GE (www.ge.com/assetintelligence) introduced a low-cost satellite-based trailer-tracking solution, the GE VeriWise SAT-D300, for companies that need only basic features. The product has two-way communications capability and two solar panels so as not to require connection to the trailer’s seven-way power connector, the company says.
TransCore (www.transcore.com) added new features and enhancements to its line of GlobalWave satellite products for in-cab communications and trailer tracking: a Slap & Track mobile terminal with field-replaceable battery packs; a stop-start sensor for mobile terminals; and a Windows-ready notebook PC, integrated Google maps and optional electronic driver logs for its CabLink system.
Qualcomm Enterprise Services (www.qualcomm.com/qes) added Fuel Manager to its OmniVision Transportation suite of services. The Web-based module features a dashboard-style presentation with advanced querying tools to track and manage vehicle and driver behaviors that cause unnecessary fuel usage, the company says.
Accellos (www.accellos.com) – a provider of logistics, warehouse, 3PL, transportation and mobile resource management solutions – acquired Prophesy Transportation Software (www.mile.com).
Rand McNally (www.randmcnally.com) released IntelliRoute Dock2Dock, a commercial truck routing and mileage software designed to provide truck-attributed dock-to-dock navigation on city and inter-neighborhood streets.
Innovative Computing Corp. (www.innovativecomputingcorp.com) was honored as an IBM Advanced Level Partner based on the Innovative Enterprise Software meeting IBM’s hardware, software and middleware requirements. Innovative also says its Internet-based IES Access and Access Plus systems have qualified for IBM’s Software as a Service specialty program.
Locks, whether mechanical or electronically activated, are a strong barrier to cargo theft, but experts say they have a common weak point: They require human activation, and the leading cause of cargo theft is employee negligence. Furthermore, locks do not protect drivers who, when faced with danger, may feel obligated to defend their equipment rather than flee for safety.
In 2005, Magtec (www.magtecproducts.com) introduced its M5K security system with its range of applications designed to provide tight control of tractors and drivers. Two of the frontline anti-theft features of the M5K are its keyless driver authentication and Unattended Idle Protect.
When a driver sets the tractor or trailer parking brake – or the engine idles for a short period of time – the Magtec M5K security system automatically prevents the vehicle from moving. To operate the vehicle, drivers must enter a six-digit code into a numeric keypad.
The M5K interfaces with leading mobile communications systems – as well as its own wireless FleetControl system – to manage vehicle security remotely. Real-time communication with the onboard system enables remote driver code management by dispatch, as well as activation of Magtec’s Acceleration Control System, a vehicle immobilization technology that enables dispatch to limit the acceleration capability of the vehicle remotely and reduce the speed in preset increments so it can be brought to a safe and controlled stop, the company says.
To provide “one-stop shopping” for a “bumper-to-bumper” cargo security solution with one monthly payment, Magtec recently added a Trailer Tracking Service and embedded cargo-tracking service. The current release of TTS uses power supplied from the tractor, but future releases will have battery power, the company says. Through the host logic of Magtec’s Web-based FleetControl, fleet managers can see the location of any dropped trailer as well as the proximity of trailers to tractors that have the M5K installed.
Magtec offers embedded cargo tracking through a partnership with Supply Chain Integrity, a provider of security and loss prevention services. The SCI device makes it possible to locate cargo should a thief offload it to a warehouse or another trailer, says Robert Morisset, Magtec’s chief executive officer. The SCI cargo tracking system is integrated with LoJack, the largest law enforcement network in the country, for fast response by local police to incidents of theft, he says.
McLeod Software enhances LoadMaster, PowerBroker
McLeod Software (www.mcleodsoftware.com) – a provider of dispatch, accounting and operations fleet management software – announced new versions of its enterprise transportation management systems LoadMaster IX and PowerBroker II.
“Our entire product line takes advantage of third-generation client-server architecture so we can offer our carrier and broker clients new, more robust features,” says Tom McLeod, president and chief executive officer of McLeod Software.
LoadMaster IX Version 9.1 now features a quick-find capability designed to allow a “Google-like” search of the LoadMaster database for easy access to needed information. Other enhancements are designed to address the needs of multi-company operations, including Multi-Company Copy Order, which allows a LoadMaster user operating multiple companies to copy an order from one company to another using special-control file and user-defined options.
In addition, McLeod Software says several new EDI features have been incorporated into LoadMaster IX, including an Interactive Load Tender screen that allows users to see a group of tenders rather than one at a time and makes it possible to accept multiple tenders at once; this feature also enables users to prioritize tenders easily by their nearest must-respond-by times.
The key enhancement to McLeod’s PowerBroker II Version 9.1, a software solution for transportation brokerage and third-party logistics providers, is the availability of a new Brokerage Web Portal in the system’s Internet Module, the company says. When brokers offer an available load to their private network of carriers or to those that have moved a load in a particular lane in the past, the carriers will be able to accept, decline or counter the offer directly from the broker’s website. McLeod Software says using the new portal will streamline and speed the load-matching process for brokers and carriers alike.
TMW offers TMT ServiceCenter
TMW Systems (www.twwsystems.com) has unveiled TMT ServiceCenter, a software designed to support service centers performing both contracted outsourced fleet management services and retail maintenance and repair services. Scott Vanselous, senior vice president and general manager for TMW’s Asset Maintenance division, says key benefits of the new software include the capacity to invoice customers electronically, provide preventive maintenance notices and tracking, and make service reservations and review or approve estimates online.
TMW Systems also announced commercial availability of an interface with TransCore’s DAT network of truck loads and carriers through TransCore’s 3sixty Connexion. The Web services interface is designed to offer real-time available truck searching that populates planning screens directly in the TMWSuite enterprise transportation software.
One of the fastest-growing areas for TMW Systems is optimization solutions. Since acquiring Integrated Decision Support Corp. last year, sales of IDSC’s existing products have increased by 50 percent, says David Wangler, chief executive officer of TMW Systems.
In the next three years, TMW Systems plans to continue to add more intelligence to its applications, says Dave Mook, chief technology and chief operations officer. Later this year, TMW Systems plans to launch Insight, a Web-based dispatch optimization tool that can be used by smaller fleets. Insight is based on the power-to-load matching algorithms in the Match Advice product developed by IDSC.
“We will make it easier for customers to take advantage of (optimization software) by making it more digestible,” Wangler says. “There is so much information out there. Unless people can use it, it’s not worth anything.”
