficient routes, potentially reducing idling and fuel consumption, but also that managers are able to respond quickly and knowledgeably to customer questions if unexpected eventualities arise. This can ensure that customer satisfaction will
remain high even if unavoidable delays do occur.

Assisting in planning more effective schedules

Driver schedules can also be a real headache during the holiday season. Fleet and logistics managers constantly battle to make sure hours are allocated as efficiently as possible, and at the same time send the best-placed drivers to various different locations.

If not done properly, managers risk over-burdening some drivers, resulting in them clocking up hour after hour of overtime, while other drivers may remain under-utilised. Not only does unplanned overtime eat into margins, but drivers will become tired and overworked on top of all the stress of the busy holiday period.

With the DVSA suggesting it will clamp down on driver fatigue by issuing fines or infringement notices retrospectively, it has never been more important to get scheduling right. Tech platforms can monitor and analyse driver performance, analysing when drivers start their shifts, how many stops they have made, and what time they have completed their deliveries, helping to know drivers are where they should be at all times.

With this information at their fingertips, companies can easily make sure both their customers and their employees are kept happy. This saves a lot of stress for fleet managers who can be assured that everything is all under control.

 

As everyone was enjoying the holidays, the last thing anyone wanted was to be spending the next couple of weeks anxiously wondering where their deliveries are, and certainly no company wants to be responsible for dampening the festive cheer.

Fleet managers therefore must ensure that they are on top of their logistics as simply relying on outdated technology will no longer suffice.

They need something that is mobile and is able to scale as the business requires. Those with the right technology supporting them can not only increase their chances of getting meeting customers’ heightened expectations, they can manage costs, increase revenue and have a happy and prosperous holiday period.

 

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Since 1995, all heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and Public Service Vehicles (PSV) require a daily walk around check prior to service in the UK. Fleetmatics, a Verizon Company, has partnered with Lancashire based company CheckedSafe, to offer its digital fleet compliance app to current and future customers.

CheckedSafe’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Vehicle compliance app digitises the vehicle defect card by allowing commercial vehicle drivers to complete a driver daily walk around check from their smart phone. The data is recorded into a central database immediately, enabling the compliance manager to verify that the walkaround check has been done. Historically, all previous checks were paper-based, which is time consuming, costly and unreliable.

 

“With pressures mounting on fleet managers, it’s vital to create ways that make it easier for drivers to play their role in the safety and compliance process. By partnering with CheckedSafe, our customers will now be able to monitor all daily checks at the click of a button, and will have added insights into where the checks were carried out, how long they took, and what if any defects were identified,” said Guy Fletcher, product manager of Fleetmatics.

 

Fleetmatics’ partnership with CheckedSafe offers its current and future customers an efficient, practical and virtually foolproof solution that helps customer be fully compliant to all current regulations. The solution works on smartphones or tablets and can be integrated into other Internet-enabled devices.

"With complementary technology solutions and customers, partnering with Fleetmatics is a natural fit for us. We are pleased to have the opportunity to offer Fleetmatics customers our simple and effective solution to help eradicate the issue of either non-compliance or partial compliance with the legislation,” said Darran Harris, director at CheckedSafe.

 

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More than a quarter (27%) of transport professionals who attended the FTA Transport Manager events said they do not have the systems and technology in place to benefit from the DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme; and a further 15% do not know if they have.

The survey findings are based on responses from more than 900 delegates who have been attending the conferences taking place up and down the country since September, finishing in Coventry this month.

The DVSA’s new Chief Executive Gareth Llewellyn confirmed in September that transport service providers will need technology in place to enable the sharing of information to take full advantage of the scheme, due for launch in 2017.

Hinging on next generation enforcement, operators will be able to achieve Earned Recognition status by sharing tachograph and maintenance data with the DVSA. Exemplar transport service providers would then not be engaged at the roadside, reducing delays and associated costs.

The survey also uncovered which technologies transport professionals feel make the biggest difference in supporting compliance; and how they gauge liability following an incident.

 

The majority (32%) felt that digital walk-around checks make the biggest difference for compliance, with driver hours visibility and alerting (24%) and remote digital tachograph download (15%) the second and third most influential technologies.

Meanwhile 66% said they use video, telematics or integrated telematics and video to gauge liability following an incident. Just over a quarter (26%) take their drivers’ word as the main source of evidence; and just 7% use an external accident investigation service.

“It’s great that almost half of those who responded at the FTA Transport Manager conferences have got the technologies and systems in place to take advantage of Earned recognition next year. But it still leaves a large proportion who aren’t sure, or know they aren’t ready,” said Matthew Hague, Executive Director – Product Strategy, Microlise. “I believe Earned Recognition will be a game changer for compliant operators – delivering a real competitive advantage for those that are ready.”

Existing Microlise fleet management solutions which can benefit operators with compliance include Remote Digital Tachograph Download, digital vehicle walk-around checks and tools to ensure optimum vehicle health and record keeping.

 

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