TNT will deploy 900 units of its wireless handheld communications device (“Mobile Worker”) in Asia by the end of 2007. Currently deployed in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, the device will be deployed in the Philippines and Korea by end-2006 and Thailand, Vietnam and Japan by end-2007.
Mobile Worker enables drivers to receive new booking orders as well as send and receive consignment pick-up and delivery information electronically through one smart scanner in real-time.
Developed by TNT’s in-house IT team using the .NET Compact Framework, the communications device was developed in partnership with Microsoft and runs on Windows Mobile scanners.
The smart scanner automatically captures all relevant pick-up and delivery data into one integrated system. It communicates directly with TNT’s main server in the UK via GPRS, thereby allowing for quick response on any transaction.
As a result, customers can track each shipment within five minutes of it being picked up by TNT.
TNT Asia’s regional managing director Michael Drake commented: “The deployment of Mobile Worker is part of TNT’s pronounced strategy to continuously improve our services for customers. As our customer base in Asia expands rapidly and increasingly seeks innovative solutions to achieve business efficiencies, this common systems strategy will have the capacity to strengthen our operational service levels in the region.”
Through a single system approach, TNT expects the Mobile Worker initiative to effectively reduce the cost of each technology upgrade by up to 70%, as the scanner can now be uniformly updated with next generation software rather than having to upgrade different systems separately.
“With the new scanners, we are able to upload real-time information that is accessible 24 hours daily,” added Drake. “This is especially useful for customers who operate in time-critical businesses.”
