There isn’t a corner of the world where “wireless” hasn’t taken hold, promising to free users from the constraints of cords, cables, and similar encumbrances that force them to remain in close physical proximity to computers or other machinery. Fleet managers have the same aspirations, hoping beyond hope for an affordable, user-friendly way to improve visibility and create efficiencies in transportation and logistics.

Many are finding the answer in wireless fleet solutions, such as cellular phones and global positioning systems (GPS). In fact, a recent survey on field mobility and GPS done by Motorola found that enterprises using GPS technologies in their fleets recovered about 54 minutes daily, for an annual recouped labor savings of $5,484 per employee. According to the report, the main benefit of using the wireless navigational tool was reduction in fuel consumption, for an average of 231.2 miles per week and $51,582 in annual fuel savings. GPS use also resulted in decreased travel downtime, more accountable employees, and a reduction in employee downtime.

In addition to the cost savings, the wireless applications were credited with improving the organization of employee routes, giving companies the ability to know precisely where their employees are at any given time, and allowing them to examine routing scenarios before implementation. According to this report and others, new efficiencies translate into both money and time savings for companies using wireless applications in their fleets, and are serving as a cornerstone for a movement to eliminate the wires that traditionally tethered workers to their communications machinery.

A recent report from UK-based logistics and transportation information and services provider eyefortransport strongly supports the notion that more fleet managers are turning to wireless solutions as a way to improve efficiencies. Entitled Wireless & Mobile Technology for Trucking and Delivery Fleets Strategic and Analytical Report, the report found that more fleet managers are looking for ways to operate in the most efficient manner possible while grappling with challenges like increased demand for capacity, rising fuel costs, fewer qualified drivers, hours-of-service regulations, and an overall need to streamline the supply chain through just-in-time delivery and other techniques.

According to the study, fleet managers have been receptive to the promise of wireless solutions, as the ability to locate the vehicles is of critical importance in the current customer-centric environment. Most fleet managers also understand that through new generation wireless technologies, it’s possible to go beyond the standard vehicle tracking and incorporate intelligence (such as vehicle maintenance schedules and idle reports) which will benefit all parties involved in transportation—the operator, the product company, the end consumer, and last but not the least, the driver community.

Wireless applications currently in use at the fleet level include track and trace solutions that enable trucking operations to track the location of a vehicle from the back office; driver communication solutions that enable two-way communication between dispatch and the driver; route and schedule optimization that ensures that the vehicle follows the optimum route, pickup, and arrival scheduling; security solutions for cargo; yard and dock solutions that ensure visibility of vehicles and cargo; proof of delivery and mobile imaging to enable authentic proof of delivery; reporting, monitoring, and diagnostics solutions that allow for monitoring of vehicle operating parameters; and telematics that increase supply chain visibility.

Many carriers and services providers report that they’re already reaping the rewards of their wireless investments. For example, according to the eyefortransport report, Ryder System recently outfitted 5,000 trucks with GPS equipment that tracks vehicle movement in real-time, thus decreasing truck and cargo theft and preventing breakdowns and emergencies. According to Ryder, the company saves 10 percent to 15 percent on fuel costs and one hour per driver per day. At the heart of the system is a compact hardware and software unit that is installed in a Ryder truck and connected to the vehicle’s existing computer and diagnostics systems. The system continuously monitors the truck’s location, mileage, and speed, as well as other performance and diagnostic data.

Jim Hilton, senior director for Motorola’s Field Mobility Industry Solutions Group, says carrier interest in wireless fleet solutions has grown significantly over the last three years—having blossomed from a “good idea” into a “viable option” for companies looking to cut the wires. Hilton says the momentum in the wireless space is being driven largely by high fuel costs and the overriding need to improve efficiency, boost productivity and organization in the transportation space, realize payload accountability, and increase worker productivity and cost savings.

“Proof of delivery is another factor driving carriers to wireless options,” says Ian Hobkirk, director of supply chain consulting for Forte Industries in Cincinnati. “Take the UPS driver who delivers packages to a home address and uses a handheld device to capture the recipient’s signature and send that information back to the distribution center.” Instead of having to stay tethered to a dashboard computer, that driver can stay mobile while handling the delivery, thus ensuring better accuracy and immediate conveyance of the captured data back to the company’s hub.

Such wireless technologies are being considered by more shippers and carriers, says Hobkirk, who adds that the gadgets create more accountability around the shipments themselves and for the capture and processing of future orders. Using wireless devices, for example, drivers can input (and the company can begin processing) large customer orders while on the road, accept returned merchandise, and conduct myriad other tasks in a seamless fashion. “Anytime there is an element of uncertainty,” says Hobkirk, “it’s important for a handheld computer to be in the driver’s hand—as opposed to on the dashboard.”

With a fleet of trucks operating in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, Totowa, N.J.-based J&J’s Tri-State Delivery Service offers a range of services in transportation, warehousing, and distribution logistics. While a legacy database for tracking deliveries worked smoothly for the company for years, the firm recently found itself wanting current technology to increase accuracy and efficiency in the field and in its warehouses.

According to Michael Rolon, J&J’s technical/IT administrator, the company decided to go wireless and mobile to gain competitive advantage in its industry—namely by keeping in contact with its customers and being able to offer real-time information about deliveries. “We wanted a system that would deliver efficiency and eliminate human error and allow us to track order progress from receipt to delivery in real-time,” says Rolon.

Implementation started in late-2005 and wrapped up in April 2006, according to Rolon, who selected a solution developed by Motorola in conjunction with Global Bay Mobile Technologies. The solution is used to capture and track data in real time via Wi-Fi within the company’s buildings, and to collect and track delivery order data, signature capture, and proof of delivery on the road.

Key benefits that the company has seen over the last two years include increased customer satisfaction; accelerated communications from the field as deliveries are completed; streamlined payments through coordination with the vendors’ EDI systems; minimized human error; 30 percent less time taken to issue invoices through mobile proof of delivery; 60-percent time savings for the tracking and reporting of shortages and damages; and 25 percent less time taken to “check-in” warehouse incoming orders.

Expect to see more wireless deployments over the next few months, says Hobkirk, and more carriers like J&J reaping the benefits of their investments. However, holding the movement back, he adds, is the fact that no single vendor has yet to come up with a effective way to bring together individual wireless pieces (such as GPS, wireless phones, and handheld computers) under a single umbrella. “The next big, newsworthy trend in this space will be the integration of all of this under one roof,” he says, “making it easier for carriers and shippers to use.”