TNT speeds data flow with handy hardware

Delivery company TNT Express UK has upgraded its range of mobile computers to improve the flow of data through its systems and provide greater 'trace and track' visibility of deliveries for customers.

The company has a long-standing relationship with Motorola/Symbol - Motorola acquired Symbol for $3.9bn back in 2006 - and was actively involved in the beta testing of some of the hardware involved.

Although the software system used by TNT is not hardware dependent, the company was already using Symbol devices. After evaluating four products for in-cab use by drivers, two were trialled by TNT staff who ultimately got the final say on which was selected.

The drivers evaluated the products "based on the balance of the device, the weight of the device, the usability of the application on the device and the keyboard layout", explained David Higgins, national information officer of TNT UK. The Symbol MC9000 mobile computer was then chosen by drivers as a replacement for the 3100.

The drawback with the older device was that it had several constituent parts - including a separate cradle, power lead and an external modem which required an aerial on the vehicle. Higgins explained: "If there was a weak link in the chain it could take some time to identify."

The MC9000 solves this problem as it is "a one-piece solution", said Higgins. It also improves information flow as data is transferred to TNT's systems more quickly - meaning track and trace systems are updated with almost no delay after the actual delivery event has taken place, improving visibility for TNT customers.

Higgins explained: "It's using GPRS to do the data transmission so now as soon as the driver gets the proof of delivery or confirms the collection that information is flying its way back into the TNT systems, whereas on the previous solution the driver had to return to the cab, replace the device in the cradle. It would then transmit the data."

He said the MC9000 also has a better scanning engine for reading barcodes, which has further improved drivers' efficiency. "Service is our only product here at TNT - we don't actually produce anything - and a key element of that is the flow of information," he added.

TNT Express is now using 2,750 MC9000 devices for its UK van drivers, expanding to more than 8,500 across EMEA. The UK TNT Express Specialist Services delivery team opted for 900 of the smaller, lighter MC70 mobile computers.

In addition to new on-the-road hardware, TNT is in the process of upgrading the wearable mobile computer technology it uses in its warehouses to a Windows-based Symbol device. The new wearable device also has improved barcode scanning so parcels can be moved through the system more quickly because staff don't have to spend as much time manually keying data in, said Higgins.

TNT has rolled out 755 of these new devices - known as WT4000 - to around nine depots so far, and plans to have replaced the rest of its wearable hardware - currently being used in 63 locations - by the middle of next year. The older devices are DOS based and don't offer enough scope for developing the company's software, said Higgins, who said they've come to the natural end of their capabilities and life within the operation, while the new hardware will help "futureproof us".

Higgins added that TNT has a "watching brief" on RFID technology: "Currently we don't see it as a like-for-like replacement for the barcode itself... The two will coexist for a period of time. But we'll continue to look at it and we'll continue to evaluate it as a technology and also its cost element as that's driven down."