Air2Web Wireless Streamlines CSX Intermodal Dispatch Operations

CSX Intermodal said in a press release that after deploying a wireless dispatch system, its Call Center Traffic went from 20,000 calls a week to less than 11,000

, that driver turnover dropped from 80% to 50% and that the company has recouped more than 400 hours per day of owner-operator productivity. CSX Intermodal is a unit of CSX Corp., operators of the CSX railroad.
According to the CSX Intermodal release, it wirelessly enabled its back-end truck dispatching application using Air2Web’s 2CRM solution in May 2004. CSXI launched the application to its 450 owner-operators, who transport freight throughout their Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West coast facilities.
Prior to going wireless, the company said, CSXI’s drivers used cellphones to get their pickup and delivery assignments. Drivers and dispatchers had to be in constant phone contact. Regular communication was also needed to help CSXI determine drivers' availability for additional pickups/deliveries.
However, call volume was overloading CSXI’s dispatch center, and by 2003, the call center had reached a breaking point. Driver wait times were averaging 45 minutes, and freight planners and dispatchers were unable to keep up with the volume of calls, causing driver turnover to reach 80%.
Then CSXI deployed a dispatching application called Pegasus designed to help freight planners and dispatchers schedule freight pickups and deliveries and track orders from pickup to completion. However, according to CSXI, the application required constant updating in order to be of value.
CSXI’s drivers were averaging three deliveries per day, and with the new Pegasus system, they calculated that their drivers would have to call into the dispatch center up to 12 times per delivery in order to provide dispatch with the information they needed.
CSXI began looking for an alternate way to schedule their drivers. The company chose to implement Air2Web’s 2CRM application on a variety of RIM handheld devices. Drivers use the application to notify dispatch of the status of a shipment, including when a shipment was picked up and when it was dropped off. In turn, dispatch is able to alert the drivers of upcoming shipments and the drivers can wirelessly respond with their availability.
CSX Intermodal Inc., is one of the nation’s largest transcontinental intermodal transportation service providers, serving customers with its own truck and terminal operations plus a dedicated domestic container fleet. Headquartered in Jacksonville,. Fla., the CSXI network handles approximately 500 dedicated trains among its 33 terminals per week.
For more information on Air2Web, go to www.air2web.com.