Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/378850
70 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 TECHNOLOGY: INTERMODAL TECHNOLOGY modal marketing companies, third-par- ty logistics providers, brokers, freight forwarders and other intermediaries that prefer ramp-to-ramp service. The Toledo, Ohio-based company spe- cializes in 53-foot double-stack containers moving on the BNSF Railway network. Its fleet of 500 containers soon will increase to 950 to accommodate growth. Historically, companies that rent containers from COFC would drop a con- tainer at one of its depots without COFC knowing the container's status until the following day. Two years ago, the company began using the Falcon GXT3000 cellular track- ing system from SkyBitz. COFC creates a geofence around each depot, and when a container crosses the geofence, the tech- nology automatically generates an e-mail and populates an inventory count. "It helps us move containers a lot quicker," says Garry Old, president. "It helps us internally to audit our depot costs. We know when things are there and not relying on a yard check." COFC has position reports integrated with its management software to help make equipment available faster for cus- tomers, thus adding capacity. The com- pany has container depot locations in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Stockton, Calif., and Memphis, Tenn. The accurate and timely information also helps speed billing and improve cash flow; for completed orders, COFC is able to bill customers the following day. AUTOMATING COMMUNICATIONS Managing the flow of shipments and information between multiple parties is a complex challenge in intermodal. Do- mestic containers and trailers will change custody at least three times in transit from separate drayage fleets doing the pickups and deliveries and railroads doing the linehauls. In 2005, NFI was looking for a software system to help manage its new Road Rail business, but the choices were limited. The company found a system from Princeton Consultants called Pegasus, which satisfied a primary need: to provide an interface with rail lines and third-par- ty carriers to track shipment status and receive billing information through electronic data interchange. NFI also uses a Web-based portal from Pegasus to send dispatch information electronically to third-party drayage services – mostly small carriers and independent operators. For company drivers, NFI uses tab- lets that connect to the portal to receive dispatch information and update shipment status. The software has most of what NFI wants, but man- agement now is looking for a system with more reporting features since the cost has come down and more competitors have entered the market, Kurtz says. For NFI, the intermodal business had been stagnant since 2006, but last year it took off, grow- ing by 10 percent, and it currently is on pace to grow another 10 percent in 2014. In 2015, NFI anticipates the business should grow by 50 percent as more ship- pers learn about the company's ability to convert refrigerated loads to intermodal, Kurtz says. Base Line Transportation, a Naper- ville, Ill.-based nonasset brokerage and intermodal marketing company, faced a similar situation when it was looking for software. Most intermodal marketing companies either are large corporations or their subsidiary agents. Many of these companies either had developed their own software or had purchased expensive systems from a handful of vendors. Base Line worked with Aljex Soft- ware to develop an intermodal module for Aljex's Web-based transportation management system. The software's main function is to send and receive EDI communications with railroads to track shipments and automate invoicing. Dan Krush, owner of Base Line, says railroads have advanced Web portals that make it simple to track shipments and conduct other business transactions. All of this information is accessible within the Aljex system through EDI, which helps make Base Line more efficient. In Krush's opinion, technology can help maximize efficiency, but that's not the The Hub Group is deploying Orbcomm's GT 2300 container tracking and monitoring plat- form with cargo and door sensors. Orbcomm recently developed a modification for its GT 1100 tracking device that uses a sen- sor to detect if an intermodal chassis is loaded or unloaded to assist with planning. COFC uses the Falcon GXT3000 cellular tracking system from SkyBitz to create a geofence around each depot, and when one of its containers crosses the geofence, it automatically generates an e-mail and populates its inventory count.