ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘tomtom’ CATEGORY

Visitors at this year’s Commercial Vehicle which was held last week were able to get a first glimpse at TomTom Telematics’ new ruggedised seven-inch driver terminal, the latest edition to the WEBFLEET fleet management platform.

Businesses will be able to host bespoke applications on the terminal to help van and truck drivers capture more information in the field, such as digital signature capture for proof of delivery, vehicle checks and barcode scanning, all on one device.

This latest development extends the WEBFLEET platform, which now has 3 API’s - in the office, in the field and on the driver terminal. With this new API, the extended integration capabilities of WEBFLEET (known as .connect) allow business to streamline their end-to-end processes, where field staff and vehicles become an integrated part of the overall operations. With the wide set of applications already developed by its partners, WEBFLEET sets the standard for developers to seamlessly connect vehicles and mobile workers with the back office*.

The new driver terminal, PRO 8275, combines the earlier announced TomTom Bridge with WEBFLEET and the .connect API capabilities. The device will be on display.

The driver terminal will add flexibility and value to an already strong solution for transport operators. Visitors can see the terminal along with existing applications such as truck navigation, tachograph management, predefined route and itinerary order creation, along with extensive hardware and software integration possibilities in the office and around the vehicle.

TomTom Telematics will also be demonstrating the end to end capability of their WEBFLEET solution at this years Service Management Expo in London's Excel in June 17th, 18th and 19th where they are hosting the Field Service Demo Zone as well as participating in the Field Service Solutions Theatre which is hosted by Field Service News. 

 

 

 

TomTom Telematics (formerly known as TomTom Business Solutions) now has 28,000 customers and 350,000 vehicles subscribed to its Software as a Service (SaaS) fleet management solution. This represents a 38 per cent year-on-year growth and reaffirms its position as a market leader in Europe.

Its WEBFLEET platform provides real time vehicle tracking, driving information and reports about operational performance to fleet managers.

“The growth of WEBFLEET is founded upon its success in helping businesses operate more efficiently by turning large vehicle data volumes into actionable insights,” said Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director, TomTom Telematics.

“As the largest and fastest growing fleet management provider in Europe, we have a lot of experience in helping customers to use this data to manage and improve their overall vehicle operations.”

In a single day, these 350,000 managed vehicles make 1.75 million business and private trips and drive more than 60 million km, the equivalent of 1,500 times around the world.

The data centers, provided with the highest security and performance standard (ISO27001), process over 425 million messages and GPS positions per day or 25 billion new data points every quarter. At any moment, this data is immediately available to business customers in clear dashboards, live vehicle information or via detailed reports in order to decrease fuel, maintenance and insurance costs of the fleet of vehicles.

[quote style="boxed"]Click here for more features, news and resources from TomTom Telematics in the Field Service News Directory[/quote]

 

Technology has long been a key driver for innovation and change in business. Regardless of size or industry, the pace of technological change is a major factor in the ability of businesses to evolve, meet increasing customer demands and maintain a commercial advantage. Giles Margerison, Director with TomTom Telematics explains more...

Rarely has this relationship been more evident than in the recent development in the connected vehicle and the opportunities it offers to field service organisations.

Advancements in fleet management technology have resulted in a growing suite of applications designed to help managers boost operational efficiency and, increasingly, realise new levels of customer service delivery.

As a consequence of the recent economic slowdown, customers are seeking ever-greater value for money and demanding more from business than ever before. The effective application of connected vehicle technology could be crucial in helping field service operators to act quickly and introduce new services and innovations to further improve the customer experience.

What is the connected vehicle?

Although it is undergoing a period of rapid technological change, the connected vehicle is not a new concept. It has its roots in vehicle tracking, which has long allowed businesses to improve efficiency by gaining greater visibility of their mobile workforce.

But we are now experiencing greater degrees of connectivity than ever before - driven in part by the pace of technological innovation in the consumer sphere. Advancements are occurring at an ever-quickening pace, driving adoption and making technology such as smartphones and tablet PCs integral business tools.

These devices can work hand-in-hand with advanced telematics technology to create a seamless IT operation that encompasses all aspects of life – from business to your home, car and leisure time.

The same goes for business, where vehicle, smartphone, mobile hardware and office software can form a seamless loop that allows for greater flow of data through disparate parts of a business and its operations.

For example, a wireless Bluetooth connection might allow the tracking unit fitted into a vehicle to communicate with mobile printers, barcode scanners, signature-capture devices or even smartphones.

The result is an exchange of data which allows such hardware to incorporate precise information regarding time and location for the production of more accurate invoices or proof of delivery. This can then be communicated back to the office in real-time, allowing better management of workflow and fulfilment of customer orders.

Bringing mobile workers into the office fold

Such innovations allow management to exercise a greater degree of control over their mobile workforce, ensuring employees on the road are as connected and accessible as those in the office.

Combined data from in-vehicle technology and mobile hardware can be communicated back to the office and shared with the appropriate software applications - a vital relationship given society's increasing dependence on electronic relationships between companies and their customers, suppliers or partners.

When an order is received by a company, for example, the details can automatically be passed from the e-commerce platform or CRM to the fleet management dashboard.

This allows the mobile operations manager to view outstanding orders and dispatch the most appropriate employee to each job based on how long it will take them to arrive, with directions sent immediately to their satellite navigation device. Once the job is done, data will be sent from the vehicle back to the office, allowing the final details to be added to the CRM or invoicing software, completing the loop.

Such a situation is only made possible through the integration of fleet management hardware and software with existing office applications, which has become a growing concern given the rate of technological change.

IT integration must extend to all elements of a business, including both office and mobile operations, in order to form a flexible framework capable of providing a lasting competitive edge.

What does the future hold?

Even greater advances are close at hand. A number of insurance companies are already using fleet management technology to send driving performance data to a policy-holder's smartphone with a view to helping them drive more safely and reduce premiums.

For field service organisations, it is not hard to imagine a situation where the customer places an order and subsequently receives a message to their smartphone providing an accurate ETA for when the operative will arrive at their house - perhaps even tracking real-time progress on a map.

Not only that, but the smartphone then tells the customer exactly how long it will take for them to travel home in order to meet the operative and provides them with the best possible route, taking into account traffic congestion.

Extending the idea further, deliveries could be sent to a customer's exact location, pinpointed according to the GPS signal from their smartphone, whether that’s home, work or even the local coffee shop.

Roadside assistance companies could allow customers to make a distress call via a smartphone app before sending out the most appropriate responder based on engine diagnostics and location data sent immediately from the customer's vehicle.

No matter the application, the connected vehicle will only continue to offer new possibilities for the field service industry to future proof its service offering.

 

 

Gloustershire based Agronomy company Agrii have implemented a real-time transport optimisation and vehicle tracking solution for its agrochemicals division.

The company that is seen as a leader within it's field in the UK has opted to utilise Paragon’s Fleet Controller system and integrate this with a live vehicle tracking feed, provided by 49 TomTom PRO 9150 navigation units, taking advantage of the systems's advanced vehicle routing and scheduling software.  The result is a real time plan versus actual performance information delivered to the Agrii transport and customer service teams, also enabling customers to receive updated ETAs using Fleet Controller’s text messaging facility.

“By integrating Paragon and TomTom technology we are able to plan and manage deliveries of more than 350 orders a day, which given the location and type of customers we serve would be a logistical challenge if we didn’t use this solution,” said Tony Frain, Agrii’s Logistics Manager.

“The software allows us to offer customers the opportunity to place orders up to 10.30 pm and we’ll guarantee delivery if stocks are available by the next working day in three slots: before 9am, before 12pm or next day.”

Paragon also provides timed web-based reporting to Agrii customer services, with scheduled route timings updated every few minutes based on the live tracking information.  This informs the customer service agents of real-time delivery activity and allows them to prepare customers to receive their deliveries. With the nature of their business meaning many deliveries require a forklift to unload the vehicle , this efficiency allows for streamlining the delivery process saving valuable time for both Agrii and their clients alike.

With the TomTom units providing  intelligent navigation and live traffic information to help drivers avoid congestion Agrii are able to make further savings in both time and money and the all-in-one business tool combines navigation and GPS tracking in one single, portable, device is an major benefit.

Other benefits of the system are it's flexibility - Agrii's operation is heavily seasonal so the versatility of the solution means that the company can increase and reduce the size of the hire fleet without the cost of installing and removing hardwired equipment, and also the well documented benefits of monitoring driver behaviour including duty of care obligations. Also drivers can accurately report their working time by entering their ID into the device, tapping the screen to record when they start and finish work which in turn is automatically fed back into Agrii’s payroll system.

Agrii’s Alconbury depot is supplying 6,000 customers who range from small farms to large commercial operations growing products for supermarkets. They are located as far north as the Humber Estuary and south to the Thames Estuary, along the coast of the North Sea in the east and west to the M40 corridor. The drivers deliver the orders direct to the farm’s chemical storage facilities, the locations for which have been located accurately using the GPS vehicle-tracking units.  This ensures that each store is mapped on the system.

“By plotting the X and Y coordinates for the chemical stores our drivers can navigate directly to the site,” added Tony Frain.

“This streamlines the delivery because using a postcode alone would only take them to within a kilometre of the location. If we can get the driver within 10 to 20 metres of the store, it improves our performance and the level of service we offer our customers.”

 

 

Contact information for TomTom Telematics:

Key Contact: Giles Margerison
Email: uk.business@tomtom.com
Phone: 0207 255 9774
Web:  www.tomtom.com/telematics

Services provided by TomTom Telematics:

• Professional navigation
• Improved Driver Behaviour
• Traffic Avoidance
• Vehicle Tracking - Fleet Tracking
• Job Dispatch
• Time Management
• Driver Safety
• Enviromental responsibility
• Management reporting
• Partner applications
• Remote download digital tachograph
• Fleet management software

All about TomTom Telematics: 

TomTom Telematics is a Business Unit of TomTom dedicated to fleet management and vehicle telematics. Our WEBFLEET platform is a Software-as-a-Service solution and is used by small, large and enterprise businesses to improve vehicle performance, save fuel, support drivers and increase overall fleet efficiency.

TomTom Telematics is one of the world’s leading telematics solution providers with over 350,000 subscriptions worldwide - recognised as the largest in the European market. We service drivers in more than 60 countries, giving them the industry’s strongest local support network and widest range of sector-specific 3rd party applications and integrations. More than 28,000 customers benefit every day from the highest level of security, quality and availability of our ISO 27001 certified service.

Helping raise standards in the industry
Whereas our name has changed over time (TomTom WORK, TomTom Business Solutions) our commitment to innovation and quality remains. We use our wealth of experience in managing fleets to promote best practice across the industry, and are proud Industry partners of the FTA Van Excellence Programme as well as sponsors for the Fleet Van Summit.

Our in-vehicle products are designed to help drive greener, safer and more efficiently. Our online platform, WEBFLEET, is highly scalable and has the highest standards in terms of reliability and security.

Seamless efficiency
WEBFLEET.connect enables you to integrate with existing and back office systems helping you customise your operation for maximum performance. This helps you run greener, safer and more efficient vehicles, and gives you a great return on investment.

Our customers have greener safer, more efficient drivers due to immediate and real time Active Driver Feedback™ directly through the navigation unit - and for fleet managers the Optidrive™ indicator, giving a clear picture of individual driver performance. Our customers also save fuel costs, increase efficiency, and achieve higher levels of customer service helping them stay ahead of the game – whether you have trucks, vans or cars - or all three - there is an affordable solution for you.

TomTom WEBFLEET also helps fleets become more efficient - With job dispatch and smart market leading technology such as TomTom Traffic we help get the right driver to the right job on time, ensuring they are safe and driving as efficiently as possible.

Actionable insight for smarter decisions
The insight and visibility enabled by TomTom’s reporting technology helps managers perform more effectively and has real impact on productivity, customer service and the bottom line, which means a great return on investment.

Please visit www.tomtom.com/telematics to find out more.

Latest video from TomTom Telematics:

Resources from TomTom Telematics: 

A Day in the Life… Six Ways in Which Fleet Management Technology Can Make Your Drivers’ Lives Easier

Fleet management technology brings many benefits to drivers as well as fleet managers. Take a typical day out with a driver in our latest infographic and find out the six main ways in which it can make your drivers’ lives significantly easier. View the infographic here

 

 

 

 

 

Five key areas where big data from your fleet can boost business performance

Big data shouldn’t be seen as a big problem.

Company owners or managers might occasionally feel like they’re on the receiving end of a fire hose of data, such is the volume and range of statistics provided by some modern business systems. Read the feature here

Why you need a telematics solution and how to get one

There are an array of benefits that a telematics solution can bring to a business, many of which we’ve previously discussed on this blog. For example, tracking driver behaviour to ensure efficient driving. We’ve also created a series of white papers to show how telematics can help reduce vehicle running costs and how you can guarantee the safety of staff while saving thousands. Click here to view the infographic

 

Latest TomTom Telematics Features: 

 

Connected vehicle plots a route to the future

Technology has long been a key driver for innovation and change in business. Regardless of size or industry, the pace of technological change is a major factor in the ability of businesses to evolve, meet increasing customer demands and maintain a commercial advantage. Giles Margerison, Director with TomTom Telematics explains more... Click here to read the full feature

Latest TomTom Telematics News:

TOMTOM extend WEBFLEET with launch of new ruggedised 7" terminal

TomTom Telematics extend the scope of their WEBFLEET platform with the launch of a new 7" ruggedised tablet which has WEBFLEET integration capabilities. Click here to read the full report

 

TomTom Telematics surpasses 350,000 vehicles subscribed to its SaaS platform

 

TomTom Telematics (formerly known as TomTom Business Solutions) now has 28,000 customers and 350,000 vehicles subscribed to its Software as a Service (SaaS) fleet management solution. This represents a 38 per cent year-on-year growth and reaffirms its position as a market leader in Europe. Click here for full report

 

 

UK agronomy leaders integrate vehicle tracking and scheduling to improve service

Gloustershire based Agronomy company Agrii have implemented a real-time transport optimisation and vehicle tracking solution for its agrochemicals division.

The company that is seen as a leader within it’s field in the UK has opted to utilise Paragon’s Fleet Controller system and integrate this with a live vehicle tracking feed, provided by 49 TomTom PRO 9150 navigation units, taking advantage of the systems’s advanced vehicle routing and scheduling software. Click here to read the feature