Smartphone Use as Transparency Improvement Tool for Road-Based Transports

Although there are proprietary fleet management systems the information flow to the sender or to the receiver of consignments is limited and complex. The research shows how delivery information can theoretically and practically be made transparent to all related partners of road based transports. With joint appliance of standard smartphone technologies in combination with location based services (LBS) new tracking & tracing technologies become reality. This research proves that real time geo-tracking features of mobile devices can be used not only to track vehicles or trucks, but also to identify and track their individual shipments. Accurate load data can be published in real time to all relevant stakeholders (e.g. sender, forwarder and receiver) through the internet based technology. Accurate forecasts of estimated arriving times can efficiently support the Supply Chain Management (SCM) of all partners and the physical movement of material streams becomes highly transparent. The purpose of the research is to show how current and readily accessible technologies can create transparency through continuous information flow in the delivery process. The findings are demonstrated by a practical prototype in the automotive industry.