Norse installs Jaama system

With a new purpose-built head office and a move towards in-housing servicing, Norse Transport had identified the need to replace an outdated fleet management system.

The Norse Group operates a fleet of about 1,000 vehicles including company cars, car derived vans, minibuses, disabled passenger vehicles, grounds maintenance equipment, light goods vehicles, passenger carrying vehicles and waste collection vehicles.

With local authority budgets under pressure, Norse Transport Division also provides a cost-effective solution to a wide range of public service operations including a daily home-to-school transport service utilising minibuses and Norfolk’s yellow bus fleet; door-to-door transfer for adults with learning or mobility difficulties; and social services such as delivered meals and soiled/clean linen collection/delivery.

While the transport management office and recently opened workshop is located at the Norse Group’s head office in Norwich, the business also operates from several other locations throughout Norfolk and Suffolk.

Therefore, said assistant manager fleet Tina Higlett, a key requirement of the new software system was for it to be a multi-user facility and for it to interface with other existing Norse Group systems including that operated by the finance department.

Higlett explained: “With the move to in-house servicing coupled with the requirement to have a system that was compatible with current applications in use with the HR department as well as the finance department we found that the Key2 technology offered added benefits over and above other systems demonstrated to Norse.

“The introduction of Jaama’s Key2 system will avoid significant duplication of processes and data entry across all departments. We will have all our fleet data in one central repository which is easily accessible across departments by all system users.”

Additionally, data from external fleet and driver information providers, such as the Group’s fuel card supplier, will be able to deliver information directly into the Key2 system.

Mrs Higlett added: “The system’s ability to highlight key issues by exception and the automatic analysing of data will save vast amounts of time in terms of interpreting information and deciding what action to take.

“Also Key2 uses Microsoft’s .NET windows technology which is very familiar to staff so the system will be easier for them to use in terms of navigation.”

Jaama managing director Jason Francis said: “We have consistently found that existing users of Key2 are very happy to recommend the technology to other organisations across the public and private sectors.

“We are confident that the Norse Group will view the introduction of Key2 as an investment that delivers significant savings and other benefits to them.”

He added: “The online functionality delivered by the Key2 product range is extremely broad and enables fleets to manage a broad range of vehicles as well as workshops on one system.

“Customers’ requirements are becoming increasingly complex, driven by a growing need to control costs and deliver a competitive edge. Key2 Vehicle Management enables those demands to be met at the operational level and management to easily drill into data to access whatever detailed reports are required.”