Newsletter 40  July 2008/3

Tesco.com is introducing a vehicle tracking and telematics system to improve the efficiency of its grocery home delivery van fleet. It has chosen a system from Microlise, which is being rolled out to 1,500 vans working from 300 stores.

The company says the enhanced fleet visibility has already helped the company increase the number of deliveries it makes by 50,000 without increasing the number of vehicles on the road.

The Microlise GPS-based tracking units report on location vehicle and driver status plus vehicle performance, using the vehicles’ CANbus communications network to capture performance-related information.

The announcement of Tesco’s telematics adoption follows closely on the news that Asda is extending vehicle tracking from its trunking fleet to its own home delivery van fleet (On Track & On Target, issue 37).

 

The Microlise system continuously reports back various pieces of information about the van in real time, including fuel consumption, engine speed, road speed and odometer reading.

Tesco.com has set targets against fuel consumption, “green-band” driving, idling, harsh braking and speeding. League table reports at each store are reviewed weekly to identify individual training needs.

According to Dino Papas, Tesco.com fleet manager: “We have worked with Microlise to create our own telematics reports, giving us everything we need in one compact document. The solution also ensures we are in line with regulations and is helping us to cut our fuel consumption dramatically.”