Motor Transport -The Algorithm People-Sept 2022

Get wise... and decarbonise!

TAP’s R&D head, Dr Ross Conroy, explains what artificial intelligence the road Algorithm Flex-E-Rent up with The Algorithm People to bring My FORS Transport Planner to affiliated operators

One-stop shop fleet management

Fuel Card Services’ head of commercial business explains why the firm is reselling My Transport Planner optimisation software

With fierce operating cost increases at every turn, it would be easy to see decarbonisation and sustainability as somewhat detached from the day-to-day issues of managing a freight operation. But, as we explore in this special supplement, sustainability and efficiency go hand in hand. On the journey to decarbonisation, all operators can make gains by optimising the trucks they run, the routes they drive and the skills of the drivers they employ.

Regular Motor Transport readers will be well aware of the services and solutions The Algorithm People (TAP) brings to the market. This is the third annual supplement we have run with the company – and over that period we have tracked the development of its technology and the benefits it is delivering. As you will read in this issue, the company has some major technical developments coming through that will make its optimisation solutions faster, more dynamic and ultimately more efficient.

As TAP’s CEO, Colin Ferguson, explains, embracing optimisation tech today will drive immediate efficiency savings and ensure your business has taken the first step in preparation for the shift to carbon-zero operations.

We are all aware of the battles ahead as we seek solutions to the prospect of double-digit inflation. Fleet and journey optimisation could be a significant weapon in that fight.

The Core, Newcastle Helix, Bath Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5TF contact@thealgorithmpeople.co.uk

Chief executive officer Ferguson director Ferguson of partners and corporate accounts sales director Whelan

Supplement

Andy Laura Hailstone,

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Faster, cheaper and greener

The Algorithm People’s current R&D efforts harness the formidable brain power of AI to take road transport beyond efficient scheduling into holistic fleet optimisation at the click of a button

The Algorithm People’s (TAP’s) CEO, Colin Ferguson, says the question is no longer whether operators can a ord optimisation: it’s whether they can a ord to be without it. His view of the future – and the AI TAP is developing – takes us beyond current optimisation capabilities and beyond traditional eet management. And beyond that rainbow, he says, there is denitely gold for road transport operators.

TAP is well established with its pay-as-you-go optimisation product, My Transport Planner. Its no muss, no fuss cloud-based platform can do in a couple of minutes what an experienced transport planner might stress over for a number of hours – and do it more efficiently.

“The time is coming when anyone running vehicles will have to optimise them,” says CEO Colin Ferguson. “The savings on fuel, the increase in productivity and the reduction in the number of vehicles needed speak for themselves commercially. But it’s also a vital first step in the decarbonisation journey that all operators have to take.”

Optimisation in final mile or van fleets can produce fuel savings of up to 20%. To put that in a decarbonisation context, a 500-strong facilities management fleet could be saving more carbon through optimisation than if it exchanged 80 ICE vehicles for electric – with none of the cost.

Although HGV fleets tend still to rely on the experienced transport planner, their fuel bills are

Colin Ferguson:

“Making your existing fleet as efficient and productive as possible now is a necessary first step to decarbonisation”

so high and the availability of alternative-powered vehicles so limited, that exploring optimisation is a no-brainer.

“Optimisation is available today for all HGV fleets, where – commercially and operationally – viable electric vehicles are still being fully developed,” Ferguson says. “Making your existing fleet as efficient and productive as possible now is a necessary first step to decarbonisation – but in the long run it will be essential to commercial survival.”

Changing market

While parcel fleets and service LCV fleets have quickly seen the benefits of optimisation, haulage has typically been more reluctant, even for urban delivery. However, the high costs and lengthy implementation periods are a thing of the past. MTP offers a pay-as-you-go model which can be used by anyone who has the skills to shop on Amazon.

Ferguson says the marketplace is shifting, and TAP has seen this in very practical ways, through the wave of interest from suppliers to the fleet industry. Recently it has signed deals with the Fuel Card Services (see page 15), and with the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), which is rebranding My Transport Planner to sell into accredited fleets (see page 14).

“FORS can see the value of optimisation and recognise that their customers and members will need to access tools like this for cost control, decarbonisation and competitive advantage,” Ferguson says.

My Transport Planner uses machine learning in order to become better at solving multi-vehicle routing with each use. The more data it accepts, the better it understands the effect of different factors upon success, and it can also compare its

plans with actual fleet performance, using the discrepancies to refine its approach.

TAP has also been involved with an Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Teesside University, to bring a more innovative product to commercial reality. Mobile and Transient Hubs (MATHs) solves the problem of low payload in electric vans and micro vehicles, by dynamically optimising their movements in synch with a mobile hub – a much larger vehicle which can reload them in the field.

Akin to in-flight refuelling for the aviation industry, this not only makes many electric micro vehicles viable for the parcels sector, but could also allow 3.5 tonne e-LCVs to run back and forth through Clean Air and Zero Emission Zones, delivering pallets and reloading from an 18-tonner which can stay on the edges of the city. The vans would no longer have to waste range travelling between the depot and their delivery zone, but can be almost constantly productive.

TAP’s head of R&D, Dr Ross Conroy, a special ist in artificial intelligence and machine learning, is currently working on a ‘super algorithm’ which will be able to determine which AI technique – or specific algorithm – will be best to solve any specific problem a fleet operator presents to it.

One of the issues with optimisation is that most products do not use AI – their approach applies basic rules to the data and identifies a viable solution. However, you cannot apply the same rules to urban multi-drop as to national trunking or primary distribution. So the products them selves are essentially optimised for a single type of solution.

“Our approach isn’t simply producing better results than a human can. We have already estab lished this, and the technology is proven,” Ferguson says. “Our approach is considerably ahead of our competitors, both in terms of the savings and efficiencies we generate, and its potential.

“Traditional approaches are bottom up and iterative, where operators have to do – or pay for – extensive modelling, and resetting of parame ters to get a good outcome. They are essentially having to feed in new and repetitive data, depend ing on the use case.

“What we are doing is top down, where you set your business objectives and parameters and

the software will give you a good outcome very quickly, without you having to worry about any of that,” he says.

It’s a game-changer, according to Ferguson. “You get better, faster results, with none of the time-intensive iterations or costly scenario model ling. It’s no longer necessary,” he says.

The super algorithm will enable TAP to encase all its algorithms for logistics applications, includ ing Mobile and Transient Hubs, into one software suite, with the super algorithm choosing the best ‘solver’ for the data presented.

“We can bring all our technology and all our learning together in one comprehensive and intelligent package, which will think and learn,” Ferguson says.

This will mean that operators can feed all their contracts and data into the AI super-solver and it will not only be able to optimise them all with the correct mathematics, but it could also suggest further efficiencies about how fleet vehicles are deployed across contracts, potentially overturning years of established practice.

It becomes, Ferguson says, a holistic approach which optimises not just selected jobs or contracts but the entire operation. “It will be practical, it will still be easy to use – you can still drag ’n’ droptimise – but the savings it unleashes will be beyond standard optimisation,” he adds.

The super algorithm is provisionally expected to be commercially ready in 2023.

Foundations for growth

The Algorithm People is just finalising its fourth funding round, having already developed its core optimisation product, My Transport Planner, and scaled up its operation to national coverage. This

“This isn’t simply about integrating disparate data sources and jamming them together. This is about looking at all of that data from above and seeing the patterns of usage and the correlations, and uncovering actionable, money-saving or money‑making truths from that” Colin Ferguson, CEO, The Algorithm People

round of seven-figure funding will help it further develop the super-solver.

And Ferguson’s plans go further. TAP is already rolling out product for key customers in Belgium and France, with the US also planned, and he intends to build on these international sales.

The tech is also destined for greater things. The current Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) which has helped to develop the MATHs product ends in April 2023. TAP is applying for a follow-on KTP, again with Innovate funding, in order to develop its API version of the supersolver.

Its ultimate goal is to produce a product that can take a top-down approach to all of a fleet oper-

TAP is in the process of putting together its fourth funding round

ator’s systems. “This isn’t simply about integrating disparate data sources and jamming them together. This is about looking at all of that data from above and seeing the patterns of usage and the correlations, which would otherwise never be found, and uncovering actionable, money-saving or money-making truths from that,” Ferguson says.

The road transport industry is at the edge of huge change, commercially, operationally and in terms of future roads and environmental policy.

“Our super-solver and the API version are designed to future-proof fleet operations as today’s knowns dissolve into tomorrow’s uncertainties. The industry will need all this intelligence to create tomorrow’s solutions.” 

Dr Ross Conroy, like the technology he specialises in, appears young, fresh faced and bursting with potential. He spent his four-year PhD teaching a computer to play StarCraft, became a software engineer and then worked for four years for the government, mining big data.

An opportunity to join the Knowledge Transfer Partnership at Teesside University and bring an AI solution into the marketplace led to his heading up TAP’s R&D department.

How do your skills relate to road transport? My skills are in AI and machine learning. There are various techniques used in AI. With a lot of existing transport optimisation products, I wouldn’t really call them AI. They are more sort of trial and error. They are using a heuris tic-type approach, where rules are applied to the data to find a workable solution; whereas AI is more about learning from data, rather than making assumptions about what you are trying to plan for.

We are using a data-mining approach where the software is looking at what worked previously and reapplying or improving it. So, it will involve confirmation of pattern recognition, and then reapplying solutions when the data suggests a similar problem.

My limited understanding of AI – mostly thanks to Wiki – suggests that it is a machine “system which perceives its environment and takes actions that maximise its chance of achieving its goals”. So, a machine that can think? What specifically, then, is machine learning?

Machine learning is a branch of artificial intel ligence. AI is the big buzzword that encompasses it all – and machine learning is taking data and learning things from that data.

And does machine learning enable continuous or marginal improvement?

With most machine learning techniques, the more data you have, the better the predictions. What we are doing now means we have lots of data constantly coming in – and the idea is that the algorithm will continuously improve, the more it sees.

Monte Carlo or bust

What are you working on specifically?

There are two AI techniques that we are devel oping at the moment. One is the Monte Carlo Tree Search. This is when there is a particular sort of problem that you are trying to solve. There are multiple configurations that can be used and the software tries to find the best solution, given the current inputs. It can periodically switch between configurations to figure out if others are better. “I have been using this configuration for the past 10 minutes; I’m going to try this one for one or two tries and see if it’s better.” It’s a technique commonly used in chess AI.

Okay. And what’s the other one? This is the very new solution. We have been using machine learning to predict the best sub-algorithm for each of many different types of problem. So you could have data from very dense urban multi-drop and other data from long-distance trunking runs. You will want to use a very different solver for each of those prob lems. You can’t really write one solver to cover everything well. So instead, this super-algorithm uses features of the input model – such as the density of the jobs, how many there are, the type of geographical area – and tries to pick the best solver for that situation.

Artificial intelligence expert Dr Ross Conroy heads The Algorithm People’s R&D department. We ask him what AI can offer the road transport industry

Presumably the more types of data, or criteria, it is given, the better it works?

Yes, to an extent the more input features you can give it, the better predictions it can make – but that is finite. You will hit a point where a lot of the data you are putting in is just noise. It can determine what the significant features are, though. So it will say ‘this feature changes frequently with this type of model, but this feature is very similar across all models, so we will ignore that one’. For instance, the number of vehicles may not be significant because you may have five vehicles on urban delivery or five trunking.

So, what will these solutions be applied to? Is this for optimisation?

Ross Conroy: “We are using a data-mining approach where the software is looking at what worked previously and reapplying or improving it”

Yes, initially for optimisation. But if we can get this down, it’s something that can help with the Mobile And Transient Hubs as well. Our strategic aim is to have one black box solution that can intelligently direct itself to whichever set of algorithms it requires to solve the problem the user has presented – a director of operations, or super-solver. All the algorithms we currently use for separate discrete products will be available to it as needed.

So, are you never tempted to create an AI to predict racing winners or for the casinos?

[Smiling ruefully] That’s not a profitable way to spend your money. The house always wins. 

Appetite for smart deliveries

FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, fighting hunger and food waste for the past 25 years. Through its network of 30 regional distribution centres (RDCs), the non-profit organisation makes thousands of deliveries and collections each week, taking surplus food from retailers to more than 9,600 charities and community groups in towns and cities around the UK. The food is then redistributed to a range of worthy causes, including homeless shelters, children’s break fast clubs and domestic violence refuges.

As part of an organisation-wide digital trans formation strategy, FareShare wanted to modern ise its transport operation and was looking for intelligent technology solutions that could help it work smarter.

Approached by The Algorithm People (TAP), FareShare agreed to implement the My Transport Planner route optimisation software across three of its RDCs. The project went live in April at FareShare’s Northeast site in Newcastle and has already delivered some impressive savings.

“One of the key benefits we have experienced is time gained in route planning,” says FareShare’s operational efficiency project manager, Roy Oluwu. “The whole week’s run for the Northeast RDC fleet used to take the warehouse or transport manager two days to plan; now it takes just two hours using My Transport Planner.”

The smarter planning of routes around the Northeast has also resulted in better allocation of the RDC’s fleet, with Olowu revealing that they need to utilise only around two-thirds of its vans. “This means we have additional capacity, which is ideal for when we get ad hoc requests to pick up surplus food from a retailer, as we no longer have to divert one of our delivery vans to pick it up,” he explains.

Less mileage means lower emissions

With better route optimisation, the Northeast RDC’s fleet is also doing less mileage, resulting in lower fuel and lower emissions. “Since the trial began, we have experienced savings of around 20% in both emissions and fuel,” Olowu says.

For a charitable organisation, savings like this are vital, and Olowu is keen to get My Transport Planner rolled out across the rest of the RDCs.

“We still are still implementing the solution at our Sussex and Liverpool RDCs – and the proof of concept has already been shown with the results we have seen from the implementation at our Northeast depot.”

Digital proof of delivery

The electronic proof of delivery (PoD) that is built into the My Transport Planner app has been another added benefit for FareShare’s operations. Previously, it relied on the drivers returning to base with paper copies of signed dispatch notes to confirm a delivery had been made, whereas now the PoD is instant.

“As soon as a delivery is made, the warehouse or transport manager receives notification via the app, which brings total transparency to our operations. If one of our charity partners phones to ask where a delivery is, they can easily check to see if PoD has taken place yet or advise the customer of an expected arrival time,” Oluwu says.

Asked if this has improved the level of professionalism FareShare provides to its customers, Oluwu says “without a doubt”.

A key element to get right with the implementation was making sure TAP understood the sensitive volunteer environment that FareShare’s operations employ. Each RDC is operated by a team of volunteers, with either a volunteer warehouse manager or volunteer transport manager overseeing the transport operations.

“It’s vital that any new technology provider we work with appreciates that our people on the ground dealing with the deliveries are volunteers. As such, the technology needs to be implemented in an easy-to-understand way. The beauty of the TAP team is that they got this straight away and made sure it wasn’t a stringent or rigid implementation process,” Olowu says.

Following an introduction from Olowu to explain why FareShare wanted to bring in the software, the TAP team gave a face-to-face demo to the RDC trial teams. Each RDC was then

Better planning of routes means the Northeast RDC needs to utilise only about two-thirds of its fleet

encouraged to “play around with the software” in a test environment, so that it didn’t affect business-as-usual operations.

“All of the RDC volunteers liked My Transport Planner, and it became apparent just how user friendly it was,” Olowu says.

In fact, he says, the conversations between the TAP project team and the RDC volunteers were “really insightful” and both sides came up with “some great ideas” that helped the migration to My Transport Planner run seamlessly.

Bringing consistency across the network

All FareShare’s My Transport

One of the additional and long-lasting benefits that My Transport Planner will bring to FareShare’s operations is consistency. With a mix of RDCs owned by FareShare and independent charities, each RDC currently has its own processes and systems in place for scheduling routes.

“Some of the RDCs use Google Maps, some will use spreadsheets, some will be very manual,” Olowu explains. “Once we roll out My Transport Planner across all of our RDCs, we will have one standardised system, which will bring consistency in our operations and allow us to track and monitor key performance metrics to improve operations further still.”

He also praises the data security of My Transport Planner, commenting that as a charity it was important that they had a provider they could trust with “both ours and our customers’ data”.

Following a great experience with TAP, Olowu is keen to work with other technology providers that want to work with a charity and can bring efficiencies to FareShare’s operations. 

Driven by data

Northern Ireland-based Cubo has been helping businesses become more efficient since 2001. For merly known as NIBC, Cubo provides fully integrated telem atics and communications solutions that keep operators across the UK and Ireland connected, safe, compliant, efficient and sustainable.

In particular, Cubo prides itself on uncovering innovative ways to use telematics to add real value to its customers’ operations. And that’s exactly what its latest collaboration with The Algorithm People (TAP) aims to do.

“We have been actively seeking a strategic part ner in this space for some time,” says sales direc tor Conor Patton. “I’m truly excited to work with TAP to provide our customers and the logistics industry with real data that can drive the move to electric vehicles (EVs) and net-zero targets, while remaining competitive.”

In essence, the collaboration involves Cubo capturing and tracking an operator’s telematics data through its technology, and then TAP’s soft ware providing “evidence-based analysis” of that data that tells the operator how to optimise their fleet for maximum efficiency, including fuel and carbon savings.

Helping customers transition

Cubo is keen to help customers leverage the savings TAP’s optimisation algorithms deliver to support them with funding the transition to alternative-fuelled vehicles

“We are noticing a lot more customers are saying ‘we want to electrify our fleet, how do we

Cubo uses telematics to add value for operators throughout the UK and Ireland

do it?’” Patton says, “which is exactly what we can assist with using TAP’s innovative technology combined with our telematics solutions.”

He continues: “Our customers recognise us as their ‘go-to technology partner’, and in conjunc tion with TAP we can deliver even more value through route deviation and HGV-specific rout ing with integrated satellite navigation.”

Managing state of charge

Using the data from TAP’s technology, along with current and planned charging infrastructure, will enable Cubo to supply its customers with the most accurate data available in the industry.

Patton explains that Cubo has an “unobtrusive connection to the EV CAN bus” which enables it to report on current beneficial parameters such as odometer, brake pedal count, and vehicle speed. “We can also measure EV-specific metrics of total discharged/regenerated energy while driving, actual EV motor torque, average trip kW consump tion and EV remaining battery range, where available.”

Natalie Hughes, director of partners and accounts at TAP, says the combined partnership will benefit operators that want to “get into the detail” of decarbonising and managing their mixed-fuel fleets for the future.

“As operators begin to think ahead for their future electric fleet needs, we can help them consider their state of charge and charge requirements at depot or en route to complete their duty cycles. This will help them plan their fleet effectively through maximising vehicle utilisation.” n

Telematics and communications specialist Cubo is working with The Algorithm People to translate data into actionable insights for operators

Quicker fixes

Enterprise Flex-E-Rent shaves 10% off its mobile maintenance mileage and improves customer response with smarter planning and scheduling

Enterprise Flex-E-Rent provides nationwide van, HGV, refrigerated and accessible vehicle hire in 27 locations across the UK and in Ireland.

The company has more than 250 trained technicians. Its team of 100 mobile technicians provide service maintenance and defect management to wherever its hire vehicles are being used. With more than 52,000 vehicles in Enterprise Flex-ERent’s fleet, this equates to 20,000 maintenance events a month to manage.

James Walker, group service maintenance repair manager, says that the mobile technician team are a “key part of our maintenance capability” – and before implementing My Transport Planner, executing and planning the mobile maintenance team’s workload, availability and routes had become very labour intensive.

“It was very manual, lots of emails and phone calls. We needed a more sophisticated way of planning that would allow us to execute our mobile technician resource in the best way possible, not only taking care of the mileage and the hours that our team members work, but also to respond in the very best way to customers,” Walker says.

My Transport Planner was introduced last year. Walker says it is working so well that it is “just part of the day-to-day running” now.

“We still create our first line plan for the upcoming weeks’ worth of service and maintenance events using our maintenance platform, R2C, but then we run it through My Transport Planner. Within minutes, it has optimised those events for us to ensure we are using our fleet in the most effective and efficient way.”

Walker says My Transport Planner is saving the business about “10% in both time and mileage”. The time saving allows the mobile technician

There are more than 52,000 vehicles in the Enterprise Flex-E-Rent fleet

team to do more work – although Walker says this is hard to measure. “It has certainly increased our capacity to react to customer requirements and do more planned and preventive work. We work in terms of hours, so if we think a chunk of work is going to take 100 hours, and then we run it through My Transport Planner, it will tell us it will take 90 hours – so a 10% saving.”

Another key win is that Enterprise can now plan more accurately. “Because we can look at it holistically, it has generated faster disciplines in terms of making sure the information is correct – such as customer location, contact details – and we can factor in holidays, sickness, and skill levels of our technicians,” Walker says.

Some of the quantifiable benefits My Transport Planner has delivered include:  13% reduction on mileage;  6% reduction on routes;  12% reduction on time;  7% increase in engineer utilisation.

Phase two – future-proofing with APIs

The next phase for Enterprise is to take advantage of My Transport Planner’s ability to integrate with other systems. Walker sees a couple of obvious areas where they could use an API to feed information in and out of the platform, such as with the van telemetry. “If a technician were delayed by an hour on a job, the API link from the vehicle telematics would tell My Transport Planner that the technician is still at location X – and it would then alert the next customer that the technician is going to be an hour late.”

Using My Transport Planner: Since 2021 OPERATOR FACT FILE

Name: Enterprise Flex-E-Rent Vehicles: 100 mobile technician vans

He also sees an opportunity to integrate My Transport Planner with Enterprise’s third-party maintenance suppliers. “If we had an API link that digitally connected us to our third-party providers and one of our technicians was suddenly ill or unavailable during a shift, we would easily be able to put out a request for a third-party technician to cover the rest of the jobs that day.”

He adds that the API linkage will be “phase two” and will really “future-proof” the mobile technician operation. 

Better planning for FORS fleets

the benefits of My Transport Planner in a risk-free way.

The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) has welcomed The Algorithm People (TAP) as its latest affinity partner in a move that sees FORS-accredited opera tors gain access to the technology supplier’s smart route optimisation and decarbonisation services.

As part of the partnership, TAP has created a specially branded version of its My Transport Planner – called My FORS Transport Planner –to which FORS-accredited operators can sign up. The web-based transport-planning tool is designed for commercial vehicle operators of all sizes, and delivers efficiency benefits across five key areas:

l Planning time savings;

l Reduction in total mileage;

l Increase in productivity;

l Reduction in costs;

l Lower emissions.

Paul Wilson, account director at FORS, says the partnership with TAP opens up intelligent route planning for operators of all sizes: “We understand that for a lot of operators, finding the time even to look at the different options available for fleet optimisation software – let alone imple menting it – is not a priority when trying to deal with the day-to-day challenges of running their fleets. The partnership with TAP makes it easy and viable for our community to benefit from smart planning technology.”

With no upfront costs and no obligation to sign up to lengthy contracts, the partnership provides a great opportunity for FORS-accredited members both large and small to tap into

Accredited operators have access to My FORS Transport Planner

“TAP’s intelligent route planning technology allows operators to plan their journeys more effectively,” Wilson adds, “which decreases road miles, lowers operating costs, cuts fuel bills and reduces emissions. Essentially, it’s taking waste out of their business – both cost waste and environmental waste.”

Typical fuel savings delivered by My Transport Planner range between 10% and 20% for fleet operators, and these savings are instant. “Signing up to My FORS Transport Planner makes operators’ fleets more efficient right here, right now,” Wilson adds.

He highlights that TAP does not simply provide the tech – it’s a people-focused business with technology driving it. “FORS operators speak to a real person who will analyse their business and use technology to help identify how to run their fleet in the most efficient way.”

Wilson also believes the partnership will help operators “make intelligent choices about when to transition their fleet to electric” and help them win contracts as it will “increase their social value” in terms of being green. n Sign up today at fors.mytransportplanner.com

FORS teams up with The Algorithm People to bring My FORS Transport Planner to operators

One-stop shop fleet management

Fuel Card Services is going to expand its portfolio of fleet management services by reselling My Transport Planner route optimisation software

W ith more than 50,000 customers, Fuel Card Services is one of the largest independent fuel card businesses in the UK. For the past few years, the rm has been expanding its o ering to bring a full range of eet management services to its customers, including telematics, vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair, and daily vehicle checks.

With operators facing ever-higher fuel and other running costs, Fuel Card Services was looking for something else to offer that could help its customers save both time and money – and be greener. The Algorithm People’s (TAP) route optimisation technology fitted the bill perfectly.

“What appeals to us about My Transport Planner is that it will help us show operators how they can save time and money by implementing route optimisation software and reduce emissions,” says Tom Cosway, head of commercial business at Fuel Card Services.

Being web-based, he says, it’s also “super-easy to implement”, and “extremely user-friendly to navigate”.

My Transport Planner will sit within Fuel Card Services’ online portal ‘My Fleet Hub’, alongside its other products and services – including Tele-Gence, an advanced vehicle and asset tracking app; MyService.Expert, which gives customers access to pre-negotiated competitive rates on vehicle maintenance; and MyDriveSafe.Expert, which is a smart app that helps drivers to carry out daily vehicle checks.

Tom Cosway: “As well as helping our customers save money on fuel, we can now help them save money by smarter route planning”

“We want operators to use My Fleet Hub daily for all their fleet requirements. With the addition of My Transport Planner, we really are the one-stop shop for their complete vehicle management,” Cosway adds.

As part of a drive to support its customers to transition to electrification of their fleets, Fuel Card Services has several electric vehicle (EV) products in the pipeline, including home and work charging products. It believes My Transport Planner will play a key role in this area.

“A lot of customers are worried about the downtime they might experience by moving to EVs; they can’t afford to stop partway through the day to charge their vehicles,” Cosway explains. “My Transport Planner can help them smartly plan their routes by factoring in what the range of each EV is and making sure the delivery route won’t take them over the maximum charge capability of each vehicle.”

Easily accessible

Fuel Card Services is keen to emphasise that it is no longer just a fuel card provider. Cosway says its ultimate goal is to make life easier for operators. “Rather than having to manage multiple relationships with lots of different providers, we make life simpler for operators by accessing all their fleet management services from one easily accessible online hub.”

Fuel Card Services expects the addition of My Transport Planner will also boost customer retention. “As well as helping our customers save money on fuel, we can now help them save money by smarter route planning and making the best use of their fleet. The more products a customer has with us, the more loyal they tend to be.” 

Fuel Card Services expects My Transport Planner will be available to its customers by the end of this year.

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