March/April 2003

A consignment tracking system making unusual use of barcodes on trucks themselves is being unfolded by Skillweb, a specialist in tracking and real-time scheduling.

The company has been developing the system with a major customer, which is tracking consignments at up to 60 points in the delivery cycle. We are pledged not to reveal the name yet, but assure you it's genuine. There is no GPS-style tracking involved; items are simply checked at key points in their journey (hence the need to scan trucks as they arrive or leave). Managing director Chris Wright calls it "promise management".

Currently the system is built round Intermec handheld terminals, with "finger-driven" programming to keep input simple. For monitoring at base, Skillweb has produced a Windows-based tracking and alerting application called Real Time Trax. Tracking data can also be delivered direct to handhelds, and the next version might use mapping on colour terminals instead of the more affordable mono ones used now. www.skillweb.co.uk