Materials handling news release from Isotrak

Technology-enabled retail supply chains are now leading the transport industry in carbon emissions reduction, according to Isotrak (www.isotrak.com), the UK market leader in real-time vehicle tracking and transport management systems.

Craig Sears-Black (Marketing Director of Isotrak) will reveal evidence at today's Carbon Footprint Supply Chain Summit demonstrating how Britain's biggest retailers have proactively embraced telematics and tracking solutions to boost transport efficiencies and, as a result, dramatically decrease their carbon dioxide emissions.

Supermarkets lead UK transport industry in emissions reduction strategies

Technology-enabled retail supply chains are now leading the transport industry in carbon emissions reduction, according to Isotrak (www.isotrak.com), the UK market leader in real-time vehicle tracking and transport management systems.

Craig Sears-Black (Marketing Director of Isotrak) will reveal evidence at today's Carbon Footprint Supply Chain Summit demonstrating how Britain's biggest retailers have proactively embraced telematics and tracking solutions to boost transport efficiencies and, as a result, dramatically decrease their carbon dioxide emissions.

By integrating sites, fleets, deliveries and collections, Marks & Spencer's General Merchandise operation reduced mileage by 14%.

By improving driving style, another Isotrak customer now benefits from 5 to 10% fuel consumption improvements, holding the potential to save 120,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

By ensuring efficient route plans other retailers have reduced unnecessary congestion while also reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

Isotrak has worked with fleet operators such as Tesco (see attached Case Study), Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and the Royal Mail for over eight years, helping them to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Isotrak's Active Transport Management System (ATMS) fuses accurate satellite vehicle tracking with advanced data capture from a vehicle's engine management system, delivered via an intuitive web-based interface, to provide an extraordinarily detailed and comprehensible oversight of fleet performance. Using ATMS, transport managers can accurately observe, record and model every aspect of their vehicle fleet performance in real time, including precise geographical location, drop-off times and driving characteristics.

Commenting on Isotrak's presence at the Summit meeting, Craig Sears-Black says: "The UK's large supermarkets operate in the region of 7000 vehicles to deliver products from their Distribution Centres to shops. Those trucks travel approximately 700 million miles per year and emit 1.2 million tonnes of CO2, meaning that for every small efficiency improvement implemented across whole fleets, a large environmental benefit accrues.

"The industry undoubtedly faces multiple obstacles -- aggressive legislation, too few HGV drivers, increasing congestion and extended journey times - but retailers have been foresighted in their adoption of transport management solutions like Isotrak's ATMS, and thus are well equipped to surmount challenges and make a real difference to operational efficiency and emissions."

Craig Sears-Black will make his presentation at approximately 1700hrs today (May 24). He will take the stage alongside Dr James R. Hagan, VP of Corporate Environment, Health and Safety, at GlaxoSmithKline, who will present on a complementary topic, 'Achieving Optimal Efficiency In Logistics And Distribution To Reduce Your Direct Emissions'.