Summer 2008

New films should be reaching cinemas more quickly and efficiently, thanks to some technology adopted by National Film Transport Logistics, a company that distributes a lot of them.

The company has introduced the 2020ePOD proof of delivery system from Skillweb, and says this has not only helped it track the movements of films more accurately, but also helped minimise the need for films to go back to the distribution centres, improving on their availability.

NFT Logistics has call on 250 couriers operating nationwide, and each now has an Intermec CN3 mobile computer with built-in barcode scanning. The device is GPRS-enabled to pass film tracking and POD information back to head office in near real time. A GPS unit in the CN3 handheld device is used to capture the movements of the courier fleet, enabling the company to optimise fleet utilisation.

Customers include National Screen, Carlton Film, Dolby, Cineworld, the Empire Group, Apollo and many independent, privately-owned cinemas.