Trimble Announces Software Updates, Enhancements at User Conference

Trimble announced a series of updates and enhancements to its software at its annual In.sight user conference, which took place in Houston this week. The company has unified brands such as TMW and PeopleNet under the Trimble name.

New Options for Fuel Solutions

Trimble announced the launch of two new services that improve the management of fuel deliveries. The enhanced Fuel TMS module is a management tool for fuel delivery that incorporates fuel demand monitoring, order creation, planning, and asset management. The new TMW Go! Fuel mobile application enables dispatchers the ability to access the system when they are away from their computers.

The enhanced Fuel TMS module offers increased control over order management, dispatch, driver planning, and automated billing to help customers streamline fuel supply chain processes for better customer service, increased asset productivity and more accurate billing.

The tool allows dispatchers to handle more site demand and gives drivers and carriers the ability to more efficiently schedule and increase the percent of loaded miles. Another key benefit of the system is the replenishment forecasting tool that allows customers, in a near real-time manner, to automatically build right-sized orders to fulfill demand against tank information.

With Trimble’s other new fuel solution, the TMW Go! Fuel mobile application, Trimble customers' drivers will have the ability to perform the basic functions of a fuel delivery driver while away from the on-board computer in the truck.

The application enables drivers to view and update their trips and provide information about their own intentions for rest and fuel stops. When a customer calls asking for an immediate update on a shipment, they can access fuel delivery information and track progress from anywhere.

The app can also allow customers to track deliveries and update order information more efficiently, which can reduce errors of an employee trying to remember what information to change later in the day. Also, with real-time tracking, users have the ability to set customer expectations and deliver upon promised delivery times.

TruETA Takes Driver Intent into Account

Trimble has also enhanced its TruETA solution for improved route planning. While estimated time of arrivals are not new to the trucking industry, the application adds a new dynamic to the solution—driver intent. In addition to speed limits, traffic delays, and weather factors, Trimble is offering two additional add-on modules for ETAs, Driver Trip Planning and Out-of-Route/Out-of-Corridor.

The Driver Trip Planning module allows dispatchers to view how drivers are planning their trip, including rest locations they choose and durations of each stop. The tool, which runs as a module within TMWGo!, enables drivers to take into account their hours of service, and recommends stops based off remaining drivable time.

Another new enhancement is an add-on for Out-of-Route and Out-of-Corridor for TMW.Suite, TMWSuite, and TruckMate. Out-of-Route and Out-of-Corridor enables carriers to see when drivers take an alternate route that wasn't part of the original plan. The carrier can see how long a trip may be extended in terms of distance, time, or both. The carrier can also alert the driver that they have diverged from the planned route and proceed back to the correct road.

SmartDelivery Streamlines the Final Mile

Trimble also debuted its new SmartDelivery solution, designed to streamline final mile distribution. Trimble SmartDelivery combines electronic proof of delivery, routing, and fleet mobility technology to help customers provide cost-effective delivery services.

Trimble SmartDelivery provides daily route planning and tracking, HOS, and Electronic Logging Device compliance, out-of-cab workflows, loading/unloading and truck assignment, deviation reporting, automatic notifications such as estimated time of arrival, and ePOD capabilities. The solution also uses a single sign-on capability to increase driver efficiency.

"Using Trimble SmartDelivery, our customers can optimize this last leg of the journey as well as increase efficiencies and visibility throughout the entire delivery process."

Trimble SmartDelivery is available on select Trimble-certified Android mobile devices.

Over-the-Air Software Updates

Trimble’s CoPilot Truck in-cab navigation app for Android has just rolled out WiFi over-the-air updates. For customers using the CoPilot Truck app on Android, they can now distribute important map updates across their entire driver base, eliminating the need to manually update the data one device or truck at a time.

New features also available with this version of CoPilot Truck include Driver Map Feedback, which allows drivers to mark a problem location to enable map improvements. The new version also includes the Road Warnings feature, which is powered by DriverIntel and gives drivers early warnings of upcoming rollover risk hazards when the driver is navigating through a high-risk area.