Business Case
Artoni Transporti
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Artoni Trasporti is one of the largest transportation companies in Italy. In 2002, Artoni expanded its operation into the European market and is now present in over 20 countries. Artoni has 13,000 client companies and an extensive network in Italy and Europe.
With about 70 logistics centres situated in Italy, Artoni provides transportation services throughout the country. Artoni has over 600 direct employees and 3,000 subcontractors. Today, the company effects over 6 million shipments per year, resulting in a turnover of €217 million.
The challenge
Artoni employs around 1,200 vehicles to deliver and collect palletised consignments across Italy. On a daily basis, each vehicle effects 30 stops which equates to a total of approximately 36,000 jobs and over 200,000 km travelled. Organising the daily routes in an efficient manner involves a great deal of planning. The fact that orders are constantly being received and need to be assigned to vehicles on-the-fly makes the process even more complex.
These orders need to be scheduled, along with other daily activities, effectively altering the drivers’ routes. In order to efficiently organise and re-schedule jobs, it was evident that Artoni needed to know the exact location of each vehicle and which jobs had been completed. Furthermore, Artoni required an effective mechanism to send last-minute pickup information to drivers already en-route, together with the newly re-organised route information.
Artoni Trasporti takes on Honeywell’s Dolphin 9700 mobile computers equipped with Loqus Solutions’ DispatchIT application to improve its fleet performance.
The Solution
In order to optimise the performance of Artoni’s fleet, Loqus Solutions developed a workforce management solution which gives Artoni more flexibility and allows them to manage their fleet more effectively. Loqus Solutions’ DispatchIT application will not only give Artoni the ability to send information to the drivers, it will also enable them to collate consignment data entered in the field.
Over 600 Dolphins have been installed during the first half of 2011 and Artoni is expecting to deploy another 600 to 800 units by 2012.
Each driver is given a Dolphin 9700 equipped with DispatchIT. DispatchIT makes use of the advanced features on the device. Through DispatchIT, the drivers receive the list of jobs which need to be executed that day. By utilising the intuitive user interface on the Dolphin 9700, the drivers are able to enter data related to the status of their jobs.
This information is transmitted in real time to the central servers which, through the use of a specifically developed software interface, relay the data to Artoni’s ERP system, making it readily available.
One of the key factors where the 9700, and Adaptus Imaging Technology, is crucial, is the proof-of-delivery process. With a press of a button, the solution allows the driver to capture the bar code identifying the delivery and the customer’s signature from the delivery note.
Artoni also took on Loqus’ Fleet Management solution TrakIT, which integrates seamlessly with DispatchIT when run on the Dolphin 9700. Artoni will be leveraging the tracking and journey data to monitor the fleet’s situation in real time, as well as historically. This information, which includes mileage data, will contribute to improving their workforce management and boosting their operational efficiency.
The Benefits
The implementation of Loqus’ solutions together with Honeywell’s Dolphin 9700 mobile computers results in significant benefits which affect all of Artoni’s business processes. One major benefit can be traced to the reduction in the time employed in the route planning process. The latter is greatly improved due to the fact that the back office now have a tool in hand which gives them the knowledge of each vehicle’s exact location and their workload at any point in time. This has ultimately led to an increase in efficiency in the back office processes as well as an improved ability to forecast delivery and pickup times.
Moreover, closer planning between logistics and transportation has led to a reduction in the overall operational costs as well as an increase in operational efficiencies. With the driver being automatically notified through visual and audible alerts on the Dolphin mobile device; the solution has enhanced communication speed and clarity. Furthermore, the proof of delivery is greatly improved with the signature capture process which is transmitted in real time to Artoni’s back office
This improved routing efficiency has not only resulted in an overall increase in productivity, but also equates to a reduction in the mileage travelled by the vehicles. This results in cost savings on fuel as well as an increased potential for the workforce. Moreover, the optimization of the transportation routes ultimately results in reduced CO2 emissions.