ALK Technologies has announced that Ward Trucking has added two new applications to its suite of ALK solutions. Ward has implemented ALK|FleetSuite Tolls and PC*MILER|Streets for use by all three of its operating divisions:
Ward Trucking, Ward Truckload Express and Forward Logistics.
Ward has been a PC*MILER customer for five years. ALK is the leading developer of industry standard routing, mileage and mapping software, including its flagship product, PC*MILER. PC*MILER is business-essential software that provides the most accurate truck-specific routing. It’s used by motor carriers, private fleets, shippers and logistics companies to plan loads, pay drivers and calculate freight charges. Ward Truckload Express, one of Ward’s trucking divisions, operates 160 power units serving the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest regions of the U.S.
“With the new tolls and street-level routing software, we will be sending optimized routes to drivers over our GeoLogic Solutions mobile communications system,” said Mike Zupon, director of management information systems. Zupon said the ALK|FleetSuite Tolls and PC*MILER|Streets software will save Ward Truckload Express approximately $50,000 annually.
Ward Trucking, the long-established less-than-truckload division, serves the Middle Atlantic States from 20 service centers with a fleet of 450 trucks. The LTL operation uses PC*MILER|Streets for accurate state fuel tax reporting and more.
“We also use it for our zoned costing system,” Zupon said. “We figure out mileage from a service center to different delivery points and use that in formulating costing information.”
PC*MILER|Streets takes routing and mileage accuracy to levels of detail that yield measurable returns. According to Mike Euker, director of line haul, by using both ALK|FleetSuite Tolls and PC*MILER|Streets to optimize line haul routes Ward will realize savings of more than $100,000 a year. “Line haul runs add up. It’s amazing how a nip here and a tuck there will add up,” said Zupon. In addition to optimizing line haul routes, PC*MILER|Streets provides directions for Ward’s truckload drivers to delivery and pickup locations once they have left the Interstates.