Internet of Things for Freight logistics industries

December 10th, 2009

2009 has been a turning point for the Internet of Things, when real world objects (such as lights, cars and packages) get connected to the Internet. This trend has added a significant amount of new data to the Web, so for that reason alone it is an important development.
International courier giant Fedex released a new tracking device and web service for packages in December. Called SenseAware, it keeps tabs on the temperature, location and other vital signs of a package – including when it's opened and whether it was tampered with along the way. Fedex is running a trial period of about a year with 50 health care and life science companies, for tracking delivery of surgery kits, medical equipment – and even live organs.




CRM and cost of servicing freight and logistics clients

November 30th, 2009

SA-FMS, though its secure remote client management module allows Consignors and Consignees engage in self services whereby the cost of servicing the client reduces considerably – helping Freight Logistics companies to compete in the ever challenging markets.

End user benefits

  • Track waybill status online – with GPS tracking integration
  • Register complaints online
  • Tracking of short and excess consignments
  • Bulk booking online
  • Waybill enquiry
  • Proof of delivery document
  • Monthly dispatch statement

Organisation benefits

  • Offer dynamic pricing offers
  • Loyalty bonus programmes
  • Interface with third party accounting and ERP solutions
  • Measure customer share of business
  • Reduce cost of servicing clients
  • Provide value added services such as priority loading, GPS consignment tracking etc

Daily coverage of trucks

November 27th, 2009
The average speed of trucks on Indian roads is about 20 km/ hour, it says. So, a truck in India can cover only 250-300 km a day compared to 700-800 km in developed countries such as the US and Europe.
The study, based on a survey carried in 2008, took into account 50 trips on 10 routes. This includes 30 trips on the Delhi-Bangalore route, three trips on Delhi-Mumbai route and two on the remaining routes.
 
According to Mr D.P. Agarwal, Vice-Chairman, TCI, “Between 2001 and 2009, vehicular fleet in India has increased at 9.4 per cent, whereas the National Highways network has grown by 2.4 per cent only. Due to inadequate road infrastructure, which results in lower average trucking speed, commercial vehicles in India average 250-300 km a day, whereas the counterparts in developed nations travel more than double the distance.”
 
Truck drivers face delays at check-posts and on-road for filling in forms required by various government departments, checking of documents and physical checking of the vehicles, drivers and consignments by Regional Transport Offices and traffic police, and collecting highway toll and taxes.
 
Source Ciilogistics India

Truck cargo fleet management – hosted solution

November 24th, 2009

Looking at an easy way to manage your trucks ?

Small/medium trucking, freight fleet & cargo management system with: truck dispatch, per load profit, per km expense, trip sheet, trip review, and truck maintenance

We have an easy to use web hosted solution that works for you.

  • Instant setup
  • Pay as you go subscription model
  • No additional hardware requirements
  • Works on low bandwidth broadband
  • Automatic backup
  • Access truck information through your blackberry phone
  • Virus protection
  • Multi branch access
  • Reliable technology

Reports

  • Statement
  • Truck Profit and loss
  • Truck reporting
  • Truck expense information
  • Truck Invoicing
  • Driver information
  • Fuel Manager
  • Mileage analysis

Two way SMS enquiry for consignments

October 7th, 2009

The SMS module of SA-FMS  can be enabled for information on demand services to customers, branches and agencies, thus enabling speedy and affordable information flow using the existing IT infrastructure. Application of SMS gateway for freight logistics industry is a cost effective way of improving customer service

  • Know status of consignments (with location if truck tracking is enabled)
  • Branch information for clients and agents
  • Confirmation of delivery to consignors and consignees
  • Tracking report at each transshipment point
  • Promotional messages / Policy alerts
  • Account balances and payment reminders

Requirements -

  • Visiontek GSM modem
  • SMS module of SA-FMS
  • Post paid or pre paid SIM card of your choice with bulk SMS account

Example -

SMS BK SPACE to mobile number
SMS BR SPACE < Branch code> to mobile number

Vehicle tracking and consignment enquiry

October 7th, 2009

A GSM/GPRS based vehicle tracking system is an alternative to the expensive satellite based vehicle tracking systems being used by freight and logistics companies in the Western countries. All these solutions are capable of tracking the company fleet of trucks and keeping the traffic control information on the location and speed of various trucks operating throughout the country. The GPS also helps in tracking stolen trucks, a common problem for those operating in some regions of India. Usually a gadget is installed in the vehicle to be monitored – a remote station for centralised control and monitoring.

SA-FMS can integrate with these industry standard devices to provide up to date position of the consignment for customers.

Freight and logistics – document Management

September 21st, 2009

Freight and logistics services organisations have tons of paper documents which need to be accessed from time to time. AMLF logistics, Navi Mumbai implemented document management at their head office to bring about considerable reduction in storage space and improved efficiency in servicing client requests.

Documents archived

* Printed waybills
* Rate contracts
* Loading and unloading reports
* Customer invoices
* Cash receipts
* Octroi and other statutory documents
* Truck and driver records

The document management module of SA-F.M.S allows easy scanning, conversion, indexing, storage, retrieval and printing of important documents using a high speed dual mode desktop scanner and laser printer.

Savings

* Time to access waybills 50%-90%
* End user productivity 20%-30%
* Waybill document handling 20%-40%
* Desk space 30%-50%
* Real estate space

AMLF is a BGTA member company

Central Freight Accounting system

September 4th, 2009

We are in the process of implementing a multi branch financial accounting system for a large Freight Service operator having 300 odd branches across India. The accounting suite would take the organisation to the next performance level, besides bringing considerable cost savings through operation efficiencies and lower cost of ownership.

Features

  • Integration with Booking, delivery, lorry hire and branch transfer modules
  • Payment approval and verification
  • Centralised debtor billing
  • Choice of online and offline data entry
  • End of day data consolidation at head office through broadband connection
  • Data backup and replication to avoid disasters
  • Windows application configured to run on Ubuntu (linux) workstations.

Benefits

  • End of day financial status
  • Ease of audit for branch inspectors and internal auditors
  • Timely management information (Profit and loss and branch performance)
  • Single point updation for all transactions
  • Better credit control.
  • Less time spent at HO staff for checking vouchers
  • Considerable savings in software licencing

Freight Management process

July 30th, 2009

Booking process

The part who makes the booking is called the consignor and the receiver is the consignee. If both are the same, it is booked as "Self"

There are three modes of payment – Paid consignment (Cash) / To pay consignment (Paid on delivery ) and To Be Billed (Monthly Billed)

Freight is calculated on the basis of a matrix consisting of total weight (Charged weight for volume / low density goods), number of packages, value of goods carried and other factors such as Door delivery.

For some consignments the consignor would insist on an acknowledgement copy (Proof of Delivery)

Some consignees and consignors have special rates for specific stations or commodities (eg, tooth paste, ball bearings).

This document is called the Waybill (Three copies. Consignor, Consignee and Truck)

Goods are despatched on the basis of availability of vehicles. Own trucks and hired. Each truck carries a document called vehicle manifest (VA) which is the proof of goods carried and also for checkpost declaration at state borders. SA-F.M.S provides route management and first in first out loading processes.

Goods can be sent directly or through transit points for sake of load factoring or truck availability (Transshipment point module available). Sometimes due to human errors, all consignments need not necessarily be sent in one lot. Partial dispatches do happen and the arrival at point B might be recorded in two or three trips. Effective tracking of consignment is vital for a freight software.

The process of loading and unloading are done on a first in first out basis / sometime on the basis of routes. Loading and Unloading charts are kept to track consignments.

On arrival at the delivery station the goods are recorded in the Inward register

Delivery process

The consignee brings his copy of the waybill, the delivery is made. Certain charges are collected from the consignee if the goods are not cleared within stipulated days (Demmurage).

Some local handling and stationery charges are also collected. In case of missing consignee copy, an Indemnity bond is requested and delivery made. A Delivery Receipt (DR) is prepared for all consignments

It might so happen that the consignee might not take delivery of the goods due to (1) Late delivery (2) Damaged (3) no longer in business (4) Perishable goods expiry (5) Missing items (6) Wrong items

Notices are sent to the concerned parties after 45 days and removed / auctioned or sent back to the consignor if he is willing to bear the return freight charges (Re booking)

Some of the reports generated in Freight Management System

Daily booking statement
Daily Delivery statement
Cash statement
Monthly booking analysis
Branch wise Freight Analysis report
To be billed report
Branch Stock aging analysis
Route stock analysis
Debtor aging analysis
Branch business analysis
Monthly to be billed analysis

Data analytics for freight logistics

December 1st, 2008

The quantum of data generated by Freight Management System introduces termendous scope for business analysis. With the help of cutting edge data mining tools the possibilities are endless

  • Measurement of customer business trends
  • Alerts on dip in customer business volume
  • Best performing booking stations
  • Most profitable truck routes
  • Trans-shipment volume analysis
  • Customer classification on the basis of monthly freight volume
  • Cost of serving customers
  • Communicating on a continuous basis with most profitable customers
  • Truck load utilisation and load profitability