Big firms continue to take on telematics hardware as a way to reduce vehicle expenditures and keep their drivers safe, with courier firm Crossflight the latest of the bunch. It’s selected GPS maker Tom Tom as its partner, making it the second firm this week to do so. Just three days ago we talked about how French insurer Allianz France had announced it was using the company’s telematics hardware and software too.
However unlike Allianz, seeing as it’s in a different industry, Crossflight won’t be using the telematics system to offer discounts to customers. Instead, it will be using the machine-to-machine tech to give customers a much more accurate idea of where their parcels are. Instead of having sign in updates like “at depot,” or “out for delivery,” with telematics in each of its vans, Crossflight will be able to show customers precisely where their goods are at any time.
That system may take some time to implement, but already Crossflight is seeing other benefits from the telematics system. When an order is made, the nearest van can be sent for collection almost immediately, so they’ve become faster and more efficient.
“This system has completely changed the way we work, cutting down on human error and administration time, while ensuring collections are completed more quickly,” said James Kelly, operations director at Crossflight (via FleetNews).
“Previously, we would have to phone the driver and they would need to write down the order details and address, creating health and safety issues and preventing us from reacting quickly. But the new process has allowed us to deliver higher standards of customer service and reduce phone calls by 65%,” he said.
All of this is entirely automatic as well, so when an order is made, the notification is sent immediately to the nearest driver. With no human intervention, there’s less chance for errors to be made and the system is far faster overall.
While Crossflight might only just be experiencing the benefits of this sort of system for the first time, Tom Tom has actually been offering a courier specific package for some time. As well as offering the sorts of improvements that Crossflight is championing, Tom Tom points out on its express page, that its telematics technology can also cut back on fuel usage and man hours, as well as communication costs, thereby cutting overall expenditure and making the business more competitive overall.
These are benefits that Crossflight will come to appreciate as time goes on. Since it was traditionally ringing mobile phones to hand out delivery information, doing it all automatically via wireless systems is far more cost effective, as well as more efficient.
Another feature it didn’t mention that is no doubt part of Tom Tom’s package, is the WORKsmart system, which aids in navigation by offering alternative routes around traffic jams and giving them a heads up about developing incidents or road works to help them avoid getting stuck. Of course Crossflight can also make sure they aren’t speeding or driving dangerously, something every fleet firm wants to avoid.
