To improve local logistics, using the Global Positioning System (GPS), xSense Information Service, a local technology-development company, has developed a logistics-management program to help companies track their fleets in real time automatically through a Web-based infrastructure, said the company's president Wichit Saiklao.

Set up four years ago, the company spent the first 18 months conducting research and development to build its own technology. It has developed a GPS-based box which can be attached in vehicles to track their location, as well as a software system to manage a fleet.

With this system, Wichit said logistics companies could monitor their vehicles on the road, know their location, and check the status of each vehicle in real time.

"We adopted GPS technology to check the vehicles' exact location by latitude and longitude and this information is sent back to the central system, allowing managers to see the position of the fleet on a map," he said. Not only will the system track vehicles, it will also allow the companies to manage their fleets with more efficiency.

Thitima Suwannarat, the company's managing director, said the system would allow managers to follow a vehicle's movements from the starting point until they reach their destination. If the vehicle is off the correct route or products in the vehicle are transferred before reaching their destination, the managers will know immediately.

"We designed the system to send the controllers an alert through the mobile-phone short message system if a vehicle goes to the wrong place," she said.

The system is now in use at Cement Thai Logistics (CTL), a logistics company under Siam Cement Group, to manage the logistics of cement products, plastic pallets and paper boxes.

Two years ago, the company implemented the system to help CTL manage its fleet of 300 vehicles and 40 barges which transfer around 7,000 tonnes of cement pallets a day for export in the South. Last year, it also implemented the GPS-based tracking system in CTL's 1,000-strong fleet for powder-cement products for delivery to suppliers nationwide.

Wichit said the company had customised its logistics management system to fit the requirements of each project.

The company also developed a sensor system for attachment to the vehicles to check the product-transfer process. When used with the GPS system, the officials can know the exact location of product transfer as well as the time of transfer and this allows companies to better control their logistics.

Thitima said the system was designed to help logistics companies trace the movement of fleets at all times and make sure all logistics process are under control, so it could reduce cheating or the use of vehicles for other purposes.

"When technology is applied in logistics systems, it can help companies save costs and better manage their fleets to increase productivity," she said. She added that the system not only facilitated logistics companies, it also allowed suppliers and customers to use the Web-based system to check the status of product delivery and know when orders will reach their site.

The development of the logistics-management system is a starting point for xSense. Wichit said for the next plan, he hoped to use the company's technology and knowledge to build logistics infrastructure to allow suppliers and fleet companies to use systems for logistics management.

"We plan to build a Web-based centre as a platform to allow suppliers who want to use logistics services and fleet providers to meet together and match their requirements when it comes to using fleet services for product delivery. This will help suppliers to lower the cost of their logistics," he said.

He said the infrastructure would be built on top of the company's logistics management technology so those who join the centre will also have a chance to use the xSense GPS tracking system.

The company plans to propose the idea to related organisations to help to form the logistics infrastructure. Wichit hopes to make the project a reality in the next two years.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation