Management of road parcel and freight services via internet

• Grant number: 01/08331-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: March 01, 2002
• End date: May 31, 2005
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Transportation Engineering - Transportation Operations
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Fabrizio Lima Passari
• Grantee: Antonio Fabrizio Lima Passari
• Company: BR Express S/C Ltda
• City: São Carlos

Abstract

The project aims to develop software tools to improve logistics operations, using the communications infrastructure of the internet allied to the tracking of packages and the positioning of vehicles via satellite. The proposal arises from the needs demonstrated during the operation of the system of freight contracts and the optimization of the transportation of cargoes developed by the company. The project is divided into two distinct but complementary modules. The first relates to the tracking of requests for collection, transport and delivery of merchandize. Information on the status of each order entrusted to a transport company - or even supplier/partner - is of great importance for the logistical planning and programming of its activity. The internet has consolidated itself as a means of communication which enables a cheap and economically viable solution for this case, especially for small and medium enterprises. The second module concerns the tracking of vehicles via global positioning satellites (GPS) and the making available of the positioning on the internet. The tracking, offered by businesses for many years, aims especially at security. Nevertheless, by placing the information concerning the position of each vehicle on the internet, it is possible to achieve cost reductions, an increase in flexibility and portability and, more importantly, it can also make the information accessible to the sender of the goods, enabling better logistical planning. The first phase of the project demonstrated that the technology available today now permits the development of such systems in an integrated form and with a relatively low final cost of acquisition and maintenance. (AU)