Regional Carrier NTB Implements PeopleNet's New Onboard Computing System
PeopleNet's new g3 provides NTB with customer service edge
LAS VEGAS - TRUCKLOAD CARRIERS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONVENTION, March 7, 2005 - PeopleNet, the leading provider of onboard computing and mobile communications systems to the nation's transportation industry, today announced that NTB, a Byron Center, Mich.-based truckload carrier, is in process of equipping its fleet with PeopleNet's new g3 onboard computing and mobile communications system.
Founded in 1974, NTB has built a reputation for high-quality customer service and longlasting relationships with its customers. The addition of the PeopleNet g3 to its fleet of nearly 215 power units and 800 trailers provides the company the ability to quickly respond to customers' changing needs. Integrated with NTB's highly automated logistics and dispatch operation, PeopleNet will provide the fleet the ability to enhance efficiency and drive down costs.
Until recently, NTB had relied on phones - both cellular and land lines - that drivers used to call in after each delivery to receive their next dispatch instructions. With most units operating within 125 miles of a company terminal, that strategy made sense until the company made some recent strategic organizational decisions. With these decisions, PeopleNet offered a costeffective
way to boost both the timeliness and accuracy of those ommunications.
"We put our reputation on the line with each move we make," says Kenneth Elliott, Chief Financial Officer. "This technology represents a real improvement in the way we interact with our drivers and respond to our customers."
"From a dispatch angle alone, we think we are going to get better information in the hands of our drivers on a more timely basis resulting in them being able to haul extra loads per day," says
Elliott. "More importantly, by using the PeopleNet g3 to convey routine dispatch information, our dispatchers can now concentrate on solving the legitimate issues our drivers face while building
relationships with them. We want our operations department to be solution-oriented versus data-exchange orientation."
Aside from some of the "big dollar" operational savings that will provide a return on his investment in an estimated one year time period, Elliott also remains excited about the intangible returns from the system. These intangibles include such items as increased safety awareness, performance management tools, and vehicle information reporting. "The beauty of these tools is that we will be able to capture information that will lead to an ongoing data exchange across all of our departments - operations, IT, maintenance and human resources. This will really allow us to focus on improving our processes."
The PeopleNet system has become the standard for GPS-based location tracking, two-way voice and data communications, electronic driver logs, and Internet-based fleet business tools to
provide consistent, reliable communication between business owners, dispatchers, drivers and shippers.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, PeopleNet is the fastest-growing provider of Internet-based onboard computing and mobile communications systems to the transportation industry, including
truckload, LTL, private, and service fleets. The company serves several Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and Canada and has signed more than 1,000 customers since its inception more than 11
years ago.
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CONTACT:
Ellie Walradth
