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ISR FleetTrack Helps Blackman Plumbing Improve Fleet Performance The Blackman Plumbing Supply Company of Bethpage, N.Y., a 78-year-old business with 12 locations, is one of the country's largest family-owned suppliers of plumbing, heating and HVAC equipment. The company sells directly to residential and commercial customers and maintains an inventory of more than 65,000 plumbing parts, HVAC supplies and upscale fixtures for bathrooms and kitchens. Striving to increase the efficiency of its fleet of delivery trucks and improve customer service, Blackman decided to begin using an AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) system. After carefully evaluating products from seven manufacturers, the company decided last May to purchase the FleetTrack AVL system from Integrated Systems Research (ISR) of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. According to Stephen Davanzo, Blackman's distribution center manager, the FleetTrack system -- which replaced a proprietary tracking system that had fewer features -- was installed and made operational quickly and easily. "We've put FleetTrack in 31 of 50 trucks at five of our locations," he said. "We plan to install the system in 19 new trucks that were not part of the initial installation." The heart of the FleetTrack system is a silent position monitor that communicates between truck and dispatcher through a CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) wireless network delivered by a Nextel Communication i500plus phone system. FleetTrack continuously records data of a truck's operation, including its speed. It can also notify a dispatcher if a truck deviates from a planned route, leaves a specified zone or is standing still for more than five minutes. The data can be played back at any time. Of FleetTrack's many features, Blackman especially values its ability to locate trucks after they have left the garage. By clicking a mouse, dispatchers can see every truck on the road superimposed against a map on their computer screens. "It is valuable information," Davanzo said. "Especially when it is necessary to help a driver who is lost or provide directions to a driver new to a route." The location feature enables the company to provide better customer service, Davanzo said. "If a customer wants information on time of delivery, the system can locate the truck and determine its ETA. It also helps us to better plan pickups, deliveries and service calls." FleetTrack has proved an effective strategic planning tool that has helped Blackman solve daily route problems. "We use it to review truck routes and identify and correct those that overlap -- now we don't have as much crisscrossing," Davanzo said. "This has enabled us to improve the fleet's overall performance and reach more customers in a business day without the expense of adding more trucks." The system has also proved helpful to drivers in ways not foreseen by management. "A few months ago a motorist complained that one of our drivers was speeding on the Long Island Expressway," said Davanzo. "From the data collected by FleetTrack, we were able to determine the driver's actual speed. It turned out he was within the speed limit." Blackman plans to add new features to its FleetTrack system. One option, a paperless mobile office for credit card transactions, will enable the company's drivers to process payments while making deliveries. Another new feature will take advantage of the bar coding used in Blackman's distribution center by extending its inventory and tracking capability from the warehouse to the customer's doorstep. "Blackman's use of the FleetTrack system reflects a growing trend among companies that want to take control of their mobile assets," said Yukie Novick, president of ISR. "In the past, fleet managers would have to radio a driver to learn his location. Now, with the click of a button, they can see the location of their entire fleet." |