The first tender to use Freight Traders new ‘bid upload’ software has gone live and is now in progress. Bid upload is a sophisticated off-line bidding tool enabling offers to be made in less than ten seconds and taking part in tenders is even faster. With the new software, carriers download the flows being tendered and make offers without being connected to the Internet. It gives carriers the flexibility to work on bids when it suits them and to ‘upload’ the offers to the Freight Traders website in one go.
It also means carriers spend less time online and only need to be connected to the internet when modifying bids in the closing stages of a tender. At the moment, bid upload is available on deep sea tenders and from mid September it will be available for land/short sea tenders.
Bid upload also gives carriers the flexibility to sort, print, or manipulate the data in any way that suits their organisation. Different sets of flows can be distributed to colleagues who are able to make offers themselves. This makes distributed bidding easy and is particularly useful in deep sea tenders as the offices responsible for making offers are generally in different continents. During development, one carrier described the new software as, “a unique tool which puts Freight Traders light-years ahead of its competitors”.
Freight Traders managing director Gary Mansell says: “We developed our bid upload software with carriers in mind. They can now select, sort and distribute the business they want to make offers on using a format similar to a spreadsheet. It enables carriers to work wherever they are and they don’t need an Internet connection until their final submissions are ready.”
provide advance warning to stores when the delivery is 20 minutes away.
The combination of the routeing and scheduling systems and in-cab technology designed by Qualcomm is expected to reduce the overall fleet size and improve vehicle use by eliminating missed supplier collections and the empty running of vehicles.
Another advantage of the ITS scheme is a significant increase in staff productivity, from warehouse operative through to drivers.
Wincanton managing director Graeme McFaull says: “The efficiencies brought to Safeway’s supply chain with the development of this new system are so extensive that we have been realising benefits through every stage of the project.” Safeway and Wincanton expect to measure the national efficiencies early in the New Year, once the project has been up and running for a few months.”Warehouse managers need to act now as forklift truck drivers are at risk from vibration through the seat or feet. Drivers of some mobile machines, including certain forklift trucks, may be exposed to WBV and shocks which are associated with back pain, especially when they drive a vehicle regularly for most of the day.
“Waiting until this Directive becomes law may be too late as the cost of legal action could put smaller firms out of business. Employees who develop whole body vibration can find themselves permanently disabled. They can already sue their employer for negligence but the new regulations will simply make it easier for a civil action to be brought by spelling out exactly what is expected of the employer.”
Budworth continues: “Implementing job rotation, carrying out driver training and regularly maintaining vehicles are just some of the steps we’d advise warehouse managers to take to minimise vibration.”
