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"For a car dealer and a logistics company handling more than 20,000 cars in a 32
acre lot and 14 dealers , we developed a web based application that automated the
tracking, managing and reporting of vehicle’s status online. We developed a Flash
Map that shows the position of a vehicle on the lot based on GPS and slots" |
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The Client |
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One of the US major car dealers and a logistics has a lot, measuring more than 32
acres and has a capacity of 20,000 vehicles. Typical inventory levels are between
5000 and 7000 vehicles, peaking at the end of each month. Peak levels of stock in/out
reach 150 vehicles per day per dealer, although 300 vehicles per day is a more typical
number.
To manage the inventory and logistics the system lacked automated data entry, resulting
in inconsistent, missing, and inaccurate data. Further, the company handles all
records manually, keeping administrative costs high.
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The Challenge |
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The dealer needed an automated system to locate and track the vehicle movements
without spending much time finding a car in a lot, eliminating the physical lot
check and employee time and paperwork that goes into recording the stock-in process.
It required designing and developing of real-time logistics management software
for the retail and automotive industries. The system had to offer real-time view
of the logistics process including automated stock in, accurate car location, simplified
lot checks, proof of delivery information for vendors and customers, and mobile
employee management.
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Our application features include: |
- Stock-In vehicles with inspection reports in real-time, with automated VIN decoded
information.
- Locate vehicle location on lot (by zone) on a flash map.
- Automatic email notifications / alerts on discrepancies.
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The Solution |
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Web Solution |
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The LotTrac application was developed to organize and report real-time field information
in a simple to use, web based solution. This allows the client to offer its customers
full web accessibility, centrally managed scalability, daily backups, and 99.9%
uptime reliability. LotTrac offers users both administrative and user level functions.
The web application allows users to view current inventory, receive stock in and/or
damage alerts (via email or text message), create custom reports about vehicle stock-ins,
vehicle stock-outs, and unregistered vehicles. Users can view full vehicle details,
including the fully decoded VIN information, current and past location information,
and full stock out information, including container and seal numbers. Images 1 and
2 show the inventory and vehicle detail screens.
Administrators can perform all user functions, as well as several additional functions,
including creating and deleting user accounts, viewing driver GPS paths, and editing
all field reported data.
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Phone Application |
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Employees use Motorola i355 phones with Symbol Technologies AC25 attached barcode
scanners to scan vehicles and smartcards to perform various field-based functions.
The phones leverage Nextel Communications' GPRS data network to report scan data
to web application in real-time. In limited cases of dead spots, data remains on
the phone until it is back within range.
Employees can perform the following field functions - a) vehicle stock in, b) single
vehicle check in, c) physical lot check, and d) vehicle stock out.
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- In vehicle stock-in, employees scan vehicle VIN numbers, assign and attach a barcode
stock number on each car, and complete a full inspection report, which triggers
a damage alert to the appropriate customer and/or administrator.
- In vehicle check in, employees indicate a zone number to indicate where the vehicle
is being parked combined with the GPS data returned from the scan, the vehicle can
later be located reliably and accurately.
- In the physical lot check function, lot employees scan all vehicles, taking a full
physical inventory by rapidly scanning the barcode on each vehicle.
- During the stock-out process, lot employees record the time, location, and identity
of the person accepting the vehicle for pickup or delivery.
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Benefits |
- Eliminate Paperwork.
- Increase Employee Productivity.
- Reduce Administrative Costs.
- Improve Inventory Management.
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