Cheetah Software Systems - Case Studies: Temco

Industry: LTL

The Situation: Ward’s old manual dispatching system was inefficient. It required clerical data entry and continual voice instructions for drivers over two-way radio. Dispatchers had to call drivers to ask if they had made their deliveries and if not when they would arrive. There was zero visibility into the fleet. Drivers were delayed up to an hour each day before they received their pickup assignments and clerks spent hours at the end of each day entering data into the system.

The Cheetah Solution: Following a detailed study of the LTL software market, Ward chose the Cheetah Freight™ system for P&D automation and route optimization running over Nextel® GPS, Java-enabled phones.

The Results: Clerical data entry has been reduced by several hours a day at each of 20 facilities. Dispatchers can now accurately track the location of every truck in the Ward Trucking fleet. Drivers no longer have to wait for pickup assignments. Phone and radio traffic between the dispatcher and drivers has been virtually eliminated. The number of miles driven per stop has been greatly reduced. Real-time ETAs are available to customers for the first time. Payback achieved within six months.

“We have lowered the number of miles driven per stop and are on target to achieve ROI within six months. Without a doubt, the Cheetah software has improved the efficiency of our P&D operations while at the same time improved the timeliness of data on shipments.”

“Cheetah has enabled us to eliminate an hour or two of data entry at the end of each day, and eliminate up to an hour each day of drivers waiting for pickup assignments," said Confer. "We have virtually eliminated phone and radio traffic between the dispatcher and drivers.”

— Gregory S. Confer, Director of Process Analysis and Improvement at Ward Trucking.

LTL Carrier Goes Wireless

Ward Trucking improves P&D efficiency through wireless automation

Margins are tight in the world of LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers. That's why Ward Trucking has turned to wireless technology to streamline its operations, increase efficiency and improve its profitability.

“Our old manual dispatching system was inefficient, as it required clerical data entry and continual voice instructions for drivers over two-way radio," said Gregory S. Confer, Director of Process Analysis and Improvement at Ward Trucking. "We needed a faster, more reliable way to gather data on our pickups and deliveries, and to improve our route optimization processes,”

To resolve these issues, Ward Trucking implemented the Cheetah Freight Delivery System. This dispatch automation and real-time logistics optimization software by Cheetah Software Systems Inc. of Westlake Village, CA. works in conjunction with Nextel's digital cellular service, Direct Connect®, Web access and Two-Way Messaging. As a result, it can now track the movement of its fleet, offer accurate ETAs to customers, as well as supply updates on the progress of shipments.

“Additionally, by implementing wireless technology, we have reduced clerical data entry by several hours a day at each of our facilities and increased overall efficiency," said Confer.

Manual Madness

Ward Trucking is an LTL carrier formed in 1931, headquartered in Altoona, PA. Its fleet serves Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Chicago. It has 20 trucking terminals and a fleet of 425 trucks. Under the old dispatching system of manual data entry and verbal instructions between dispatchers and drivers, Ward struggled to gather accurate P&D data.

“Radio transmissions and phone calls were heavily utilized by managers, dispatchers and drivers to cope with day-to-day traffic and delivery emergencies," said Confer.

He explains that manual tracking techniques rely heavily on dispatcher experience. The dispatcher had to be familiar with the pickup area and know which driver to assign to which deliveries. Planning was only as good as the know-how of the dispatchers. It is not surprising that dispatchers struggled to provide customers with accurate ETAs.

“We had to call the driver and ask them if they had made a delivery and if not, when it would arrive," said Confer. "Otherwise, we had no visibility into our fleet.“

After thoroughly evaluating its existing mode of operation, Ward realized that real-time automation opened the door to greater profitability. But many of the automated solutions for the trucking industry came with hefty price tags. Furthermore, the company lacked the basic technology infrastructure most vendors required in order to implement a logistics optimization and dispatch application. Confer faced the prospect of having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on computer hardware and software. With such a large capital outlay required, the return on investment (ROI) simply took too long to allow such a purchase.

The mission became finding a system that could automate P&D and other workflow logistics with a rapid ROI. A detailed study of the LTL software market revealed that Cheetah Software's unique approach offered Ward Trucking the exact tools necessary to improve productivity, customer service and profitability. Perhaps just as importantly, Cheetah offered all of this with nominal up-front investment and minimal ongoing costs.

“We researched about twenty vendors and Cheetah came out on top," said Confer. "Cheetah provided us with a one-stop shopping alternative that contained the same advanced functionality as other solutions that would have cost us ten times as much.“

With IT resources at Ward already stretched to the limit, Ward preferred an approach that required very little involvement from its in-house IT team. This was achieved using Cheetah's low-cost application service provider (ASP) model. Instead of purchasing all the hardware and software, Cheetah acts as an ASP using its own secure servers to host the logistics software for Ward Trucking. In addition to greatly reducing costs, this approach provides for extremely easy implementation and rapid ROI.

“By opting for an ASP approach, we were able to implement the Cheetah solution with a relatively small amount of work by our IT staff," said Confer. "Cheetah was truly a plug and play application. The company has a wealth of experience with LTL carriers that proved to be a vital to our implementation.“

“Cheetah Freight works in conjunction with Nextel® GPS, Java-enabled phones by Motorola that run over the Nextel guaranteed all-digital wireless network. Drivers view their itinerary for the day, receive schedule changes, enter pickup updates and confirm deliveries (POD), all right over their Nextel phones.

“Drivers deliveries for the day are downloaded to their telephones," said Confer. "With a couple of key strokes, they make updates as they go about their business and within a minute, we have delivery confirmation available to customers.“

After each delivery, the driver enters the data, which is immediately available to the dispatcher. The system adjusts ETAs constantly throughout the day and customers are automatically informed of any shifts in the delivery schedule. With the Cheetah Freight Delivery System, dispatchers can now accurately track the location of every truck in the Ward Trucking fleet.

“Cheetah has enabled us to eliminate an hour or two of data entry for pickups at the end of each day, and eliminate up to an hour each day of drivers waiting for pickup assignments," said Confer. "We have virtually eliminated phone and radio traffic between the dispatcher and drivers.“

The complete roll out of 20 trucking terminals and 425 trucks took less than 6 months. The Cheetah system has already become an indispensable part of the Ward Trucking organization.

“We have lowered the number of miles driven per stop and are on target to achieve our ROI within six months," Confer says. "Without a doubt, Cheetah software has improved the efficiency of our P&D operations while at the same time improved the timeliness of shipment data.“