TransportFool

Having just completed a successful test of a real time vehicle locater system at their facility in Mesquite, TX they have now signed a deal to build a new facility in Hutchins, TX. According to the Dallas Business Journal they will build 200,000 square feet of buildings at the new 170 acre site.

I drove down to their facility today to see first-hand how the MyDealerLot™ system worked in an auto auction evironment. This is one of the auctions where the auto transporters pull inside of the secure area to load. They have worked out procedures to make sure the RFID tags are removed before loading so they don’t lose tags. At the auctions where the cars are checked out of an exit gate before being loaded in the transport lot it will be a lot easier to control. When they lay out the new facility with the locator system in mind it will be a lot easier to put in all of the transmitters and exciters. In this installation they made extensive use of solar powered units to keep from needing to dig up the lot for power. Where they were mounting on buildings with power they used conventional units like this one

I had an opportunity over lunch to hear George Cresto explain not only about this current system but also some of their research into gps based systems. They have a transmitter that can last up to a year on one battery charge and are studying the feasability of being able to track vehicles anywhere. I think this could work well for vehicle transport brokers. The cost will be higher than the RFID tracking tags so it will probably not be a viable alternative for auctions that need to track several thousand vehicles at one time but for a broker that has maybe a 100 vehicles moving at any given time it would allow them to locate the vehicle anytime during the move. Since he is looking at this working on the same web-based design it will be very easy to let the consumer track his own vehicle as well.

I haven’t got to see it yet because I am just hitting Calif. and the test site was in Dallas.

From the press release and my short conversation with the folks at MyDealerLot™ the big difference is that instead of giving you the location of the car when it was last scanned you get the current location! I’ll add more info here as I get it. Read my feb 21st review of the manheim system

5-30-08 I just had an online meeting with George Cresto of MyDealerLot™ and I am really excited about the possibilities that his system has and the positive implications on the auto transport industry. What really caught my attention was that they have successfully tested at an Adesa auto auction and that this has the potential to roll out to all of the Adesa auctions. They also do dealerships but I think we will see much more benefit at the auctions. Since this is a web-based application and they have different login levels available they can have a login level for a dealer or his transporter to locate his cars on the lot by VIN number. The number of trucks that are computer equipped is rising rapidly and this system has the capability to allow the driver and/or his dispatcher to get real-time location of the vehicle they are trying to deliver even if it is moving! When a car is stationary it’s location is confirmed every 10 minutes but if it is moving it is updated every second. I think we have all left an auction more than once with an empty spot on our load because a car could not be located. Not only does that kill your profit on your load but that also hurts the dealer because he doesn’t get his vehicle in a timely manner. I hope that Adesa extends access to at least the transporters that are represented at the auctions.

Just think how much time and frustration could be saved if the driver could see at the touch of a button the location of his cars before he even pulls out his ramps. He will know instantly if his cars have been pulled or not.