Logistics software solutions provider Dovetail, with its fleet managment Partner, TransnetiX Interactive, will launch a new mobile-fleet inventory management system in the second quarter of this year, following the successful launch of the new bulk fuel management and workshop management systems last month, Dovetail business solutions: business development director Shermandra Singh tells Engineering News.

“These systems are Web-based enterprise fleet management systems, which use the latest Internet language to facilitate integration with other service providers across all industry spectrums. Mobile applications are offered as add-ons to broaden the service offering, enabling fleet and logistics managers to have more visible control over the fleet footprint,” he states, adding that all Dovetail’s software developments are undertaken locally.

Singh says these systems have many advantages, such as requiring less manual capturing of fleet data, which leads to a more hands-on approach by the fleet and/or logistics managers.

“These systems also have a host of management reports, which allow for a snapshot of the fleets’ operating history, and built-in alerts prevent fuel discrepancies before [they occur]. Moreover, a company’s parameters are set by the users, which enables them to have more control over their fleet costs,” he adds.

Singh says that the solution received an “excellent” response to its bulk fuel management and workshop management systems, as TransnetiX Interactive has been inundated with new orders for the systems.

He adds that the systems are in use locally and internationally in Namibia, Portugal and Poland.

Meanwhile, Singh notes, TransnetiX Interactive implemented a complete fleet enterprise solutions management system, which included primary, bulk fuel and workshop management software programs, at local logistics company Blue Anvil Bulk Logistics in November last year.

Further, he says, Dovetail provided Namibian waste management and recycling company Rent-A-Drum with full fleet management solutions, including providing optimally efficient solutions for routing and scheduling of the company’s fleets, noting that the first phase of the implementation of the solution started in September last year.

Overcoming Industry Challenges

Singh says the fleet management industry faces several serious challenges, such as fuel theft, the lack of suitably skilled people to manage a fleet, rising petrol costs and e-tolling, as well as a “. . . generally perceived negativity towards the fleet management industry owing to its inability to effectively implement systems to curtail fleet operating costs”.

He states that, to address these challenges, Dovetail with TransnetiX Interactive provide tailor-made and cost-effective systems to monitor all fleet expenses, providing integration with all service providers, such as banking institutions, tracking companies and financial institutions to lower their cents-per- kilometre operating cost by between 5% and 20% a month.