Thursday, October 28, 2010

TZA Unveils ProTrack Drivers Labor Management System to Boost Delivery Performance, Reduce Costs on Routes Featuring Frequent Stops

TAMPA, FL - October 25, 2010 - TZA, a leading supply chain consulting and labor management software firm, today launched its ProTrack Drivers Labor Management System and the route delivery performance-focused ProTrack Dashboard interactive console. Introduced at the 2010 Distribution Solutions Conference here this week, they initially support transportation operations serving the food and beverage, grocery, automotive parts and retail industries.

ProTrack Drivers is a dynamic driver productivity management system which integrates easily into any route optimization platform. It calculates highly accurate delivery times for each customer location along each route, based on multiple work variables and specific parameters encountered by drivers at numerous stops. Delivery times which are calculated by ProTrack Drivers are returned to the user's routing system for final route optimization, resulting in a 10 to 15 percent reduction in average miles per stop.

The web-based ProTrack Drivers integrates with on-board systems in establishing comparisons of actual times required for deliveries at each stop and travel times, against a calculated expected time. The application also interfaces with any time and attendance system to account for all paid hours within an operation.

"Given today's driver shortages, high fuel prices and increasing customer demands, the delivery performance of individual route drivers at each stop is a critical factor for companies seeking to reduce costs," says Paul Schweet, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TZA.

Integrates with all route optimization systems

While disparate tools such as routing systems, time and attendance systems and on-board computers generally assist in managing a driver's daily performance, Schweet believes each works independently from one another.

"These systems on their own do not provide the visibility or reporting needed to improve driver productivity, especially a driver's performance at each delivery location."

By combining the data available from separate sources into ProTrack Drivers, he adds, companies get a range of information allowing transportation managers to easily gauge driver performance and utilization reducing overall costs through objective measurements.

The system also provides the basis for decisions tied to driver incentive pay or component pay programs, as the data it generates can help justify higher rates of pay for selected drivers as their performance improves as well as show how and where delivery costs are being reduced.

Schweet feels transportation departments considering ProTrack Drivers will be those focused on meeting operational goals such as reduced overtime and turnover, fewer delays during deliveries, and overall labor and asset savings as well as those seeking to improve customer service, on-time delivery performance, driver productivity, employee utilization and workplace morale.

Illustrates driver productivity using dashboards

Additionally, the web-based ProTrack Dashboard, introduced in June, will be deployed widely along with the ProTrack Drivers system to provide graphic depictions of key performance indicators (KPIs) and data points relevant to driver performance. This will allow executives to make fact-based business decisions based on a clearer view of employee and delivery fleet performance and productivity trends. For managers, ProTrack Dashboard provides a feature-rich yet easy-to-use and intuitive labor management tool giving them an interactive, drill down capability, 3-D visualization, data filtering and animations.

"For too long, transportation departments have relied on data-intensive paper summaries gleaned from multiple sources. These firms lacked a valuable tool - an easy means to collect and analyze daily, weekly and monthly KPIs of route drivers," Schweet says.

For employees, he adds, ProTrack Dashboard offers a tool enabling managers to sit down with route drivers and use illustrations to graphically show the employee their path to any needed workplace improvements or a means to earn performance-based incentives.

"ProTrack Drivers and our dashboards help keep the driver focused on behaviors that are rewarded and the business on track and profitable."

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