Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
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38 MARCH 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com of product management at XRS Corp. in Min- netonka, Minn. "Our customers – including Sysco, US Foods, Dean Foods, Gordon Foods – are look- ing for 'mobility' solutions that meet the needs of drivers doing work in and out of the cab," says Van Winkle. "At the moment, Android- based tablets and smart phones are the most common platform. However, Windows-based, ruggedized handhelds are becoming more com- mon in the food services space. iOS/iPhones are beginning to make their way into the industrial market, too." As the need for mobility increases and hand- held and smartphone solutions gain popularity, the bottom line still follows the cliché that every telematics situation has its own ideal solution. "There are various operational needs even within a food or beverage fleet. Sometimes, even within the same customer, a portion of their fleet may need something slightly different than the rest of the fleet," says Eric Witty, vice presi- dent, product management, Cadec Global, Inc. in Manchester, N.H. "So I don't think there is a one-size-fits, all and we try and encourage fleets to understand both their in-cab and out-of-cab needs to see what technology fits the highest priority problems they are trying to solve and pick the one that best fits and has the power to expand and adapt to their future needs." "It really depends on the use case," says Kelly Frey, vice president, product marketing at Calif.-based Telogis. "For a company-owned truck in service in the fleet for six, seven years, an imbedded system makes sense because it can come right from the manufacturer. But if you're dealing with an older fleet, or one that doesn't have an imbedded solution, it's easy to put a tablet-based or portable-based solution in there." Real-time: the real deal One area telematics experts are unanimous on is the importance of real-time or instant information for food and beverage customers. "Real-time is the expectation for all fleets in today's technology age where there is so much information at our fingertips," says Cade Glob- al's Witty. "Faster, more accurate, real-time deci- sion making based on real-time data can avoid delivery delays, HOS (hours of service) viola- tions and other operational issues and therefore increase efficiency and reduce costs." Reducing inventory loss is another important asset of real-time communication, according to Ryan Driscoll, marketing director at Phoenix, Ariz.-based GPS Insight. "Real-time data is crucial for food and bever- age businesses," says Driscoll, "Knowing the temperature inside the trailers in real time is imperative for these businesses because spoil- age can cost thousands of dollars per delivery. Telematics can alert management and drivers in real time when the temperature in the trailer is too low or too high so that they can address the issue immediately." Real-time telematics solutions also aid in the safety and traceability of the global supply chain, a point Krystine Hiew, sales and mar- keting coordinator at Ontario, Canada-based Geotab Inc., emphasizes. "Food and beverage companies not only have to prove that their products are safe, high- quality, or compliant with regulatory require- ments, they need to ensure that their suppliers' products adhere to these criteria as well," says Hiew. "Reasons why real-time data is so impor- tant include determining unplanned or missed stops on the fly; off-route notifications on the fly; dangerous driving or accident notifications; expected arrival at customer locations; over/ under temperature notifications in real time indicating an issue with the reefer or doors; and even alerts indicating long customer stops." With the increasing focus on food safety and complete traceability in the entire supply chain pushing companies to demand information at a second's notice, real-time telematics is likely to play a bigger role in the way companies throughout the f&b; sector achieve these goals. ◆ For more information: CADEC GLOBAL INC. , 800-252-2332, www.cadec.com COOLTRAX, 877-667-6868, www.cooltrax.com GEOTAB INC., 877-436-8221, www.geotab.com GPS INSIGHT , 866-477-4321, www.gpsinsight.com TELOGIS , 800-787-2337, www.telogis.com XRS CORP. (OMNITRACS) , 800-795-9282, www.xrscorp.com E ven though the regulations on the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate aren't even finalized, and with the hours-of-service rules and other govern- mental mandates being added and dropped every other session, telematics providers have been forced to stay on their toes to stay ahead of the regulations. So how prepared are most fleets to comply with the ELD mandate that becomes effective in 2016? Their answers vary. "We are seeing mixed results in this area," says Geotab's Hiew. "Some fleets have been using ELDs for some time, others are just implementing now, and still others will wait for the last possible moment. From a telematics perspective, what is different today than it was five years ago, is you rarely need to sell the benefits of an electronic logging solution – these are well understood by fleets today." "Even if the regulation does go through in 2016, and it looks like that's a big if right now as this keeps getting pushed out," says Frey of Telogis. "Most of the large fleets have been preparing for this for years now. Everybody is aware of it, unless you've had your head in the sand. I'd be surprised if most fleets aren't prepared for it." "I will say that many will be probably be scrambling to purchase equipment when that time arrives," says Cooltrax's Gilham. "Many companies will be making uneducated purchases and not fully testing their options and the capabilities. It seems the lowest cost wins right now, but the lowest cost may not give you the support and educa- tion needed to properly use the information you get from this technology and put it to good use and save your company thousands of dollars." Some of our experts even speculate the ELD mandate may help drive f&b; fleets that don't currently have a solution into a shopper in the telematics market. "I would say that less than half of all fleets are prepared to be in compliance at this time," adds Driscoll of GPS Insight. "That's not to say that they won't be by 2016, but that would mean that this year we will see a huge spike in telematics and ELD adoption in the food delivery and transportation industry." • Compliance issues like the ELD mandate could help smaller fleets appreciate the benefits of telematics systems. • A large majority (92%) of companies who have telematics installed in their fleets use it for vehicle tracking.