Auckland-based Reliance Transport awards transportation and distribution management system contract to ORTEC
August 10, 2012
Reliance Transport has awarded a transportation and distribution management system contract to ORTEC.
The Auckland-based logistics and distribution company’s planners and dispatchers will use the new software to manage the movements and rosters of trucks, trailers, drivers, chassis (‘skels’) and containers.
ORTEC’s Transportation & Distribution system (ORTEC TD) will help Reliance Transport react to last-minute changes to plans, events and delays as they occur.
It will also track resources, monitor the status of orders, and measure the performance of the services the company provides.
Reliance Transport will use ORTEC TD across its fleet of 34 trucks, including its 19 swinglift trailers.
The company says it is also introducing a new mobile data terminal (MDT) solution and a new order management system and ORTEC TD will integrate these systems.
Reliance Transport moves and positions containers between Auckland Port, its customers’ yards, and de-hire yards.
General Manager Mark Darrah says the wharf cartage business is similar to multi-dimensional chess: the position of each container and truck can influence the position and availability of almost every other resource combination in Reliance’s fleet.
“There are repercussions and consequences for Reliance if one container, truck or trailer is delayed or in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Darrah says.
“Having an efficient transport distribution management and planning system means much more that being able to schedule trucks to position containers.
“If our business was the simple task of delivering containers from A to B, we could probably use simplistic systems such as spreadsheets.
“But of course, it’s never that simple! There are delays to inbound shipping, traffic delays on Auckland’s roads, changes to shipments, customs operations, changing customer requirements, and more.”
Darrah adds the ORTEC TD will help to plan for driver shortages and other such challenges for the long term and manage operations in the short term.
“We have to be this flexible to be of service to our customers, to manage the quality of the service we provide them, and help them provide value to their customers in turn,” he says.
“This new system will help us overcome the challenge of the shortage of drivers efficiently and flexibly while still keeping on top of our regulatory responsibilities towards our drivers in health and safety.”
ORTEC provides transportation and distribution systems for wharf cartage systems around the world, including Australia and Western Europe.