E) CASE 6 Roadnet Technologies A critical challenge in managing any company\'s s
ID: 370064 • Letter: E
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E) CASE 6 Roadnet Technologies A critical challenge in managing any company's supply chain is effectively and ef ficiently tracking shipments. UPS understood this when in 1986 it purchased the technology company Roadnet Systems Corporation. At the time, UPS was growing its third-party logistics services (3PL) and recognized that the solutions provided by Roadnet would be of interest to UPS 3PL customers The acquisition grew into what became UPS Logistics Technologies, employing about 145 people focused on supply-chain solutions, such as routing and fleet man- agement. In 2010, UPS sold its subsidiary to Thoma Bravo, LLC, a private-equity firm Thoma Bravo has since returned the portfolio of technologies and services to the origi nal branding, and the company now operates as Roadnet Technologies, which also joins the family of supply-chain solutions companies known as Omnitracs Whether operating as UPS Logistics Technologies or Roadnet Technologies, the challenges and solutions are similar: how to make truck movements efficient and visible. To address the problem, Roadnet offers a range of products and services. Cus tomers include Frito-Lay Corporation, Häagen-Dazs, and Nestlé. An example of these technologies is the Roadnet8 product family. Using cell phones or handheld devices with global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, companies can keep track of where their vehicles are and can record precise arrival and departure times. The informa- tion is captured on the Roadnet Anywhere8 and MobileCast8 platforms-essentially a centralized database accessible by the companies using the technology. This allows companies to monitor all pickup or delivery routes with real-time, up-to-the-minute updates. Roadnet promotes a number of benefits from using its Roadnet® Transportation Suite Real-time route execution. This capability shows how effective the delivery network is with actual versus planned data, plus customer arrival and departure timesExplanation / Answer
The following problems were addressed by Roadnet and UPS by offering technology-based supply chain solutions -
1. Since real-time information of the logistics routes was not available, there existed inefficiencies throughout the supply chain. With real-time monitoring, the clients were offered a way to observe these inefficiencies and to remove them as early as possible.
2. The database was earlier decentralized and it was difficult to make managerial decisions with these decentralized data. The technology offered a solution to centralize all the logistics related data so that decision-making (both proactive and reactive) becomes easy.
3. It was not possible to immediately address an exigency or emergency situation without a real-time monitoring. The new technology offered this solution with GPS tracking of the vehicle and the drivers' activities.
4. For issues in delivery, earlier the clients fail to convince the customers as the customers do not have the status of the shipment. Now, with the help of this technology, customers can be given complete information regarding the original/ amended delivery plan so as to ensure their confidence even when there is any delay.
5. A complete integration i.e. demand for the service vs. resource availability could now be established through the integration between the technology offered and the existing MIS or ERP-based foundation existing at the client's end.
6. The increasing complexity of the logistics and supply chain and monitoring them on a real-time basis was a challenge for many customers which they were able to offshore to Roadnet or UPS to gain the efficiency advantage.
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