Navigation technologies increase productivity of the mobile workforce

Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies are proving to be an essential tool for mobile workforces within the transportation, manufacturing, trucking and warehousing industries, said a new report.

North American IT managers in the four sectors said navigation technologies are helping to increase mobile workforce productivity and enabling enterprises to become more efficient by reducing annual labour and fuel costs.

And haulage firms in the Middle East are increasingly adopting GPS to ensure the fast delivery of goods and to save on fuel costs.

The main benefit for enterprises using GPS-enabled technologies was a significant reduction in fuel consumption, according to the North American study commissioned by Motorola. This was reflected in an average reduction in distance traveled of 372 kilometres per week and annual fuel savings of $51,582 (Dh189,305).

With more than a million trucking carriers in the United States the potential industry-wide annual fuel savings could reach $53 billion. The study revealed enterprises deploying GPS technologies saved about 54 minutes per day – translating into an annual recouped labour savings of $5,484 per employee or $5.4 million per surveyed enterprise.

In addition to cost savings, location-finding applications were credited with improving the organisation of employee routes, giving companies the ability to know precisely where their employees are at any given time and allowing them to examine routing scenarios before implementation.

"Field mobility workers in the transportation and trucking industry are experiencing difficulties such as locating stops, reducing fuel expense and improving on time performance resulting in a drain on financial and manpower resources of their organisation," said Jim Hilton, director of Field Mobility at Motorola Enterprise Mobility.

"With nearly 200,000 mobile computers with integrated GPS shipped in recent years, Motorola continues to address the industry pain points which were identified in our research through field mobility solutions that enable our customers to do their jobs more efficiently and drive measurable business results," said Hilton.

Transport and logistics group Aramex has GPS technology installed in its entire fleet of more than 300 vehicles across the region.

Hussein Hachem, Aramex CEO for the Gulf, said: "GPS technology is a key element in our operations. It helps us track the movements of our vehicles and to ensure that vehicles are moving on schedule."

Bengt Ekstrand, general manager of GAC Group in the Middle East, said navigation technologies had transformed the transport and logistics industry in the Middle East.

"GPS technologies help to increase your competitive edge over your competitors in this tight market," he said.

"We have ensured that all our trucks and warehouses are fully equipped with GPS technology to enable us make fast and scheduled deliveries," said Ekstrand.

With the increasing traffic situation in Dubai, GPS technologies such as Dalili enable users to know which roads are experiencing high traffic volumes and provides suggestions for alternative routes.

The technology allows drivers to easily navigate to their destinations, which helps to cut down the amount of fuel that would have been wasted while trying to locate addresses.

Surveyed local enterprises indicated GPS solutions enabled the mobile workforce to spend less time in traffic or finding routes, while increasing the amount of time spent with new or existing customers.

When asked why they would consider investing in GPS or other new technologies those surveyed cited customer service as the number one priority.

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