TruckandTrackAutumn2019

www.truckandtrack.com Autumn 2019 Truck and Track 29 FEATURE ARTICLE Chippenham, to accommodate its growing team and provide extra capacity for customer training. Descartes continues to demonstrate its commitment to the UK market by recruiting and investing in this area – in the last six months it has hired new staff in software development, customer support, marketing and sales to support its continued growth. Unlocking efficiencies through joined-up solutions and processes Descartes’ SmartCompliance solutions help fleet operatorsmanage their tachograph data, ensure drivers hold a valid licence and driver CPC and that essential walk-around vehicle safety checks are done. Combining this data with vehicle tracking and route optimisation software has the potential to change driver behaviour, improve productivity and better understand performance in real-time whilst maintaining a compliant road transport operation. Fleet efficiency is becoming all the more difficult to maximise without advanced technology. Telematics shouldn’t be seen as a standalone system but a foundation to facilitate seamless exchange of digital data and information. The combination of telematics with mobile data communications and advanced routing allows transport operators to use fewer vehicles to deliver more goods, collect more returns, and also deliver returns back to warehouses for processing, placing stock back on the shelves for resale within the fastest time possible. Using telematics devices to then also transmit tachograph data further ensures improved levels of compliance and greater efficiency in managing a transport operation that meets all industry regulations. This is all to the ultimate benefit of the operators’ clients in delivering a trusted, reliable, cost-effective and compliant service. When it comes to transportation management, Descartes can provide a number of advanced capabilities to increase operational efficiency, reduce complexity, decrease costs and enhance customer service. For example, dock appointment scheduling helps