I spent the past two days attending the Information Technology Logistics Council (ITLC) Conference in Chicago. This three day event boasted a very strong agenda and was all attended by fleets, vendors and industry/government officials. Here are a few observations from the event:
EOBRs in the Industry – It was AMAZING to see just how many fleets are not using ANY type of onboard computers/recorders in their vehicles. While most of the attendees seemed to be in the For Hire (truckload and LTL) market segments, it is still mind boggling to me that the efficiencies gained by EOBRs are not more embraced by these fleets. This session highlighted the upcoming ruling by the FMCSA on probable EOBR mandates and what that will mean for the industry. It was clear that most fleets were investigating this technology and are anticipating some type of requirement for onboard recorders. It was also clear that while the ruling will only focus on HOS information, there is significant value in today’s systems far beyond electronic logs. Telematics data, driver performance, fuel conservation and turn by turn navigation are just a few of the benefits of today’s more advanced systems.
Eye Opener – the reliance on EDI amongst these companies was astounding. Having spent time with software vendors aimed at the financial services industry, the use of XML-based web services has been prevalent for five if not ten years. It was extremely disappointing to hear the “Web Applications in the Supply Chain” session highlight the importance of integrations using EDI. In 2008, any transportation company executive considering an IT investment in web applications fir their fleet management, transportation management system or any supply chain component would be essentially throwing money away if their systems were not leveraging web services and SOA integration. Today’s leading supply chain and transportation systems from vendors like TMW Systems, ALK, Manhattan Associates and many others are leveraging service oriented architecture and web services to facilite standards-based web application integration. Why? This ensures that the integrations are sustainable (not impacted by change) and are flexible enough to integrate with any system.
This is just a sample of articles that review the evolution of EDI with XML and SOA:
http://www.ebizq.net/topics/soa/features/8206.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/service-oriented/?p=208
http://soa.sys-con.com/read/563225.htm
Exciting topic – Wireless Roadside Inspection (WRI). This was very cool. While it is still in pilot phase, the idea of a vehicle driving by an inspection station and instantly uploading HOS data to an inspector’s laptop, without stopping was very exciting. Keep your eyes open for more details on this.
Overall this was a very good conference and should be closely watched and considered next year. It would be very interesting to see more private fleets represented next year to highlight how their technology adoption is more mature than those for hire fleets. The advancements in supply chain optimization and technology adoption is far more prevalent in the private fleet sector and would be a valuable addition to next year’s event.
Author: Frank Moreno
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Driving End-to-End Automation
Extending Supply Chain Management into the Cab of your Vehicles
Cadec Global, Inc
Driving End-to-End Automation
About Cadec Global, Inc.
Cadec Global enables mobile asset optimization, process automation and operations visibility through its advanced fleet management solutions. With over 30 years of innovation and experience in the trucking industry, Cadec enables transportation and distribution managers, fleet and logistics experts and business executives to reduce costs, enhance customer service, enforce compliance and safety regulations, and improve driver productivity. Cadec’s marquee customer list includes market-leading private and for-hire fleets across multiple industries throughout North America.
