February 3rd 2010

Agencia de Transportes Trota, a Spanish logistics services provider that specializes in refrigerator transport and the warehousing of perishables, equipped each of its 140 vehicles with a Transics Quattro Plus on-board computer. The carrier opted for Transics after an extensive trial, because of its unmatched functionalities and integration possibilities, which will help Trota further improve customer services while raising operating efficiencies and cutting costs.

Ever since its incorporation in 1954, Trota has believed in the power of automation and innovation to provide its customers with value-added services. When its existing on-board computers no longer met its strict hi-tech expectations, Trota analyzed the product offering of four different fleet management system suppliers. This screening demonstrated that no other supplier could match Transics’ functionality and integration possibilities. The strengths of the Quattro Plus on-board computer were further highlighted in an extensive pilot, which Trota concluded by ordering 140 Quattro Plus devices.

Seamless integration
One of the decisive factors for partnering with Transics was the possibility to easily integrate the device into Trota’s Microsoft Dynamics AX (Axapta) ERP/TMS software and its Transcan 2 temperature control system. The latter connection allows the drivers to constantly monitor the temperature of the goods to be carried. In case of an incident, the system will automatically send an alarm to the back office and warn the driver, so that he can act swiftly and accurately.

Trailer Recognition and Geofencing
Other huge advantages of Transics’ solution include trailer recognition to monitor which trailer is coupled to what vehicle, the Digitach Card Reader to remotely read out the data of the tacho driver’s card and the real-time control of rest and driving times. Last but not least, Transics’ unique Geofencing feature (which informs the planner if a vehicle enters a certain region) was integrated into Trota’s Axapta software, allowing the carrier to set the route-specific parameters of the Geofencing as soon as the driver gets his route information. In this way, unnecessary kilometres are avoided and Trota can cut its fuel consumption.

Raise standards of customer service and cut costs
“Trota pulls out all the stops to serve its customers,” said Francesco Trota, General Manager, “and we rely on state-of-the-art technology to achieve that aim. Customers can, for example, track and trace their loads or the temperature of their loads online or are kept informed via text messaging. Transics on-board computers allow us to further improve our customer services, while also raising our operating efficiencies and helping us drive down costs.”