Cheetah Software Services, a provider of real-time logistics solutions for delivery, less-than-truckload and private fleet carriers, announced that Tropical Shipping USA has implemented the SaaS-based Cheetah Drayage system to enhance their ability to provide on-time trucking services to their customers. Tropical Shipping, a containerized cargo carrier with operating facilities in select seaside ports, says it is using Cheetah Drayage to improve fleet utilization, reduce fuel costs and increase operating efficiency.
Tropical Shipping, owned by Nicor Inc., is one of the leading containerized cargo carriers to The Bahamas and The Caribbean. From headquarters at the Port of Palm Beach, Florida Tropical operates 15 vessels and serves 28 ports and 43 offices and cargo-receive locations throughout the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Caribbean and Puerto Rico. Tropical Shipping employs more than 1,000 people worldwide. Reliable on-time delivery of goods is one of Tropical’s primary service goals.
With Cheetah Drayage, Tropical Shipping is focused on improving the information it provides to its customers on delivery and pickup status, while improving operating efficiency. The carrier also has incorporated telemetrics for its local South Florida dispatch operations to include GPS tracking of trucks, real-time two-way electronic communication of work orders and updates, real-time ETAs and proof of service. All of these objectives support their larger project of replacing their legacy inland systems, one of which is no longer supported.
With Cheetah Drayage, Tropical Shipping has implemented automated and optimized routing, dispatch and customer service. Real-time pickup-and-delivery status information will be made available to customers via the Tropical Shipping Website. Dispatchers are able to make decisions more efficiently and dynamically regarding the best drivers to service on-demand pickups. Routing is conducted via Cheetah’s proprietary set of more than 200 constraints, customized for Tropical Shipping’s specific business needs.
“Cheetah is helping Tropical Shipping’s entire staff, from dispatchers to routers to customer service reps, in addition to end-customer employees, to see not only where a particular container has been, but when it will reach its destination,” says Bobby Darroll, Cheetah’s founder and chief executive officer. “In today’s challenging economy, Cheetah customers are finding the enhanced access to information and improved efficiency and productivity provided by Cheetah solutions to be vital in not just surviving, but thriving. In addition, real-time location and ETA information on driver status allows dispatchers to quickly determine the most efficient routes and update them in real time, significantly reducing the miles driven and the amount of fuel used. This results in dramatic improvements in fleet utilization and efficiency.”
