The company has combined Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology with in-vehicle mobile data terminals and data entry keyboards - a world-first in the transport and logistics industry.

Allied Express has commenced a phased-roll out of the new delivery management technology by fitting all of its vehicles in Sydney and Melbourne with the new system with Brisbane to follow shortly. Eventually all of the 1,000-strong fleet of Allied Express vehicles will be covered.

The GPS technology is so sophisticated that it can provide accurate vehicle location fixes - and information about the location and status of any consignment - via satellite every few seconds.

In order to minimise traffic on transmission channels that link vehicles to Allied Express' central monitoring system, initially it will monitor vehicle positions - and therefore the exact location of any consignment - every two kilometres. Information about a vehicle's precise location will be instantly transmitted to Allied Express' base operations and immediately captured on digital street maps.

By using the new mobile data terminals and keyboards, Allied Express' drivers will be able to update the company's central computer system with the status of each consignment. Once the consignment has been delivered, the driver can transmit this information - and name of the person who actually received the consignment - all within seconds of the delivery being completed.

Because this information is immediately transmitted to the company's central system, this gives Allied Express a major edge over its major competitors who, even though they have track and trace technology, have to wait until their drivers return to base before they can download such information.

It also gives Allied Express customers an edge over their competitors too because they have access to real-time information on the status of their consignments including real-time proof of delivery details.

The new satellite-linked system will streamline courier/transport services and it will provide more timely and accurate information about consignments.

"Because information is the lifeblood of any business, having access to real-time information about the status of deliveries is vital to all companies and especially those with mission-critical consignments," says Karen Turner, National Business Development Manager for Allied Express.

"The new Allied Express system - the first in Australia and the first in the world to combine GPS and mobile data terminals - is a must for any company that absolutely has to deliver a consignment within a time-specific deadline," she adds.

Karen says the key to the new delivery management system was that Allied Express drivers can submit updated information about the status of any delivery the moment the status changes and at any stage of the journey via mobile data terminals and in-vehicle keyboards.

"In summary, our new system will deliver the following benefits to customers of Allied Express:

� faster pick-up time and more efficient dispatch and delivery of consignments � online access to real time information about job status � verification of pickup, driving routes and delivery � the ability to monitor the movement of consignments in transit and the ability to request changes if necessary

"Our customers will have access to information about their deliveries in real-time either over the internet or by phoning our customer service centre. If an Allied Express customer goes online to access our new system, he or she will be able to obtain an online view of the precise location of a consignment - on a detailed digital street map.

"Customers can also obtain actual pick-up time, precise delivery time and proof of delivery (POD) details - including the name of the person who signed for the consignment - either via this secure internet link or, if they do not have internet access, by phoning our customer service centre."

The new GPS system will consolidate Allied Express' reputation as one of the most innovative users of technology in the A$18 billion express transport and logistics industry in Australia.

The company was one of the first in the Australian transport industry to embrace e-commerce when in 1996 it provided customers with the ability to book jobs, track consignments and obtain proof of delivery (POD) signatures via the Internet.

Just over 10 years ago, the company developed its own electronic dispatching system which, thanks to ongoing enhancements, remains the best in Australia. That's according to Hernani Inacio, the person in charge of Allied Express' management information systems.

"At the heart of our dispatching system - Dispatch Manager - is software that combines and assesses a wide range of variables such as geographic information, delivery routes, traffic and weather conditions, the status of our vehicles and the kind of vehicle.

"In the past job allocation relied on drivers entering data about their suburb location and Allied Express radio operators assigning jobs as accurately as possible. Now, with the new GPS system, the software then decides which is the best-positioned and most appropriate vehicle - out of a fleet of over 1,000 throughout Australia - to deliver the consignment.

"Under the old system, our operators were able to predict a vehicle's location within five kilometres along any delivery route. Now, with the GPS satellite technology, the Allied Express system both our operators and our customers will be able to pinpoint a vehicle - and therefore the status of a consignment - to within 50 metres of its actual location in real-time."

Thanks largely to investing over $20 million in continually upgrading and enhancing its delivery management technology, in the past 10 years, Allied Express has grown from a company with annual revenue of around $9 million to about $80 million.

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