Wireless technology helps Ryder Systems Inc. keep track of its fleet of nearly 160,000 vehicles and provide its customers with services that include trip reports to help cut down on fuel usage and track driver habits, as well as streamline a warehousing process that is more precise thanks to wireless use.
The Florida-based international company operates provides transportation, logistics and supply-chain solutions for customers that range from manufacturers shipping goods to major retailers, to companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Home Depot and newspaper publishers. Fleet management makes up the bulk of the company’s business, accounting for $1.11 billion in total revenue during the first quarter of 2008. Supply-chain services generated $414.2 million in revenue and dedicated contract carriage (in which transportation and logistics services are dedicated to a specific customer for a contracted time period) brought in revenue of $137.2 million in the quarter.
Ryder has an exclusive domestic arrangement with AT&T Wireless and the ability to roam through AT&T in Canada and Mexico, according to Steve Hitchings, vice president of fleet management solutions for Ryder Systems. Hitchings said that Ryder also is negotiating with other carriers abroad for network access.
RydeSmart
The company offers its RydeSmart wireless product to its customers and for internal use. RydeSmart relies on an external antenna and connection to the vehicle’s internal electronic systems as well as GPS technology, and produces detailed reports including the location of vehicles, speed, summaries of stops and mileage, idle time and identifying when a vehicle approaches or leaves a pick-up area. Ryder offers three levels of RydeSmart service, which can include two-way text-messaging with drivers, providing route information to drivers via an in-cab display, and tracking drivers’ hours of service to keep compliance with Department of Transportation laws. Ryder says that use of RydeSmart has led to fuel cost reductions of 10% to 15%, saved 15 minutes per driver per day, and simplified reporting for its customers by generated automated reports for fuel taxes and state and federal requirements.
RydeSmart was initiated as a pilot program last year, Hitchings said; the company now is in the midst of a national rollout.
RFID uses
Wireless also comes into play on the supply chain side of Ryder’s business, including wireless handhelds and the use of RFID technology. The company has “extensive use of wireless within the warehouses, all the way through the warehouse process, from receiving to shipping . There are very few manual operations within Ryder in that regard,” Hitchings said.
“We made a decision years ago from an inventory control and inventory accuracy perspective, that in order to be able to provide world-class operations for our customers . the only way to do that was through wireless technology,” he added.
Wireless technology provides automated proof of delivery and helps keep track of inventory, and Hitchings said that such advances have helped customers cut down on bad debt, generate more profit and drastically cut receivables from a 60-day range to just a few days, since payment for orders is automatically deducted from retailers’ accounts.
Testing lab
Ryder also has set aside a section of a warehouse in Dallas/Fort Worth as an RFID lab to test out various configurations of RFID use, which includes a high-speed conveyor, shrink-wrap machine with RFID tag readers, an RFID label printer and other tag readers and writers. The lab, which must keep up with software releases and other changes in the evolving technology, is in its third phase of development to implement more devices and more material-handling equipment with RFID readers. Hitchings said that the lab’s location at a working warehouse is a plus, because it allows for RFID testing under real-world circumstances.
One of the challenges of Ryder’s use of wireless includes dealing with the relatively fragmented telematics market. Although costs of hardware have come down, Hitchings said he hoped that consolidation in the market would continue to drive down costs as well as produce more end-to-end products. So far, he said, Ryder has played the role of integrator for wireless solutions.
“We have, almost on a daily basis, people that are bringing new solutions that they would like us to look into,” Hitchings said. “A lot of what we see is really focused on one or two items, not an overarching solution for what we need from a wireless perspective.”
