Rental and sales operator ‘goes the extra mile’ for haulage customers

Truck Links Ltd., the Lincolnshire-based commercial vehicle rental and sales operator, have invested heavily in improved telemetry control systems for their customers with the installation of Verilocation vehicle tracking devices in their range of contract and spot hire vehicles; with customers reporting improved monitoring of vehicle location and the ability to study both vehicle and driver performance on a real-time basis.

With almost 300 pieces of equipment in the fleet, Truck Links has started a process of installing these tracking devices in their latest contract and spot hire vehicles, which has enabled their customers to monitor the performance of their vehicles through CANbus technology and wirelessly download their tachographs from Verilocation, providing a continuous stream of up-to-date vehicle and driver information.

"We provide our customers with unique log-in details for their own fleet hired through our company", explains Truck Links’ Sales Director, Dave Emsley, "rental customers then have direct access to their contracted vehicles, which keeps them up to speed regarding a wide range of important data, including; maintenance schedules, vehicle movements, fuel consumption and efficiency, driver behaviour and tacho’ analysis."

This style of tracking system has proved beneficial for Truck Links, who purchase their fleet from across a whole range of commercial vehicle manufacturers, including Scania, Volvo, DAF and Mercedes. "Each manufacturer offers their own telematics system with the purchase of a vehicle, however we felt we needed a system that could be deployed across our whole fleet, offering a uniform and efficient service for our customers."

"Users have reported improved statistics and a quicker supply of information from the new system, which has in turn helped them to push forward and develop their own systems of work". If a particular vehicle is seen to be underperforming, Truck Links can rely on the CANbus vehicle management system to determine whether a fault lies with the vehicle or the way it is being driven. "This is particularly useful" adds Dave Emsley, "as it saves time and gets us straight to the nub of the problem, so it can be resolved with minimal disruption and expense, for both our customers and our company itself."

Established in 1996, Truck Links Ltd. operates across the commercial vehicle and trailer market within the UK, mainland Europe and beyond, including the used truck and trailer export markets in Africa, Cyprus and Sri Lanka. The company also provides dry freight and skeletal equipment to the shipping industry, being perfectly located nearby three of the busiest ports in the UK; Grimsby, Immingham and Hull.

"Compliance and good vehicle management are issues that are being brought more and more to the forefront of UK haulage planning, especially when it can have such an impact on fuel efficiency, which will remain the most important factor and biggest cost to hauliers. Therefore it makes perfect sense for us as a service provider to ensure our vehicles stay safe, legal and efficient. To this end, we make constant use of the telematics information fed to us by the Verilocation system, in the hope of an improved service for our customers."

Truck Links has its own in-house workshops, which are used to service and maintain their fleet of vehicles and is also certified as an Authorised Testing Facility (ATF), operating as a five-day-a-week testing base for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

Dave Emsley concludes: "The Verilocation system is easy for both us and our customers to use and is helping us to push forward with better and more reliable technology to help improve the service we provide to our customers."