By Jessica Binns
Moving and
storage company 1-800-PACK-RAT, based in Washington,
D.C., has deployed the enterprise
resource management service TeleNav Track to improve its routing, dispatch and
mobile communications throughout its 48 nationwide locations. Before the
deployment, the company gave its drivers routing instructions prior to
departure and equipped them with i355 and 7100i Sprint Nextel phones. Now,
drivers are able to view appointment changes directly on their phones.
Jason
Botts, director of I.T. for 1-800-PACK-RAT, says the service was rolled out
over a period of time with support from Sprint Nextel. Employees were fairly
receptive to the TeleNav Track service. “The deployment included a new phone,”
he says. “That helped remove barriers to adopting the technology.” The service
has “mixed-use” for routing, meaning that a wide range of employees can use
that feature, but location tracking and alert functions are used solely by
management.
There have
been minor glitches along the way. In a few instances, the driving directions
lagged a bit. “There were some situations where the turn-by-turn [directions]
would fall behind slightly, but these issues were quickly addressed,” Botts
says. This turned out to be less of a usage issue and more of a communications
problem with the satellite receiver, which usually was not in an ideal location
within the PACK RAT truck. “We repositioned the units with better line of sight
of the satellites and the updates were more accurate.”
The biggest
benefits since the TeleNav Track deployment have been with compliance and unit
tracking, according to Botts. “We are able to identify deviations from routes
and track speed limits,” he says. “Our schedules are highly optimized. We are
better able to accommodate last minute changes to routes/schedules since the
deployment.”
And best of
all, the service has had a minimal impact on the I.T. department. “Management
[of the service] is largely in the hands of the staff at each local facility.”
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