Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/140569
Interested in trucking technology? Scan the barcode or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail newsletter. InBrief • T&T's Enhanced Push-to-Talk now is availA able to AT&T business customers through an app available for iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S. To think someone is always going to buy fuel the cheapest is not realistic. EPTT also now can be used over Wi-Fi, giving U.S.-based customers improved in-building coverage and access to the service via compatible Wi-Fi networks. – Randy Morgan, vice president of Comdata's fleet division • acLease launched its next-generation PacP purchases at two different truckstops in one day. Scoring transactions For fleets that have not invested in optimization technology or have experienced mixed results, another option is available. Comdata's latest enhancement to its fleet card program, FleetAdvance, is available to customers at no added cost. FleetAdvance gives each fuel transaction a score based on the net price customers have negotiated with truckstops – cost plus, retail minus, etc. The score on a scale from 1 to 100 shows how each fuel transaction compares to the lowest possible transaction at another location in the same market segment of the customer's fuel network. Fleet managers can view fuel transactions as they take place on a Google Map display. Each transaction is color-coded in green, yellow or red for easy reference. Instant e-mail or text notifications can be sent when a transaction scores below a preset threshold, such as 80. FleetAdvance has analytical tools that can calculate and compare the actual savings or excess fuel costs incurred by each driver. The scores and analytical tools give fleet managers something tangible to use in conversations with drivers to improve fuel savings. "The data doesn't lie," says Randy Morgan, vice president of Comdata's fleet division. In analyzing the collective fuel data, Comdata found that a majority of the time – 54 percent – drivers do not choose the cheapest fuel locations; they consider other factors besides price, such as truckstop amenities, parking and other considerations. "To think someone is always going to buy fuel the cheapest is not realistic," Morgan says. Since FleetAdvance uses Google Maps, fleet managers can validate drivers' reasons for not choosing particular locations to fuel by viewing satellite imagery and street-level pictures. The current release of FleetAdvance is focused on creating awareness for fuel savings using scoring and analytics. Fleet managers can see the savings they would achieve if a driver raised his score from 90 to 95. "It makes everything factual," Morgan says. Future releases will be designed to give customers the flexibility to weight fuel scores for factors other than fuel prices, such as truckstop amenities. Comdata also plans to develop tools for pre-planning fuel transactions similar how to fuel optimization software works today. Trac Fleet Management telematics system designed to offer improved communication with drivers and more real-time diagnostic data from vehicles. • tra Lease, a provider of over-the-road X trailer equipment rental and leasing, extended its agreement with Omnitracs to provide untethered trailer tracking. • eopleNet announced support for P Motorola's MC75A Mobile Computer to be compatible with PeopleNet's fleet mobility applications. • itchell 1 launched an online Truck Product M Training Center offering easily-accessible weekly training sessions for its truck repair information and truck labor estimating products. The training center is at www.mitchell1. com/training/truck/. • ransplace, a provider of transportaT tion management services and logistics technology, released Freight Allocation Module (FAM) 2.0, a Web-based application that allows shippers to auction freight with approved carrier partners. • LK Technologies, a global provider of A geologistics and navigation software, announced that Marshfield, Wis.-based Roehl Transport selected CoPilot Truck, ALK's truckspecific onboard navigation solution. • lectronic Funds Source, a provider of corE porate payment systems, announced that Aaron Huff is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296. Clayton, Ala.-based flatbed company Boyd Bros. Transportation has transitioned to EFS. commercial carrier journal CCJ_0713_TechDept.indd 35 | july 2013 35 6/20/13 4:34 PM