Is Fleet Controlling inevitable yet?

It is rather surprising how many transportation companies cannot precisely identify the state of contracting transport realization yet, and even offer this piece of information to the client in an on-line regime. Likewise we can many times observe a situation when a transportation company cannot express its transportation costs in exact numbers or not even monitor and manage it on-line.
Nowadays is the market flooded by different telematic (“tracking“or “monitoring“) systems using positional GPS information and communication via GSM/GPRS. Benefits of these systems for fleet management of transportation companies are generally known but are they really able to meet all the requirements?

Dawn of telematics
The very first requirements on telematic (“monitoring“) systems were related to the possibility to identify the vehicle position which represents a vehicle monitoring indeed. Systems, which enabled the dispatcher to see the position of the monitored vehicle in real time on the PC monitor, were created. At first it was only in local GSM networks, later on – alongside with GSM and roaming development – even abroad (once in hour, upon request, via SMS). First log-books were created processing the recorded vehicle movement – which is “monitoring“.
Subsequently emerged the “tracking“ systems (in view of increasing requirements of transportation companies ), which were raising their added value by simplifying the work of dispatchers. They enable to receive and send information; communicate with information systems (IS) of the carrier. Except of the position they also collect information about the vehicle originating from the sensors and CAN data bus. Collected information is processed into particular managerial reports. Mentioned systems plan first driving routes of the vehicles according to the generally know public transport attributes: the fastest, the shortest and operationally optimal route. Communication with the driver was extended to the SMS communication and sending information on the transportation. First extensive systems came into existence which although provide more comprehensive view on tracking of transport and vehicles but in real time they only offer static information without possibility of on-line management. Software called “Fleet Management“ was born. (This term is used also for designation of entire work of a fleet manager but we stick to the limitation of this term within the software field).
Let´s try to answer one question: "What do transportation companies require from telematic software?" and we get a clear reply why have more comprehensive systems with wider angle of action emerged – Fleet Controlling.

On-line communication
Essential base for managing in solution for Fleet Controlling represents on-line information transfer between a vehicle and dispatching central, not even within the borders of the Czech Republic but also around Europe, with subsequent processing of the collected information, as well in on-line regime. Transfer of information does not only include a basic information on the vehicle as the position and speed of the vehicle is and all accessible information related to the realized transport and performance of the driver, but also information on transport realization like planned route, loading and unloading sites, passage points, timetables, route data for navigation provided by dispatcher etc. These data are acquired just on-line via bi-directional communication bridging the mobile unit in the vehicle and dispatching central wherever in Europe.

Driver´s mobile unit
Very important feature of high-quality Fleet Controlling software is a possibility of a communication between the driver and the dispatcher through sophisticated hardware – CarPC that very often comes with a navigation and connection to the CAN data bus, digital tachograph or external sensors. As the name suggests it is a case of a version of a miniature PC designated to be installed into the vehicles. In consideration of need to minimize the driver´s loading by driving to the “other activity“, the most effective way of operating seemed to be via touch screen and predefined icons for various activities (getting on and driver´s change, resting, fuelling, service, order acceptance, navigation to the place of destination ... ). For “written communication“ the most suitable seemed to be a communication based on a chat principle in a real time. This way of communication completely replaces present mobile phone communication which can come to ten thousand Euros annually when we consider an internationally operating logistics company.

Navigation
Not a lot of systems provide navigation, whether graphical or audio, alongside with respect to all “truck“ attributes of the road net map. CarPC installation in the car opens the way for this delicacy which markedly decreases workload of the drivers, particularly when the automatic data transfer from received planned routes to the navigation is resolved. Navigation operating is identical with CarPC operating, thus intuitive – by means of touch screen and predefined icons for various activities.

Alarms and data structuring
Sophisticated Fleet Controlling system has to track innumerable amount of data on realization of the order together with huge amount of technical information related to the vehicle – everything in a real time. These data suppose to facilitate the dispatcher´s work and not to overload. Therefore Fleet Controlling enables to set the required information structure easily, particularly for each dispatcher, on the basis of alarms. Alarms represent a very forcible tool, which informs dispatcher only of the real state of crisis. Colloquially said, system “shouts if something happens“ – dispatcher can only devote himself to work and not only to monitor vehicles.

Planning and optimization
In the process of transport planning appropriately set Fleet Controlling system enables to factor in the requirements on monitoring and optimization of transportation costs. This indeed represents an issue which every owner might be interested in. The most often it is a case of minimization of the road pricing, effective application of AETR by each driver, minimization of idle times and empty rides. Run-of-the-mill IS resolves the problem in a static way but to the entered problems we have to take a dynamic approach. Dynamic conception of the planning and optimization emerges from monitoring of the status of order realization in the real time and enables immediate reaction to the non-standard situations, as traffic congestions, prior transport realizations, changes of the realization time of the transport by client. Fleet Controlling system enables sending of adjusted – re-planned vehicle requirements on the basis of changed conditions in the real time by factoring in parameters like time scale of the delivery, AETR, road toll, effective transport route etc.

Versatility of application
One of the further requirements on high – quality Fleet Controlling software is his versatility through which the dispatcher runs and optimizes operational costs successfully by all types of fleets including distribution and mail-order service. Nowadays the connection to the ERP is nearly a necessity with the support for automatic data processing and data exporting in required format alongside with minimal user´s interaction.

Remote Access
One of the important requirements of transportation company´s clients, which simultaneously represent a tool for decreasing of the dispatcher´s workload, is an ability of the software to work in a remote access regime. This regime enables providing information on-line regardless of the fact if the realization data are provided for the client or dispatcher for operational solutions of the arisen problems from home. That speeds up resolving of the crisis situations and optimizes so the operational costs.

Managerial records
Fleet Controlling works with the data in the real time and therefore enables the dispatchers to create records from real on-line data and thereby provide the management of the transportation company with an actual image of the situation.
It is immensely demanding to bring into consonance all these, now rather common customers´ requirements. Not even from the development costs point of view but also time because it is a case of a variety relatively independent requirements. Our market offers a lot of solutions, but in the majority of cases there are only static monitoring systems on the GPS basis, which are far from this functionality. Complex systems Fleet Controlling alike are a few because their development is very demanding not only financially but also professionally.

Author: Jozef Barko
e-mail: infoCZ@ymsgroup.com
Author is a member of yTrack development team of YMS Group