The first, called vinDELIVER, which included trials with Chrysler, enables drivers to collect electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) information at the point of service delivery.
Currently most data on vehicle deliveries in the automotive industry is not captured electronically.
CDN’s managing director, Wayne Pollock, said that while a small number of tier one carriers have invested in technology for ePOD data capture, OEM carriers are more commonly investing in on-board electronic reporting (EOBR) systems. These provide the carrier with good operational information but fall short when it comes to capturing the status information that the shippers need, such as damage codes, photographs and signatures.
CDN said this “status and state information” was exactly what Chrysler was looking for in its search to reduce damage and record deliveries in a timely and information-rich fashion. Chrysler, in conjunction with existing carriers and dealers, trialed vinDELIVER in late 2012 and is now looking to include ePOD into their vehicle delivery requirements, according to CDN.
The second tool released by CDN, vinDEMAND, is described as the finished vehicle sector’s first networked load-board, allowing shippers to find carrier capacity while simultaneously allowing carriers to see shipper demand according to the company. It provides a simple way for shippers and brokers to control the communication of their vehicle delivery demand to the network of approved carriers.
“Carriers gain real-time visibility of shipper demand and can match their spare capacity,” explained Pollock. “This is the reverse of shippers chasing capacity and allows shipper and carrier to communicate in real-time.”
For the vinDEMAND trial, the OEM involved was looking for a more effective way to communicate delivery requirements with their approved carriers according to Pollock.
“The vinDEMAND trial started back in October and is ongoing with approximately 30 plus existing approved carriers taking part,” he said. Carriers were able to participate without any cost or systems integration requirements.
“The last year has been a process of challenging how the industry does things and listening to our customers to build cloud services that solve age old industry problems,” said CDN’s president and CEO, Greg May. “We are very excited and proud of the two new tools for 2013 and look forward to sharing these with the industry.”
