Gearworks Inc., Eagan, Minn., has introduced version 2.0 of etrace, its totally Web-based mobile communications and software system.

Gearworks launched etrace 1.0 in October, offering an all-Internet system in which both drivers and dispatchers link to the Internet with etrace ASP (Application Service Provider) software in the middle. Dispatchers view information and send messages from a PC web browser. Drivers communicate using such off-the-shelf devices as wireless Palm handhelds, Web-enabled phones and Blackberry pagers.
According to Gearworks, etrace version 2.0 enables signature capture for proof of delivery, GPS-based tracking information and real-time driving directions. Users can also define their own mobile forms.
Gearworks also said that Minneapolis-area refrigerated food distributor, J&B Wholesale, is using etrace on 65 vehicles operating in 11 states. As a result, says Gearworks, J&B Wholesale anticipates a 100 percent reduction in annual cell phone charges, a 15 percent reduction in driver overtime and a 40 percent annual reduction in overall administrative costs.