THENEW DRAG DROP... · 2017. 12. 12. · number: 0191 244 9292. Any requests for software support...

LOADS

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RESOURCES

Issue 1 2015

The software bringing people, processes and partners together.

Driving growth

What’s NeWThe latest products

and features from

Mandata

NEWTHEDRAG & DROPTRAFFIC PAD IS HERE

TRAFFIC PADIS HERE

DRAGTHE NEW

& DROP

www.mandata.co.ukNewsletter: Issue 1 2015 Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn: MandataFollow us on Twitter: @MandataLtd

New investment lays foundations for further growth as we upgrade our IT platform and infrastructure to continue to deliver the highest levels of customer service.

The last two years have been a period of significant achievement and real commercial success. We have seen an impressive 50% increase in the volume of transactions being completed via our mission critical transport management systems.

Growth is due to both the increased number of haulage companies using our systems - and the success of our customers - there has been a continued rise in the number of jobs being processed.

This has been achieved in the face of continuing pressure on costs, a demanding customer environment and the constant drive to add real value in a tough and competitive sector. No mean feat and surely a ringing endorsement of Mandata’s reputation for quality and providing effective, beneficial solutions.

In looking to the future, we have made the necessary commitment – and investment – in a high performance EMC enterprise-class network infrastructure platform from Synapse 360. This will enable our company to continue to ensure customer satisfaction and performance levels are met time after time.

Our Cloud solutions have now been made available using the new EMC infrastructure which in turn provides both a scalable, stable and secure environment for customer data, as well as proprietary software applications. This will ensure that end-users will get optimum usage from the integrated systems we provide.

Ian Dunbar, Head of IT said: “We have invested in the class-leading technologies to give customers room for growth and access to the most responsive systems available 24/7. We’ve already seen a noticeable improvement in performance.”

“This is critical because our customers rely on us for the fast and efficient delivery of information to the desktop, over the web and on mobile technology. We need to have the right infrastructure in place to cope with these demands.”

“By upgrading our systems we are not only future-proofing our business but also that of our customers,” added Ian Dunbar.

“The EMC network provides the very highest performance standards enabling us to meet the exacting standards our customers demand.”

Issue 1 2015

FeATuReD STORIES NEWS

50% growth in transactions sparks investment in new eMC platform

Photograph: Ian Dunbar, Head of IT

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OuT-OF-HOuRs TeCHNICAL suPPORT We are providing a new out-of-hours support service to assist you with business critical technical issues.Our IT team will provide telephone and remote support outside of the normal Help Desk opening hours as follows:

Please note: The service excludes software support. We can only respond to business critical technical calls which are logged via the new telephone number: 0191 244 9292.

Any requests for software support logged via the normal Help Desk telephone number will be actioned during normal opening hours.

New support service

*Excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day

NEW OUT-OF-HOURS TECHNICAL SUPPORT TEL: 0191 244 9292

eVeNTsDates for your Diary!Mandata will be exhibiting at the following events. We hope to see you there!

14th to 16th April 2015The Commercial Vehicle Show NEC Birmingham Stand 3C80

28th to 30th April 2015MultiModal NEC Birmingham Stand 730

FeATuReD STORIES

Software and Technical Support

Business Critical Technical Support

Monday to Friday

08:00 –18:00 07:00 – 08:00 18:00 – 21:00

Saturday 09:00 –12:00 12:00 – 17:00

English Bank Holidays*

09:00 – 17:00

For more information on any of the features or services discussed in INsIDe TRACK please call us on 0191 250 2220 email us at [email protected] or visit our website www.mandata.co.uk.

Product News: The NEW Drag and Drop multi-display Traffic Pad is here!

New Products:

Driver Assist moduleGives drivers instant feedback about driving performance

Trailer TrackingThe easy way to keep track of your trailers

Pallet Enquiry AppMake it easy to find out where stray pallets are meant to be!

software that delivers:How logistics are changing with solutions that bring information, people, processes and partners together

Customer stories:

Sawyers TransportSystem provides launch pad to quadruple growth

TT ExpressCompany switches to Mandata to gain whole journey visibility and full process control

Breakwells LLPETA call volumes reduce by 85%

Shepherd Distribution ServicesSystems continue to lighten the load at bulk haulage company

spotlight:

Securing your data on-line Christian Barron explains Mandata’s approach to protecting user data against cybercrime

Customer News:

Lenham Storage

A warm welcome:

New Mandata Customers

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There is a strong current of change flowing through this issue of INSIDE TRACK. In our own business, changes in technology continue as we forge ahead with plans to drive our products forward. One of our major recent advances is the launch of the new Drag and Drop Traffic Pad. This will, I am sure, help to drive change in your own organisations by simplifying and accelerating the traffic planning process.

The increased volume of transactions being processed by our systems reflects our customer’s growth and this has led us to upgrade our IT infrastructure to an EMC platform at our data centre. This investment is a critical step in equipping our company and our customer’s for further growth in the coming years – ensuring the high performance of our Internet applications and cloud-based systems.

This growth is echoed in the customer stories we have included here. Breakwells LLP, Sawyers Transport and Shepherd Distribution have been Mandata customers for many years. It is with pride that we share their stories and see how they are continuing to adopt new technology and gain value from our systems.

We are also pleased to welcome a number of new customers, together with TT Express – a company that has recently switched to Mandata. We share the company’s recent experience of working with us and the changes it has seen as a result of implementing our systems.

I hope you enjoy reading our news!

Mark Norcliffe

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Welcome


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Load building made simpleBuild a load by dragging single or multiple jobs down to the vehicle planning section of the traffic pad.

A new clipboard feature enables you to pick jobs and hold them away from the main traffic pad while you work. You can then drop them on to the required load.

Allocate resources from a pool of live optionsAvailable resources such as vehicles, trailers, drivers and sub-contractors are displayed on separate tabs in a ‘resources’ window. They can be allocated with ease by dragging them across to the load. You cannot allocate resources that are not available to you.

Colour coded resourcesDrivers – a ‘driver calendar’ enables you to keep track of driver availability. You can create events eg., training, sick, day/night shift or unavailable and each event can be colour coded - so you can see who is available at a glance.

Vehicle/Trailers – event types eg., MOT, maintenance can be created so you can easily see which resources are available.

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Discover a new way of working that simplifies load building and the allocation of resources with Mandata’s new Manpack3 Drag and Drop Traffic Pad.

You’ll have all the information you need at your fingertips; on one or multiple screens, using windows and tabs.

HOW TO uPGRADe TO DRAG AND DROP Before you can upgrade to the new Drag and Drop Traffic Pad we will need to undertake a business process review. This will help us to understand how you would like the traffic pad to work and ensure a smooth migration to the new traffic pad. To help you get the most from the new functionality we recommend users receive training prior to the new Drag and Drop Traffic Pad going live.

existing Manpack3 users

ReQuesT A DeMO!Please contact your account manager or email [email protected].

Or see the Drag and Drop Traffic Pad at The CV show and MultiModal!

NEWTHEDRAG & DROPTRAFFIC PADIS HERE

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Live information at your fingertipsDrag and Drop provides greater visibility. The new traffic pad design displays a lot of information in tabs enabling you to segment and view information to effectively manage jobs and resources.

To see a detailed list of jobs on a vehicle - just double-click on the load and the row expands to display details of each job.

To find mistakes quickly - an audit trail feature enables you to check the changes you’ve made and find problems quickly.

Jobs

Vehicle Planning ResourcesDriver Subby Vehicle TrailerLoads DelZones Artics Rigids Deliveries Collections

Vehicle PlanningLoads DelZones

Vehicle PlanningLoads DelZones Artics Rigids Deliveries Collections

Vehicle Planning

Vehicle PlanningLoads DelZones Artics Rigids Deliveries Collections

Vehicle Planning

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NeW PRODUCTS

Jobs Loads Resources

Now with multi-display functionality!

simplify planningexpand your work area across multiple screens

The new Drag and Drop Traffic Pad enables you to display jobs, loads and resource windows on separate monitors (if your hardware supports multi-display) as if you are using one large screen! You’re able to drag items seamlessly between windows and from one screen to another.

The software will retain the traffic pad layout set by each user and can be programmed to suit the way you like to work, for example vehicles can disappear off the resource list as they are used.

When you close a window it ‘re-docks’ back on to the main traffic pad.

Reduce the amount of information on screen

Within the Vehicle Planning section you can segment information on tabs and choose your own column layouts – this simplifies planning as you only see information that is relevant to you and your job.

Jobs

Vehicle Planning ResourcesDriver Subby Vehicle TrailerLoads DelZones Artics Rigids Deliveries Collections

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Make changes quickly and easily The new Drag and Drop Traffic Pad is a versatile tool that saves you time. If you need to make a change you can move jobs by dragging them from one load to another.


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NeW PRODUCTSBetter driving in an instant

Improve driver performance with the new Driver Assist alert tool. The unit sits in the cab in full view of the driver.

Lights will alert drivers if they exceed five main parameters; acceleration, deceleration, speed, engine speed (rpm) and idling and can make an instant improvement to driver performance.

LIVe DATA FeeDs FOR YOuR TRAFFIC PAD

How to get the App Please contact your Mandata account manager for details.

NeW Pallet enquiry App

You’ll always know the whereabouts of your trailers with our new trailer tracking solution. Via the Manpack3 TMS, Advanced Services web portal and Tracking Apps you’ll be able to see the last known location of each trailer being tracked.

The tracking device located in each trailer pings once every hour and comes with a two year battery life.

NeW TRAILeR TRACKING LAuNCHeD

How to get Trailer Tracking You will need to be using Mandata Tracking for this solution to work. Please contact your account manager for further details.

Save time by identifying stray pallets quickly using our new Pallet Enquiry App. You can scan a barcode or enter a Job no, Order no, Ref1, Ref2 or Ref3 to return job and stage details. You will be able to see where the pallet has come from and where it should be going. The App will help you to get it back on track. Available for Android and iOS.

APPs

HeAR PRODuCT NeWs FIRsT!! Visit www.mandata.co.uk and register to receive news updates.

Marketing materialsOver the coming months we’ll be developing a library of marketing materials to help you publicise new services to your customers.

Track and Trace App flyerWould you like to promote your new Track and Trace App to your customers? They can download the App to their Apple or Android device to monitor their job progress and see POD’s.

A new flyer is available as a Word document to download from Mandata’s client portal. You can add your logo and company contact details (or we can add these for you), and it can be emailed or printed out. If you’d like us to add your details please email your logo to: [email protected].

Vehicle location New selectable fields are available for the traffic pad including the vehicle’s latest time stamp, location, heading, speed and status by job and load. This will allow you to identify the location and status of units at a glance without having to view maps.

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How to get Driver Assist Please speak to your account manager for further details about this product – it will be available May 2015.

How to add driver statuses to your traffic pad

Your Manpack3 TMS will first need to be configured to accept data from the tachograph. For the solution to work you will need to be using digital tachographs and Mandata Tracking. Please contact your account manager for further details.

How to add vehicle locations to your traffic pad

You will need Mandata Tracking for this feature to work. Please contact your account manager for details or contact the Help Desk to activate the feature.

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Driver’s tacho modeA live feed of a driver’s current tacho mode is now available as a selectable column in the traffic pad. Each driver’s tacho mode (driving, other work, availability and break/rest) is displayed enabling you to see the status of each driver at a glance.

Coming soon!


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OVER 40 YeARs OF DEVELOPINg SOFTWARE THAT DELIVERS

Looking back to the future employees map out new careers at Mandata

With a combined experience of 700 years – our team has accrued an impressive knowledge of the road transport industry. Whether they’re in software development, IT, admin, finance, sales or account management – our dedicated and growing team is focused on developing products and helping you to make the most of them.

Andy Grey, Manpack3 Software Developer has been involved in software programming for 30 years at Mandata. He looks back at how technology has changed over the years.

I started as a Junior Programmer in 1985 after an eight week placement from college. Mandata was a reseller of Olivetti hardware at the time. There were no computers on desks or networking in those days - computers were the size of your desk and would give you a hernia if you tried to pick one up!

Data and programs were stored on floppy disks. An operator would have to keep swapping them in and out for each different system they wanted to use; haulage, sales, purchasing etc., and systems were single user – there were no 100+ user systems back then.

We would work at our desks, writing down code and designing screens on special pads, taking these to the computer room afterwards to type into the computers. Something that is

completely alien to today’s hands-on visual style of development.

All of the Manpack software masters were stored on floppy disks on a rather large trolley that was kept in a walk-in fireproof safe in our offices. This would be wheeled from and to the computer room every day.

This continued until Olivetti M24’s came along. They had 20mb hard disks and could store all the programs and data on one hard disk. This hardware change put an end to the constant swapping out of floppy disks.

Visually the display evolved from low resolution DOS based green screens to the modern, intuitive icons and menus of the Windows system. And, with the rise of the Internet, we developed the Advanced Services web portal. This major leap forward has allowed our customers to provide an on-line booking solution to their customers and resulted in a huge reduction in the re-keying of data.

Mandata’s choice to focus on the haulage industry was a significant turning point for the company. It has allowed us to strive to have the best suite of integrated software solutions used by one market. This means we’ve been able to concentrate on developing our systems so they’re what our customers really need.

As technology has become more complex, so has the nature of development. We’re no longer a small team of developers, but a larger team working on core elements of the software and applications. This means we have more time to devote to specialist tasks. Our company may have grown and development approaches have changed, but our ethos remains the same; to give the very best quality and reliable products that will stand the test of time.

When you work with technology, change is constant and the changes in logistics technology have been remarkable. Today’s technology gives far greater potential to improve the supply chain and it is rewarding for me to see how our products have evolved and are continuing to help change the future of logistics.

We are pleased to welcome several new members of staff who’ve joined our software development and support teams.

Carl Jameson, a computer science graduate has been appointed Junior Advanced Services Developer. He is working on Android and iOS application development and working alongside Myran Teasdale in his role as Junior Support Developer.

Software Tester, Christian Barron has joined our software security team. He brings unique experience to the role having worked in similar roles within the NHS, pensions and banking sectors.

Other appointments at the Cramlington office include Tony Harris who has joined the Sage support team and Ben Bowman who is providing support to our internal IT team.

These appointments come at an exciting time in the company’s growth and are enabling us to add further resource and press forward with continued operational improvements and new product developments.

Transport technology has moved on a pace since the 1970’s when Mandata first began. Those were the days of the manual traffic pad, handwritten delivery notes and endless paper trails. We were providing computer facilities to the North East Co-operative Laundries back then and in the 1980’s we moved on to develop and resell our own accounting software to the construction and haulage industry.

Such was our success of working with haulage companies that we concentrated our efforts on the sector and this continues to this day with our flagship product the Manpack3 TMS.

Since being launched in 1984, the TMS continues to be used by many of its earliest adopters today; Breakwells Transport, David Hathaway Transport, Elddis Transport, Imperial Tankers, Relay Technical Transport, Shepherd Distribution, Nagel Langdons (formerly Langdons Transport) to name a few.

They have, together with so many other companies throughout the years, embraced technology and used it to shape the future of logistics.

Our TMS has evolved with haulage companies to meet the sector’s changing needs and is now a deep and versatile product, integrating a range of Mandata applications and solutions and customised to meet specific needs. Trusted by hundreds of operators, it now handles millions of transactions and enables road transport companies to solve varied and complex challenges.

With technological advances we’re all able to do things faster, cheaper and better than we were 40 years ago.

Our customers can send manifests electronically to driver’s mobile devices in real-time and receive signatures and signed POD’s automatically back into the TMS as deliveries are made.

Our web portal Advanced Services has helped to redefine order processing for the sector and now provides a convenient web-booking and track and trace service.

Vehicle tracking and telematics provide detailed information about fleets and loads. And, with geo-fencing progress updates made automatically, ETA enquiries are being reduced and information is more meaningful and accurate.

Visibility continues to improve enabling you to resolve issues quickly and look back in detail at performance to fine-tune your business; reduce costs and improve service levels. Now, customers have real-time information at their fingertips and end-to-end processes are managed with one system – Manpack3.

Yet there is more to be done to help you to improve efficiency and meet customer’s changing needs. After many years’ developing software for the industry our objectives remain the same; to simplify operations for you, help you to reduce your costs, make more information available and help you win more business - with software that adds real value.

Meeting your needs with technology that really does deliver on reliability and improves processes is at the very heart of Mandata. We remain steadfast on our course to advance software and develop new ways to simplify ease-of-use and enhance transparency and convenience for you and your customers.

The new Manpack3 Drag and Drop Traffic Pad is a recent major development that will enable you to accelerate the traffic planning process. A versatile tool – it gives the traffic planner greater functionality and visibility to simplify the complex nature of load planning.

The development of a series of mobile ‘apps’ for Android and iPhone devices will continue over the coming months to make even more information accessible to you.

Other advances include the integration of Manpack3 with third party systems. A recent example is the development of a

link between Manpack3 and the ferry operator Stena Line. A time consuming booking process has been

streamlined saving a significant amount of time by enabling thousands of ferry bookings each month to be made direct through the Manpack3 TMS.

There is also greater collaboration between Mandata customers that are using the Manpack3 TMS as a common platform. Jobs can be passed seamlessly between multiple companies, as if they are operating as one - creating the potential for haulage companies to work more closely together in the future.

Bringing information, people, processes and partners together

Photograph: (From left to right) Carl Jameson, Myran Teesdale, Ben Bowman, Christian Barron and Tony Harris

Photograph: Andy grey, Manpack3 Developer

We’re recruiting! We have a number of software related roles available. Please visit our website for further details.

If you would like to speak to us about our exciting technology developments ask to see our Technology Roadmap! We’ll be pleased to share our vision and plans with you.


A leading Northern Ireland transport company has seen a four-fold growth in turnover over the last decade following its investment in one of the most advanced transport management systems on the market. Sawyers Transport Ltd., is a family owned road haulage company, based in Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, providing a premium chilled and frozen distribution and cold storage warehouse service throughout the UK and Europe. With strategic locations in the province and across Scotland, the firm has a fleet of over 350 refrigerated and 140 curtain sided trailers and 200 tractor units.

In 2004 Sawyers took the decision to invest in a Manpack3 transport management system as a pivotal part of its drive for growth in a highly competitive industry.

TRANsPORT ReVeNues HAVe ROCKeTeDTen years on and the company’s achievements have far exceeded expectations from both a customer service and financial standpoint. Transport revenue has rocketed from £12m in 2004 to £68m in 2014, and today Sawyers is handling four-times as many jobs. Furthermore, its fleet has grown six-fold and the number of drivers employed has gone from 40 to 340 giving a total staff of 440.

Sawyers’ Managing Director believes that implementing Mandata’s technology was a turning point for the business and it has contributed to its exponential growth.

“There’s no question that we couldn’t have achieved this level of growth without Mandata’s systems. We’ve streamlined our operation, managed a period of rapid expansion and raised customer service levels as a result,” said Derek Sawyers, Managing Director.

“The beauty of Manpack3 is that everything is centralised in one place. This allows everyone to access the same information and minimises the risk of error. Along with speed of information updates it has improved visibility and simplified operations making us far more efficient as a company and more agile to react to change.”

Manpack3 has been the driving force behind many successes since Sawyers’ first utilised its capabilities to computerise invoicing procedures. “Using the eInvoicing feature delivered instant benefits,

shaving weeks off the time it took to process invoices, which are now turned around within days of delivery,” says Mark McKavanagh, Head of Accounts.

Today, 90% of customers book their jobs on-line via an e-booking system where they can also retrieve their own POD’s and monitor progress of deliveries. This saves Sawyers’ staff a significant amount of time, has lead to efficiency improvements and ensures customers are constantly kept informed.

Driver behaviour and performance has improved too, along with 5% fuel savings across the fleet thanks to Mandata’s Tracking and Driver Behaviour. “We monitor fuel and driving styles closely,” says george Lee, Operations Director. “League tables are shared between drivers to encourage them to make improvements and there is a bonus scheme in place to reward good driving.”

Communications have also benefitted and so has Sawyers’ ability to resolve issues quickly. “If one of our trucks has a puncture, we can immediately see who else is in the area to provide backup.”

“Before we introduced tracking, we had two people ringing drivers to find out their location. Now we can see instantly where vehicles are on a live map within the TMS and what’s on the truck. It’s being able to see the full picture in real-time that enables us to make better decisions,” said george.

MuLTIPLe COMPANIes COLLABORATe VIA MANPACK3Manpack3’s integration capability has enabled a unique interface to be developed between Sawyers and its partners’ systems, leading to reciprocal work arrangements between companies within the Chillnet network (Sawyers, Nagel Langdons Ltd., Wolsey Freight, Brown Logistics and DK Malcolm). This sees jobs and related documentation passed efficiently between the companies. In reality, the integration is enabling Sawyers and its partners to operate as a single entity, achieving further time and cost savings.

“There are not many companies that can guarantee delivery of a single pallet from the UK to the continent within a three-day turnaround,” said george. “Working with our partners, we’re able to group deliveries together and use local drivers to lift single or double pallets and distribute them. As a result, we’ve been able to expand further afield into new European markets.”

80% of Sawyers’ work is delivered into the heavily regulated food sector, where traceability is a prerequisite and the firm’s reputation relies on strict adherence to European health and safety legislation. Its trucks make daily journeys with British meat into Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Spain and France.

So tracking vehicles and monitoring temperatures en route is paramount and here Mandata has developed a link between Sawyers’ ThermoKing temperature monitoring system and Manpack3 to simplify and improve reporting.

An alert is sounded if a door is opened or if there’s a temperature fluctuation. Using this data, thermographs are outputted from Manpack3 together with reports to provide evidence of compliance and the temperature of each load and its duration.

FeRRY BOOKINGs MADe THROuGH MANPACK3It’s also the flexibility of the system that’s driving value for Sawyers, its partners and customers. This is seen further in the way that Mandata has created an interface between Manpack3 and the Stena Line booking system to better manage the 3,000 plus ferry crossings the company’s fleet of vehicles undertake monthly.

The whole process of booking over 100 crossings a day has been streamlined thanks to a link between the two systems - now all of Sawyers’ travel arrangements are completed on the day of booking via Manpack3 and paperwork saved on the system.

Looking to the future, Sawyers is keen to stay in the vanguard of transportation innovation and success says George, who adds: “We’ll soon be implementing Mandata’s POD Scanning solution to streamline POD capture and returns particularly where we have sub-contractors who may take up to three weeks to return. This will help us to get this information back to our customers more quickly and continue to raise customer service levels.”

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The potential to integrate Manpack3 with other systems brings endless possibilities for haulage companies.

The Sawyers Transport story highlights a number of areas where we’ve been able to help the company overcome challenges with bespoke software development. Whether it’s providing a common platform to enable information to be passed seamlessly between partners, making a ferry booking via Manpack3 or providing a link from a vehicle’s temperature monitoring system into the TMS – we have the in-house capability to create solutions that simplify processes for you.

Bringing people and processes together

eXTRAORDINARY GROWTH From £12m in 2004 to £68m in 2014

HAuLAGe COMPANIes COLLABORATeWork passes seamlessly via Manpack3

THeRMOGRAPHs A link between a ThermoKing temperature monitoring system and Manpack3 simplifies reporting and compliance

100 FeRRY CROssINGs PeR DAYBooked via Manpack3

CusTOMeR STORYsystem provides launch pad to quadruple growth at sawyers


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systems continue to lighten the load at shepherds Each year Shepherd Distribution Services make in excess of 125,000 deliveries of bulk non-standard sized metal products along with palletised freight through the Palletline network. The company has been using Mandata’s Manpack3 TMS for fourteen years to manage deliveries throughout the UK and Europe and it continues to deliver value today.

“In this day and age you need the support of technology to keep one step ahead of the game. By working with Mandata we’ve been able to adopt some of the latest advances in technology and that’s enabled us to move forward,” says Laurence Abel, Managing Director.

Manpack3 is integrated with Mandata’s PDA Manifests, ePOD, and Advanced Services provides visibility together with on-line booking and real-time POD retrieval.

“The fact that our customers can tap into our on-line booking system to view POD’s via the web is a big plus.”

“Although we have a large client base our systems enable us to stay nimble, continue to deliver on service levels and give customers what they need – real-time information, when they need it.”

eTA call volumes reduce by 85% at Breakwells

Specialist retail distribution company Breakwells has added Mandata’s vehicle tracking and PDA manifests to its Manpack3 TMS enhancing transparency and reducing ETA call volumes by 85%. Breakwells is a family-owned haulage company based in Kidderminster. It delivers high value, fragile goods for companies across the UK, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and Spain.

Fifteen years ago as the millennium was drawing near, uncertainty was growing around the potential impact of the millennium bug. To protect the business and minimise the threat of ‘Y2K’, Breakwells instigated a search for a new transport management system that would stand the test of time.

Mandata’s transport management system was implemented and is continuing to deliver results for the company today.

Many of its customers are in the retail sector and rely on Breakwells to provide a responsive service. The recently installed vehicle tracking solution has made a huge difference to the business which is able to redirect vehicles to key points when it needs to. It is also allowing deliveries to be pulled together more quickly.

“As a package it works,” says John Burston, Partner at Breakwells. “We have an overall picture of what’s going on and as accounts are integrated with traffic, the system shows us everything is happening as it should be – it gives us clear visibility and total control.”

By logging on to a web portal provided by Mandata Breakwell’s customers can see vehicles and deliveries out on the road and this is giving them confidence.

“The system is also a good sales point for us which has played a part in helping us to win new business - customers can see and experience the value it adds,” says John.

And, as customers can view POD’s on-line this has improved transparency and reduced the number of ETA enquiries the company receives by 85%.

switch to Mandata gives TT express whole journey visibility and full process control Oldham-based Logistics and Distribution company TT Express has switched to a Mandata transport management solution to gain greater visibility and real-time information. Mandata’s geo-fenced vehicle tracking has been the first to be rolled out together with a new trailer tracking solution and integrated driver behaviour across its fleet of 42 vehicles and 70 trailers.

The next step is to add a back-office system in the form of Mandata’s Manpack3 TMS and a Workshop module – to give TTX a whole new level of transparency and control.

“Our previous systems were highly inefficient. They didn’t offer any data analytics, driver behaviour or fuel efficiency data. With no integration between our back-office system and vehicle tracking, the information we got from the systems was limited and piecemeal,” said Vlad Costache, general Manager.

“Bringing everything together into one integrated system will give us so much potential to fine-tune all areas of the business.”

As well as being able to see traffic in real-time, they’ll be able to manage the whole journey of a consignment from booking through to invoice using one system, once the TMS is in place.

Vlad says one of the earliest benefits his company has realised has been the improved visibility of its trailers: “Trailer tracking is a key component for us as we need to know where our trailers are at all times. It’s so easy to lose track of them as they can be left for a number of days at different customer premises or they are often used as stand trailers.”

The previous trailer tracking solution proved to be a hindrance to the business. Battery packs were only lasting a matter of months and had to be reinstalled – this all cost the company time and resulted in a loss of visibility as well as additional trailer parking charges being incurred.

“The trailer tracking battery packs from Mandata have been in for a few months now and they’re working well. The tracking data is accurate and live and that’s helping us to act quickly and dynamically manage the size of our trailer pool according to changing requirements.”

“With regards to vehicle tracking, the amount of data available to us in real-time is impressive. Thanks to the integrated reporting suite we can

navigate this data and extract the parameters which are meaningful to us. We’re now also able to compare the efficiency of the different types of vehicles, which helps us construct future vehicle purchasing requirements. Although we have only deployed the system a few months ago, we have already identified a number of low performing vehicles which will be phased out at our next fleet refresh,” said Vlad.

A Unit Tracking App from Mandata is being used to monitor vehicles closely too. Staff can see the status of vehicles using a smart phone; including current and historical locations, real-time fuel efficiency and fuel tank levels. ‘’Having access to all this data in a quick and effortless way is a fantastic tool. It helps our traffic planners to stay on top of the daily workload and it is also heavily utilised by our workshop team when dealing with breakdowns.”

“We’ve been showing the App to our customers as it highlights how well equipped we are to do our job as a Haulage Services Provider. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, everybody feels that there are huge benefits in being able to monitor their consignments in real-time and it reduces calls to customer services. Once the next phase of our integration project is completed and the Manpack3 system is operational, we’ll be able to share even more information with our customers, such as live ETA’s and POD’s.”

As well as vehicle and trailer tracking, the company is using an integrated driver behaviour solution from Mandata which is helping to improve driver performance.

“Our drivers look forward to seeing the monthly league tables which we are now able to produce. We’re using the results to reward good performance and to identify where there is a need for additional training. This works remarkably well and enables us to achieve significant cost savings by improving MPG figures across the board. It also rewards and motivates staff to excel. ”

Vlad and the team at TTX are proud of the new technology it is investing in: “The new systems could not have come sooner for us. We are now able to fully engage and better manage all aspects of our operation based on rich and accurate data.”

CusTOMeR STORIES


We all enjoy the freedom that the Internet affords. However we need to be mindful of and take steps to protect ourselves against the risks associated with transmitting data on-line. software Tester Christian Barron explains our approach to protecting user data against cybercrime.I’ve spent many years in software security; testing applications used in banking and pensions industries and the NHS where people’s sensitive information is at its highest risk. This has given me valuable insight into the changing threats we all face and must be mindful of when using Internet technology.

The security landscape is constantly changing. Any business that uses the Internet is vulnerable to attack from cybercriminals that test website security and exploit weaknesses with a view to stealing data or disrupting systems.

I work as part of a security team which plays a vital role in our company’s approach to software development. We advise on new and emerging threats and prescribe specific security measures to be taken to halt attacks. As a matter of course we conduct exhaustive penetration tests on our web-based software and mobile apps which are designed to ensure security levels remain at their highest.

We also enforce practices such as the use of strong username and password conventions to block infiltrations to our software. We keep abreast of new and emerging threats and have stringent procedures in place to test new applications for vulnerabilities.

Creating software in this mobile Internet-age, we are extra vigilant of the constant and emerging threats posed to our users from Cybercriminals. It is a threat we take extremely seriously.

According to the Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report, the volume of spam is reducing however the proportion of maliciously intended spam remains constant. These emails often include links to genuine websites via the attackers own website which records any information the user provides including usernames and passwords.

Although we have taken steps to protect our on-line booking website from this form of attack and our software does not allow this practice, we advise you to remain vigilant to this type of attack when using the Internet and directly enter website addresses into browsers where possible instead of following links.

HOW TO sPOT AN INTeRNeT HOAX

If you ever receive an email that includes a link beware! Don’t be caught out - follow our 4 top tips to spotting an Internet hoax!

• excessive punctuation - will be used such as exclamation marks and question marks.

• Mistakes - such as grammatical and spelling errors are common.

• Origin - double-check the name of the email domain you’ve received the email from. Even though it looks like it’s from a trusted website, it may not be.

• Don’t act - if the email is asking you to. Check the email is from a trusted source first.

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SPOTLIgHT: A WARM WeLCOMe

We are delighted to welcome our new customers including:

securing your data on-line

CusTOMeR NEWS

share your NeWs!

Do you have any news items that you’d like to share with our INSIDE TRACK readers? Please send your information to us via email: [email protected] or call us on 0191 250 2220.

Lenham storage win Waitrose Way Treading Lightly Carbon Reduction Award

We wish to congratulate the team at Lenham Storage on winning a prestigious award from Waitrose. This is the second year Waitrose has recognised and celebrated exemplary performance and innovation in its property related supply chain through its Supplier Sustainability Awards.

Over the past 15 years, the ambient grocery and FMCG storage and distribution company has worked in partnership with Waitrose to provide delivery services. Working groups between Waitrose and Lenham Storage have led to a close partnership allowing shared collaboration on new ideas and reviewing existing practices.

The company has strived to reduce empty running of vehicles, use the latest technology and has worked closely with Waitrose to try and use its fleet in ways that reduce carbon emissions. This has included the introduction

of hybrid trucks which now constitute 4% of its fleet, long length trailers and a new vehicle which runs completely on biogas saving over 25% carbon compared to a similar traditional diesel vehicle.

Lenham Storage has continually reached its target to reduce carbon emissions by 2% per year and continue to work on a best practice philosophy in accordance with Waitrose to improve sustainability.

Managing Director Keith Abrehart proudly received the award at the 2014 Waitrose Way Awards ceremony in December and commented: “We so appreciate the recognition given in the form of this award which we were very proud to receive. Having a partner in the form of Waitrose so passionate and supportive has been pivotal in the success of our initiatives.”

Photograph: Lenham Storage Managing Director Keith Abrehart with Waitrose Commercial Director Mark Williamson

Photograph: Christian Barron, Software Tester

Do your customers need greater visibility of their jobs?Satisfy their need for real-time information with Manpack3and the new Track and Trace App!

With secure access to real-time delivery progress and POD’s on Android or iPhone your customers will have all the information they need at their fingertips.

ALSO AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD:Unit Tracking App With fuel levels, journey history, idlingand speeding event history as well as load progress, you’ll have up-to-the-minute visibility of your fleet wherever you go.

For a demonstration of the Track and Trace Appcall us on (0191) 250 2220, visit www.mandata.co.ukor email: [email protected]

POD

THENEW DRAG DROP... · 2017. 12. 12. · number: 0191 244 9292. Any requests for software support...

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Transcript of THENEW DRAG DROP... · 2017. 12. 12. · number: 0191 244 9292. Any requests for software support...