TruckandTrackSpring2020

www.truckandtrack.com Spring 2020 Truck and Track 15 TELEMATICS While the ongoing Coronavirus epidemic is a continually evolving and challenging situation for every organisation and individual, the impact on home deliveries has been significant. With the Government now advising those who can, to work from home and avoid non-essential contact, there has been a resultant exponential increase in the number of home deliveries for all types of goods, not just groceries or healthcare products. For example, due to the huge spike in demand, workers at Amazon’s UK warehouses are being told to work overtime to ensure it can continue to deliver to customers. The government is also relaxing restrictions on delivery hours for shops to make sure stores remain stocked, especially amid stockpiling concerns. This is coupled with a temporary relaxation of the enforcement of the EU drivers’ hours rules from18thMarch, that applies to drivers involved in the supply of food and essential products to supermarkets from importers, manufacturers and suppliers to distribution centres. Procedures have also been put in place for some delivery companies relating to the actual delivery at the addressees’ homes, including leaving the goods in a specific place and not requiring a signature from the person accepting the item for proof of delivery. Add to all of this the growing concerns over the driver shortages, especially as many may have to start self-isolating depending on whether they experience symptoms or not, the use of technology to optimise delivery efficiency has never been more important. With routing and scheduling software in place, delivery organisations can optimise deliveries, which is especially important when there is a surge in demand, such as peak periods as well as unexpected demand, like what we are currently in the midst of. Not only can this help retailers reduce the impact on the buying public, but knowing that additional delivery slots can be offered and that they can be fulfilled without affecting the ability to optimise routes and deliveries, is crucial not to overstretch resources that are already under increased pressure. A routing and scheduling solution that continually assesses the resources available, versus actual visibility throughout the supply chain, from initial collection through to the last mile of the home delivery process, offers the opportunity to maximise operational efficiency. With integrated telematics and mobile data communications, the fleet manager and end customers can have sight of precisely where a vehicle is in real time against the plan and route set by the scheduling software. With this insight, transport operators can add new jobs or take corrective action to re-route vehicles to avoid holdups and automatically inform the customer in advance of the expected delivery time or any changes to their delivery. Telematics and advanced routing and scheduling software provides a number of benefits for supply chain performance. In addition to optimising delivery through routing, it can also help to reduce mileage and fuel consumption. Through the use of telematics data analysis, drivers’ habits such as idling, revving, speeding and fuel consumption comparison can be used to produce fuel efficiency reports. This not only helps to identify where savings can be made, but also aids in training so that new drivers can be trained to drive in a more efficient manner which all contributes to reducing vehicle maintenance, servicing, and ultimately, lowering costs. Transport operators must also address the issue of compliance and safety for all road users. In these unprecedented times we are currently living in, some compliance elements are changing on a daily basis, such as relaxing enforcement of EU drivers’ hours. Operators need a simple and convenient way to stay on top of their compliance requirements, especially as several changes will likely come into effect as the situation unfolds. By combining digital tachograph analysis and reporting with driving licence and driver CPC verification with the DVLA, as well as digital driver vehicle safety checks, all in one platform, operators can practice proactive compliance management to underpin optimisation of fleet efficiency. Time savings can be unlocked using remote, automated download via telematics devices as tachograph and driver card data can be downloaded whilst the vehicle is being used. Drivers can be prompted to follow the required checks via a mobile app, ensuring the correct process is followed with an audit trail of location and timestamps. While the ability to attach photographs enables drivers to highlight any potential issues in real time before they embark. While the pressures on fleets and deliveries are increasing, and related issues and government advice changing day by day, these are challenging times for all businesses. But having the right tools to combine efficiency and compliance will go a long way to relieve some of the pressure and maintain operations, as close to ‘business as usual’ as possible. Being able to leverage and share real time information regarding fleet management and compliance will enable transport operators to manage assets effectively, and being able to do much more with less can streamline operations, so once business resumes as before, they can continue to operate as usual, whilst futureproofing for any more unprecedented events that might come our way. www.descartes.com Descartes – joining up road transport efficiency solutions through unprecedented times Andrew Tavener – Head of Marketing, Descartes Systems UK Ltd