Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/319866
44 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 technology r 934$PSQannounced TRP,a new feature for its mobile fleet optimi- zation system aimed at bringing insight into customers' routes with "planned vs. actual" reporting and accurately projecting up-to-the- minute ETAs, allowing for improved on-time delivery metrics and real-time driver productivity data. r SkyBitz announced SkyBitz as a Service, a monthly subscription designed to provide trailer and asset information management and historical trends analytics without upfront capital investment. r 5FMPHJT announced Telogis Appointment, an extension to its cloud-based Telogis Route Planning Suite intelligence software platform that allows consumers to choose convenient delivery windows while helping shipping companies reduce turn times, and pushes real-time ETAs to receiving parties via text or email. r %"54PMVUJPOTcarrier onboarding product, DAT Onboarding, now is integrated with Aljex Software, an operations software for brokers, carriers and third-party logistics providers, allowing Aljex users to bring on new carriers quickly and efficiently without leaving the Aljex application. r 7OPNJDT, a provider of real-time driver performance data and fleet intelligence systems, announced an integration with CAMS Software's transportation management soft - ware to automate routing commu- nication for private fleets. r 2VJDL 'VFM partnered with Com- data to provide its fleet customers with Comdata's SmartSight fuel site controller at all of its retail locations. r &MFDUSPOJD 'VOET 4PVSDF partnered with Shell Canada Products to launch a Canadian commercial fleet card program, Shell Fleet Navigator, providing broader coverage for Canadian fleets at more than 1,200 Shell branded retail locations across Canada and more than 800,000 Canadian MasterCard acceptance locations. Continued on page 46 INBRIEF F or more than 30 years, fuel cards have given fleet operators more control over one of their largest and most volatile expenses. Fleets also are able to collect detailed information to help streamline fuel taxes and other accounting functions. With the arrival of the Internet, pay- ment providers had a conduit to integrate data collection and control functions of fuel cards with transportation manage- ment and other third-party office systems. One of the biggest advancements has been "cardless" fueling. These systems add more security and efficiency to truckstop fueling by using infrared and RFID tech- nology to assure the proper vehicle is at the pump to authorize a transaction. Companies that provide electronic payment systems continue to fine-tune the technology to bring more opportuni- ties for savings. 1. Card funding The earliest electronic payment systems issued cashier's checks to drivers without visibility and control. Today, U.S. Bank offers two fleet cards to transfer funds to drivers' cards in real time: the Voyager card for light-duty fleets with cars and trucks, and the OTR card network for fleets with heavy-duty vehicles. Drivers use the cards to buy fuel and other items, and additional restrictions can be placed on how the funds are used, such as restricting purchases to preapproved fueling locations and ancillary items such as tires and diesel exhaust fluid. 2. Instant analytics Comdata's FleetAdvance tool is designed to give each fuel transaction a score based on the net price customers have nego- tiated with truckstops – cost plus, retail minus, etc. The score, on a scale from 1 to 100, shows how each fuel transaction com- pares to the lowest possible transaction at another location in the same segment of the customer's fuel network. Fleet manag- ers can view fuel transactions as they take place on a Google Map display. Each transaction is color-coded in green, yellow or red for easy reference. Instant e-mail or text notifications can be sent when a transaction scores below a preset threshold. The scores and analytical tools give fleet managers tangible data to use in conversations with drivers to improve fuel savings. A new FleetAdvance feature, Advisor, plots the best fueling locations along a route based on the truck's tank capacity and current fuel level. 3. Custom validation Payment providers receive real-time trans- actional updates from fleet management systems, such as the time, date, gallon amount and location of authorized fuel- ings. The updates "enable us to perform unique controls, prompts and validations at the merchant or truckstop point-of- sale," says Scott Phillips, chief executive officer of EFS. Fuel transaction informa- tion streams back to fleets' systems in real time. "Our real-time interfaces drive meaningful behaviors and cost savings by ensuring fuel purchases are posting to the appropriate truck for IFTA purposes, confirming advances are posting against the appropriate trips for driver reconcilia- tion, and disallowing reefer fuel and DEF in focus: ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS Beyond card limits Electronic payment systems create new savings opportunities BY AARON HUFF