TransportACE solution to eliminate paper, increase efficiency and reduce delivery to billing time for auto transport company
San Diego, CA — December 9, 2005 — Cassens Transport Co., an auto transport company for more than 70 years, recently teamed with Apacheta Corp. and Sprint to improve its delivery operations through the use of wireless handheld devices.
A segment of Cassens delivery personnel will now use Apacheta's TransportACE mobile software to confirm deliveries and electronically transfer invoice data to Cassens' headquarters, saving the company costs associated with paper-based delivery systems and increasing accuracy associated with both delivery and billing.
Additionally, Sprint is teaming with Apacheta to help alleviate the challenges associated with implementing a mobility strategy, specifically because Sprint's network offers the secure and consistent service necessary to support hundreds of Cassens data transactions.
"The deployment of the Apacheta's TransportACE mobile software over Sprint's network is a milestone for our partnership and an indication of how mobile technologies help reduce operational costs for transportation companies by providing reliable wireless communication, said Stephen Rowley, vice president, areas and channels, for Sprint. We are happy to team with Apacheta Corp. to provide Cassens Transport with convenient, effective and secure mobility solutions that meet the needs of their staff."
Cassens transports an average of 5,000 vehicles per day from major auto manufacturer facilities to dealerships, railroads and other locations. Previously, Cassens relied on a paper invoice system that required delivery drivers and recipients to verify items on paper, return invoices to a Cassens facility, and transfer information using a large data entry staff. The system was dated and inefficient, as handwriting was not always legible and often times delivery drivers could not return invoices for days, as they were still completing the rest of their delivery run.
After researching methods to improve their paper-based system, Cassens approached Apacheta, which offers a mobile architecture targeted at companies whose revenue is based on deliveries and transportation. Cassens was interested in a system of wireless devices, but was concerned about achieving a high return on investment (ROI) after outfitting and training its delivery fleet with a mobile system.
Apacheta suggested that Cassens pilot both the hardware and software, allowing the company to test the system while it was phased in and adjusted to their needs. Apacheta rode with drivers, interviewed depot personnel, and observed the loading and unloading processes to gain an understanding, as well as provided an initial implementation of software. The pilot helped to determine what the best avenues were to obtain the ROI and which blends of wireless communications would provide the most cost effective, flexible and least cost of ownership over time.
Apacheta's TransportACE wireless enabled software was an immediate success. Delivery drivers no longer had to use paper invoices to check off deliveries with recipients; they simply reviewed the items on the handheld's screen, approved the delivery and the information was immediately transferred to Cassens host, providing the proof of delivery and damage tracking required by the manufacturers. The turnaround time from delivery to billing was reduced, as management no longer needed to wait for drivers to complete deliveries and invoices to be entered manually into databases.
Cassens implemented wide-area wireless communication to supply drivers with the capability to request loads, locate vehicles in the yard, report deliveries and damage, obtain dealer signatures, and perform shuttle movement of vehicles between centers, all in real-time.
The Apacheta ServerACE portal system allows for the UPS-style tracking of vehicles through the load, transportation and delivery process, even down to the captured signatures from the dealers. Along with updating the Cassens transportation logistics and billing systems, the ServerACE integration services provide for the real-time downloads of loads to drivers throughout the United States and Canada.
The Apacheta test run went very well, and based on the performance of the TransportACE solution Cassens has purchased both the software and hardware necessary to implement Apacheta's solution on a permanent basis, said Mark Shashek, vice president chief information officer of Cassens. Cassens is no longer concerned about the ROI of a wireless solution for our drivers; the benefits from Apacheta's system are numerous and clear, and we look forward to expanding its use among Cassens delivery personnel.
More articles about supply chain integration and execution.
