How To Use Bing Maps For Business

Transcription

1 Move Ahead with Fleet Solutions

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Increase Fleet and Workforce Efficiency 5 Organizations use to manage operations 5 Reduce Costs and Environmental Impact 7 Improve Customer and Constituent Services 9 Fleet management in the public sector 10 Deploying Solutions with 11 Conclusion 12 Learn More 12

3 Introduction In a challenging economy, managing a fleet efficiently is more important than ever to reduce costs and improve fleet utilization. Virtually every successful organization relies on fleets and mobile workforces from transportation companies and manufacturing enterprises with field engineers, to retail companies providing home deliveries, to local governments tracking city service and emergency vehicles and personnel. Leading organizations have justified investing in fleet management software solutions as a result of the annual savings in operating costs alone, which can amount to an average of $1,100 per vehicle. 1 Organizations using such solutions have realized a 12 percent increase in service profitability, 13 percent improvement in vehicle utilization, and 27.9 percent increase in operator compliance. 2 Bing Maps for Enterprise helps reduce operating costs, as well as fuel and training expenses, by supporting software solutions for tracking, monitoring, and maintaining fleets and mobile workforces. Minimize mileage, save fuel, and provide accurate point-to-point directions. Many organizations that use dispatchers to communicate with drivers are relying on Bing Maps for improved productivity and more intelligent dispatch. Dispatchers see accurate location data right on their computer screens, with updates every few minutes. As the cost of fuel rises, Bing Maps can provide the information fleet managers need to optimize field operations and reduce vehicle idling time, so organizations can achieve fuel usage and carbon emission goals. As a result, businesses are able to improve customer service, government agencies can better serve constituents, and managers can visualize a wealth of location data. With this information, they can analyze organizational operations, make better decisions, and deploy resources quickly and effectively. 3

4 Whether you need a cost-effective solution to manage a fleet of vehicles, or your mobile employees need a more productive system to locate and make sales and customer service visits on the go, you can use Bing Maps to: Increase fleet and workforce efficiency Reduce costs and environmental impact Improve customer and constituent services View trip history and monitor driving behavior to ensure safety. ( 4

5 Increase Fleet and Workforce Efficiency Some organizations have no integrated software solutions for fleet tracking, monitoring, and maintenance. Without a method for keeping track of vehicles and workforces, managers can only infer where fleets and personnel are, based on scheduled deliveries. With a Bing Maps fleet management solution, you can have near real-time visibility into the location of your workers and assets. Bing Maps is a powerful data visualization tool that you can use to overlay location-based data on a map to facilitate fleet planning and routing. You can add near real-time weather and traffic data on a map, as well as your own data, to guide decision making about routes. The visual representation can help your organization better identify fleet assets when deploying to locations. It also allows fleets to be more responsive to schedule changes or route disruptions, reducing their downtime and making them more efficient. Bing Maps integrates GPS data gathered from mobile assets with other data layers on a map. Organizations use Bing Maps to manage operations Our drivers spend less time waiting when our operators pick up the phone, they can say, Hey, Raymond, I see that you re scheduled to go to Texas, but you re sitting in Arkansas what is going on? 3 Shane Garner, Developer, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services, for example, uses Bing Maps to consolidate data from various systems into a single interface that helps operators quickly see downed equipment in relation to repair facilities. As a result, the company cut driver wait times by more than 6,000 hours, decreased repair rework, and expects to save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by getting use of its data and operators knowledge. 5

6 Bing Maps features bird s eye 4 imagery, which depicts cities and points of interest at a 45-degree-angle view for a realistic visual tour of major cities and landmarks. Mark Brewer, IT services manager at J.B. Hunt, says, When people realized that they could get views from an airplane not from a satellite of company and customer assets, that helped us choose Bing Maps. 5 [The solution] gives us a full and complete view of the fleet, with precise location and movement details. It s also extremely convenient, as the system is activated as soon as the driver inserts the tacho card into the tachograph, which means there is no need for a driver ID key. 6 Nick Dacey, Distribution Director, Silentnight With real-time location visible in Bing Maps, fleet managers can ensure that their workforce and assets remain within a preset boundary or on a planned route, and that they follow the appropriate time parameters for a delivery or service. Since this visibility is made possible by GPS, managers can determine the direction and speed of an asset, as well as monitor personnel driving behavior. These capabilities help increase operator compliance with company and regulatory guidelines, allowing operations to run more smoothly and improving service workforce productivity. Britain s largest bed manufacturer, Silentnight, has gained round-theclock visibility of its delivery operations by introducing a system that links its digital tachographs with Masternaut Three X s vehicle tracking service, which uses Bing Maps. Silentnight can instantly see who is in transit, idling, taking a break, or making a delivery. View fleet status driving, idling, or stopped to improve planning and increase efficiency. ( 6

7 Reduce Costs and Environmental Impact Initiating a fleet management plan using Bing Maps may lead to major operational and financial improvements for your organization. Without an integrated fleet software solution to increase operational efficiency, vehicles often burn more fuel and cover more mileage than necessary. In addition to absorbing the high cost of fuel, organizations that manage fleets must pay carbon emission, state, and cross-border taxes related to the amount of fuel consumption. Therefore, not only does fuel and mileage conservation save money and reduce negative environmental effects, but it also cuts tax requirements. Driving behavior has a significant impact on business profitability and customer satisfaction. For instance, unsafe and unskilled drivers can negatively affect the insurance premiums and the accident costs the company incurs both financially and to its reputation. Additionally, these drivers cause more vehicle wear and tear, leading to higher maintenance and repair costs. Rather than hire extra drivers and fleet dispatch staff, you can deploy a software solution that integrates Bing Maps for fleet tracking, monitoring, and maintenance to help save money. For example, United Biscuits, a leading European manufacturer of biscuits and snacks, implemented a fleettracking solution based on Bing Maps to help employees locate and direct their transport vehicles efficiently in real time. As a result, the company improved its fuel economy by seven percent. Employees can analyze report data and educate drivers to reduce their fuel consumption, saving 80,000 (U.S. $110,000) per year. Direct routes and improved driving skills reduced fleet mileage by three million miles in four years, decreasing emissions by 19.2 percent a total of 4,700 tons of carbon dioxide. Overall, United Biscuits saves 200,000 (U.S. $275,000) per year using a fleet management solution that integrates Bing Maps. With Bing Maps we know exactly where our vehicles are and where they should be. We have improved efficiency, decreased working capital, and dramatically increased green benefits. 7 Rob Wright, National Logistics Controller, United Biscuits 7

8 Similarly, Bombardier Transportation has deployed a Bing Maps solution developed by Bing Maps partner Shoothill to visualize location information about its fleet of trains, making it easier for managers to decide where to place resources for maximum cost-efficiency. With service engineers able to react more quickly to problems, such as signal failures and vehicle breakdowns, the company has significantly reduced maintenance costs. Locating trains, directing them, and realizing issues in real time also lower the amount of money Bombardier spends on fuel. Bombardier Transportation uses a heat map to view where incidents are occurring. ( With Bing Maps we can see exactly what we need. It s popular with our engineers, helping them diagnose and solve problems quickly. We also manage our engineering resources better, reducing costs. 8 Robert Cain, Requirements Manager, Bombardier 8

9 Improve Customer and Constituent Services Despite today s advances in cellular technology, organizations that manage fleet and mobile workforces need more than radios, mobile phones, or two-way direct-connect to quickly and efficiently communicate and receive location status and information. Relying on these devices can lead to delays, which compromise the level and quality of service to customers and constituents. Also, phones often lose power, drivers may turn them off, or drivers may be unable to respond in a crisis, leaving dispatchers unable to locate or contact them and, therefore, delaying service. Integrated help-features can alert dispatchers to requests for assistance. Using a Bing Maps integrated fleet management system, you can see on a map where the nearest drivers are located relative to customers, helping create more efficient use of your organization s resources, minimizing mileage, ensuring service level agreement compliance, and ultimately increasing customer satisfaction with more on-time deliveries. You can also link real-time tracking with customer service systems, so those employees can provide accurate status information directly to anyone who calls to inquire about a delivery. Improve delivery accuracy and customer service. FleetTracker [with Bing Maps] helps our dispatchers and service engineers focus their time on what s most important our customers. 9 Gavin Rick, IT Manager, Malin Malin, one of the largest Raymond electric forklift dealerships, for example, decided to add GPS tracking capabilities to its fleet of service vehicles, using Microsoft MapPoint Fleet Edition, a Bing Maps product. The company created a centralized dispatch operation to control assignments and manage tracking of its entire fleet, across nine different Malin office locations. Its fleet mapping solution captures data that helps Malin clarify discrepancies between a service engineer s time card and a customer s service report. After seeing a noticeable improvement in customer service since deploying its new tracking solution, Malin plans to introduce a Web-based customer module. The company will be able to provide customers with direct access to accurate estimates on service truck arrival time, reducing dispatcher time on customer calls and enabling customers to better self-serve. 9

10 Fleet management in the public sector The public sector also benefits greatly from an Improve response time and facilitate better communication. (City of Anaheim, California, internal application) integrated fleet management solution with Bing Maps. Such fleets include emergency services (police, fire, EMS), non-emergency services (garbage, snow plows, inspectors), and city transit. For example, the City of Anaheim, California, needed an easy-to-use business application that would consolidate and display data collectively from all the city s computer systems. With partner EDS, the city developed the Bing Maps-based Enterprise Virtual Operations Center (EVOC) portal, which layers the city s GIS data on top of Bing Maps, providing users with the ability to visualize city assets, resources, and live incident reporting. This system merges information from the fire departments of seven cities and from the police departments of two of those cities. The City of Anaheim can also display critical public locations such as hospitals, fire stations, police stations, and schools. 10 The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, represents another example of how an integrated fleet solution using Bing Maps addresses and improves public safety. AWS developed a mapping application for the RNLI that uses Bing Maps to track vessel speed and GPS position. The tracking system, MOB Guardian, can determine that a boat or crew member is in danger View your mobile assets in near real time. ( within minutes and automatically alert coast guard officials, who will dispatch the appropriate rescue vessel. By improving the detection of distressed boaters, the solution reduces response time to crises and contributes to saving more lives. 11 Bing mapping technology also has reverse geocoding functionality for locating fleets, mobile employees, and delivery sites more quickly and easily. Managers and drivers can find the closest street address based only on latitude and longitude coordinates from a GPS or other geospatial device. 10

11 Deploying Solutions with The ease and speed of development of a Bing Maps solution helps organizations of any size save precious time and development money. IT developers can use their existing HTML and JavaScript skills to add Bing Maps to applications. Bing Maps also offers development tools in its interactive SDK, which shows the code needed, depending on desired functionality. These features support rapid prototyping and ease of application development. In two days, a developer at J.B. Hunt created a workable proof of concept (POC) of a new solution based on Bing Maps. Though it was not yet integrated with company databases, it displayed maps using layers and features of Bing Maps, such as the maps and photo imagery, along with company asset locations on the same interface. IT services manager Mark Brewer found the POC very valuable for convincing the company s Request for Information committee to select Bing Maps both as a dynamic introduction to the graphical user interface and features, and because of its short development time. The development team was able to work easily with Bing Maps. You can customize the map to show what you want and zoom to whatever level you want, says Brewer. You control what data feeds into your application and how users interact with it. With MSDN, if a developer had a question that I couldn t answer, they could quickly go find the answer for themselves. 12 Additionally, Bing Maps works well with many products that organizations are already using, including Microsoft SQL Server 2008 data management software, Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 business intelligence software, Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, Microsoft Commerce Server 2009, and Microsoft Dynamics business management solutions, as well as non- Microsoft software. The interactive SDK supports rapid prototyping. Bing Maps has a set of partners with specific expertise in the development and deployment of fleet solutions that can assist you with your fleet management needs. To find a partner, visit the Bing Maps partner showcase. 11

12 Conclusion Whether you need to manage local service vehicles or a nationwide mobile workforce, you can help increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer and constituent service by using Bing Maps in a software solution for fleet and asset tracking and management. An integrated fleet solution with Bing Maps helps your organization: Focus on your fleet, not on managing base maps and imagery Visualize fleet and asset information, quickly and easily Avoid complex automated solutions, so dispatchers can optimize routes by visualizing vehicles and stops Accurately pinpoint customer and constituent locations Provide precise routing and driving directions in real time Work toward meeting cost saving objectives Minimize environmental impact Bing Maps is a platform of integrated services providing quality geospatial and mapping data, rich imagery, and cutting-edge technology that can integrate with many existing business systems to provide unique views of data. By using Bing Maps, companies and government organizations can create an immersive online mapping and search experience that helps customers and constituents easily discover, search, explore, share, and visualize business location data and locally relevant information. Learn More To learn more about, read case studies, and view Web sites of companies mentioned in this paper, go to 12

13 References 1 Aberdeen Group, Field Service on the Move: Driving Profitability via Fleet Management, March Ibid. 3 Microsoft case study: Transportation Provider to Save Hundreds of Thousands Annually with Mapping Solution, October 1, Available in many metropolitan areas. Not available for government customers. 5 Microsoft case study: Transportation Provider to Save Hundreds of Thousands Annually with Mapping Solution, October 1, Case study: Silentnight beds in live tracking for delivery fleet, February 16, Microsoft case study: Manufacturer Saves 200,000 a Year with Satellite Tracking System, February 25, Microsoft case study: Train Engineers Rejuvenate Fleet Management with Visual Mapping Technology, January 27, OnTerra Systems LLC case reference: Improved Service and Productivity through Location Intelligence, September 20, EDS; Jerry Skaw, blog: Virtual Earth for the Public Sector, May 31, Microsoft case study: Search and Rescue Organisation Deploys Intelligent Mapping System to Save Lives at Sea, May 3, Microsoft case study: Transportation Provider to Save Hundreds of Thousands Annually with Mapping Solution, October 1,