Descartes Web Seminar Series

Mobile Resource Management Track

Session 1: The Route to Saving Money is Injecting New Efficiencies into Delivery Cycles

When: July 15, 2009, 11:30am to 12:15pm EDT

Summary: Route planning and optimization gets businesses on the road to lower operational costs, improved asset utilization, and more on-time deliveries.

Logistics operators face a wide range of challenges in their delivery operations that can significantly impact their bottom line, from rising fuel costs to traffic congestion. Even minor setbacks and delays– such as an unexpected detour or traffic jam – can quickly add to delivery costs and result in late deliveries. Whatever the cause, margins suffer.

That’s why many businesses are taking a deeper look at ways to optimize driver productivity, eliminate wasted time and reduce miles on the road. Route planning is one way to drive greater efficiencies and reduce operational costs. It lowers labor costs and fuel consumption, improves utilization of assets on the road, and enables shorter and more accurate delivery times.

However, making a distinguishable impact demands sophisticated route planning capabilities that enable real-time insight into delivery cycles. While solutions with deep functionality were once out of reach financially and technically for most operators, today there are more cost-effective and lower-risk software solutions that deliver results without breaking the bank and without the complexity.

Descartes will explain how organizations can save money through route planning and optimization. Gain insights into the solutions and approaches that can be taken to increase efficiencies and driver productivity, reduce fuel costs and improve on-time delivery performance.

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Mobile Resource Management Track

Session 2: Connectivity on the Road Essential for Fleet Operators

Co-hosted by

When: July 22, 2009, 11:30am to 12:15pm EDT

Summary: Motorola joins Descartes to discuss how wireless technology and on-demand logistics solutions come together to keep drivers connected to dispatch and customers informed of delivery updates.

The ability to communicate in real-time using wireless technology is the key to efficiency on the road.  As wireless technology evolves and the cost of devices falls, operators that once had to rely on expensive satellite or batch applications can now provide every driver on the road with wireless capabilities at a fraction of the cost.

Devices now facilitate voice communications with drivers/field service personnel and dispatch, and provide comprehensive field data capture features that include electronic signature capture and bar code scanning. Drivers can input changes and exceptions directly into a device, which updates delivery information in real time. Routine data can also be captured and downloaded to central operations; while other applications enable more effective, on-the-fly interaction with customers. When combined with Web-based on demand logistics solutions, wireless technology becomes an even more powerful business tool.

The Web seminar will discuss the evolution of wireless technology in fleet operations. What has been used in the past, and what were the limitations? What types of services/devices are available today and what can they achieve? Using working examples, Descartes will explain how operators have leveraged wireless technology to increase efficiencies and improve delivery cycles.

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Mobile Resource Management Track

Session 3: Synchronizing Delivery and Merchandising Efforts to Drive Top Line Growth

When: August 6, 2009, 11:30am to 12:15pm EDT

Summary: Exploring how manufacturers and distributors of consumer goods can synchronize sales and merchandising initiatives and drive productivity and service improvements. 

Top-line growth is the number one objective for manufacturers and distributors of consumer goods. Effectively managing and synchronizing the activity of sales representatives and merchandisers is an important driver of this growth, but requires significant planning that can be easily facilitated through technology.  

With the right solutions in place, real-time tracking and communications can minimize the impact of delivery delays on merchandiser productivity and actual in-store time; while sequencing and tracking help to reduce rising mileage reimbursement costs. Automated data capture and reporting allows better performance tracking of individual sales reps and merchandisers, providing data that can be readily integrated with corporate payroll systems to reduce paperwork and processing costs.

Descartes will provide insights into what organizations with complex distribution operations can do to improve productivity and boost customer service. Find out more how resource planning, route building and optimization, and tracking members of an organization’s delivery operations and mobile workforce – including sales representatives, territory managers and merchandisers – provides greater visibility and control over all activities in the field. What steps can be taken to optimize delivery zones and routes, empower merchandisers to coordinate their schedules with the delivery of inventory, track activities in the field in real-time, monitor operational performance and gain a clear picture as to where you can drive out inefficiencies, cut costs and deliver service that keeps customers coming back.

VIEW RECORDED WEB SEMINAR

 

 

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