Rand McNally’s navigation software uses the same IntelliRoute engine and practical mileage calculations that fleets would use in the office for billing and payroll.

Routing engines

needed to

provide the intelligence move equipment efficiently

Technology that serves up the mileages, routes, tolls, fuel prices and other data to a trucking enterprise is more than software – it is the engine for fleet automation and cost control.

Straight out of the box, any such engine will come standard with predetermined mileages and routes based on shortest, most practical or least-cost configurations. The routes may vary somewhat according to vehicle profiles and if hazardous goods are onboard.

Whatever the case may be, any fleet using only predetermined mileages and routes to operate a business is running on the “old standard.” The “new standard” is to use highly integrated systems to create a more complete approach to routing.

To maximize efficiency and performance, fleets such as U.S. Xpress use mileage and routing engines that incorporate real-time information from their dispatch, accounting, mobile computing and other platforms.

“We are integrating available commercial products and adding our cost factors for time and miles to determine the overall best possible lowest-cost route,” says John White, president of the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based truckload company. “The process has provided encouraging results for a more efficient, holistic solution that has in turn resulted in a significant return on invested capital.”

Pinpoint accuracy

An essential part of creating a new standard for routing systems is using the latest information available from today’s software.

ALK Technologies has included precise toll plaza information (shown in far right column) in the version 24 release of its PC Miler mileage, mapping and routing software.

Having fuel prices integrated with mileages and routes is one example. ProMiles offers fuel optimization for no extra cost in its ProMiles XF truck mileage and routing package for both online and client-installed versions. ProMiles calculates optimal routes and fuel plans by using current fuel price information through direct feeds of fuel transactions from vendors of fuel purchasing cards.

Integrating precise toll costs and plaza location data into routes offers another money-saving opportunity.

Celadon Group, an Indianapolis-based truckload carrier with more than 2,500 power units, pays more than $3 million in highway and bridge tolls annually. Celadon’s information systems automatically generate a route and fuel purchase plan when a driver is assigned to a load – perhaps between Chicago and Detroit – and the route plans are sent to drivers via mobile communications.